As a key deadline approaches, Honolulu officials are working to rally opposition against federal demands to upgrade a major West O'ahu sewage treatment plant.

The city is also bracing for a similar push to improve a larger plant at Sand Island, and is prepared to spend more than $1 million on attorneys to fight against both upgrades.

Mayor Mufi Hannemann said work at the two plants could cost $1.2 billion and "is unnecessary at this time," because his priority is to repair and replace major pipes that collect the city's sewage.

"It is the condition of our collection system that poses a risk to public health, and that is where we must focus our efforts," Hannemann said.

A federal court agreement between the city and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency requires an estimated $300 million in work to the collection system.

The EPA notified the city in March that it planned to deny a waiver that has long allowed the West O'ahu plant, at Honouliuli, to discharge effluent into the ocean that has been treated to a lesser standard than is required at most other U.S. plants.

The EPA is expected to oppose a waiver for the Sand Island plant later this year.

The agency recently found that bacteria levels around the Honouliuli plant's discharge outfall were higher than national standards adopted in 2004 to protect swimmers, surfers and others from gastrointestinal diseases.

Testing also found that wastewater from the plant often proves toxic to sea urchins, and produces excess ammonia that can promote algae growth that depletes oxygen and harms other aquatic organisms.

The city is disputing the extent of such dangers, and is preparing a detailed response to the tentative Honouliuli decision, which must be submitted to the EPA by Aug. 27. The public also has until then to comment on the issue.

EPA spokesman Dean Higuchi said the agency must respond to all comments before making a final decision, which can then be appealed. There is no firm schedule for a decision because it remains unclear how many comments will be submitted, and how detailed they will be.

The City Council has authorized Hannemann's administration to spend up to $1.2 million on attorneys to oppose upgrades at both plants.

Hannemann announced yesterday that he would hold two community meetings before the Honouliuli deadline to "provide the public with a factual overview of O'ahu's wastewater treatment system, dispel misconceptions, and explain why the city is asking that the EPA continue" to allow waivers for both plants.

Hannemann and Honolulu's two previous mayors have maintained that upgrading to "full secondary treatment" is not necessary because the plants discharge effluent into deep waters far offshore. Most other plants in the United States discharge into rivers, lakes or shallow coastal waters.

To get its message out, the city spent nearly $44,000 on newspaper advertisements that appeared in April and May in The Advertiser and Honolulu Star-Bulletin.

The ads argued that "an over-zealous expenditure to solve a questionable environmental 'problem' is not fiscally prudent or environmentally sensitive."

Dangers from discharged wastewater have long been hotly disputed here.

A 1995 study — forced by a lawsuit — concluded that secondary treatment was not necessary at Sand Island because effluent was quickly diluted in deep ocean waters.

But the study found that some additional treatment was necessary, and prompted the city to build a disinfection unit that is years behind schedule. The unit is undergoing testing and is expected to begin continuous operation within months.

LEARN MORE

Details about the EPA's tentative decision to deny a secondary treatment waiver for the Honouliuli Wastewater Treatment Plant, and how to comment on the decision, can be found at three Web sites:

www.epa.gov/region09

www.epa.gov/region09/water/npdes/pdf/honouliuli/pubnotice-extension.pdf

Reach Johnny Brannon at jbrannon@honoluluadvertiser.com.