After repeated delays, two high-tech components are nearly ready for routine operations at the city's largest sewage treatment plant, on Sand Island.

They are a $38 million bioconversion facility that turns dried sewage sludge into fertilizer pellets, and a $100 million disinfection unit that blasts treated wastewater with ultraviolet light to kill pathogens before it is discharged offshore.

Both units are now fully operational, but each is awaiting key regulatory approvals.

City officials and others braved pungent air outside the bioconversion facility yesterday to hold a dedication ceremony, complete with live music and plate lunches.

The facility, operated by a Texas company called Synagro, had started producing fertilizer early this year, only to be damaged in June by a fire that shut it down for several months.

The repairs are now complete, but the fertilizer pellets go straight to the Waimanalo Gulch landfill because the state Health Department has yet to sign off on Synagro's marketing plan. The company hopes to win approval within months.

"Everything is working as designed," said city environmental services director Eric Takamura. "We just need to see how the pellets can be marketed."

The material may eventually be used in city parks and golf courses, but there are no immediate plans to do so, he said.

"In parks, we don't want to use it where there's a lot of human contact," he said. "We want to ensure we address all public health concerns."

Similar products long have been used in agriculture here and on the Mainland, but the production facility is the first of its kind in Hawai'i.

Synagro construction manager Kirk Lucas said the specific cause of the fire had not been determined, but that insurance would pay for the damage.

"We made some changes to make sure it doesn't happen again," he said.

They include extra safety checks and a computer system that will issue alerts if sensors detect trouble, Lucas said.

The facility is expected to produce about 6,000 dry tons of pellets per year. It was originally to be completed by mid-2004 to help comply with a federal consent decree that requires the city to recycle some of its sewage sludge.

But the project, which includes an egg-shaped "digester" that is 108 feet high, was significantly delayed by community opposition and City Council concerns.

Rodney Kim, executive director of the Sand Island Business Association, was among the most vocal opponents. Yesterday, he said he hopes the facility will be productive — since the city spent nearly $40 million on it — but is eager to see what the Health Department determines.

The disinfection facility was scheduled to be completed in July 2002 at a cost of under $60 million, but work was delayed by design changes and construction problems that increased the cost to $100 million.

Officials have been conducting a series of preliminary tests before committing to continuous operations that will be closely monitored for at least one year to prove the facility is effective.

The city is working with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to schedule the trial period, which could begin before the end of the year, he said.

"Right now, we've got it to work like we thought it was going to work," Takamura said. "Now, all we have to do is operate it and maintain it so it consistently works on a continual basis."

Reach Johnny Brannon at jbrannon@honoluluadvertiser.com.