The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency yesterday announced a settlement in which Waste Management of Hawaii Inc. and Hawai'i County will pay $33,500 in fines and at least $184,400 for an environmental project for allegedly violating the Clean Air Act at the West Hawai'i Landfill.

The supplemental environmental project will address the ongoing smoldering conditions at the closed Kona landfill by heat mapping the site for a future landfill-wide fire suppression program. The project will also test the effectiveness of techniques using fire-retardant foam that could be used for fire suppression at the Kona site. Finally, air monitoring will be done around the site to assess potential impacts from the smoldering landfill, the news release said.

The EPA said that since 2001, Waste Management and Hawai'i County have violated air testing and monitoring reporting requirements for hazardous air pollutants and volatile organics at the West Hawai'i landfill.