EPA sues city over dump’s gas output

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is suing the city and Waste Management of Hawaii Inc., the operator of the Waimanalo Gulch Sanitary Landfill in Leeward Oahu, over gas emissions.

The lawsuit, filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court, claims the city and the operator failed to install a gas collection and control system at the landfill when they were supposed to, and that the system that was installed in 2005 failed to comply with national standards.

The EPA is asking the court to order the defendants to comply with federal clean-air laws and regulations and to impose civil penalties until they do. Maximum penalties are $27,500 per day for each violation that occurred on or before March 15, 2004, $32,500 per day for each violation through January 2009, and $37,500 per day for each violation after that.

City Environmental Services Director Lori Kahikina said the city and Waste Management of Hawaii have already addressed the issues raised by the EPA under the terms of a consent decree.

"The alleged violations resolved by this consent decree were operational deficiencies for which Waste Management of Hawaii Inc. has taken full responsibility," Kahikina said in a written statement. "The company, which replaced its leadership team at the facility after the discovery of the alleged violations, will be solely responsible for paying the $1.1 million required by the consent decree."

She said, "The city will not pay any part of this penalty."

Representatives of Texas-based Waste Management Inc. could not be reached for comment.

The company operates the 116-acre city-owned landfill under contract. It is within approximately 1,000 feet of Ko Olina Resort and 1,600 feet of residences.

Area residents have been complaining about odors from the landfill for years and have demanded it be shut down. The Ko Olina Community Association has tried unsuccessfully through several avenues to shut it down as the city has continued to extend its life.

In January 2011, heavy rain washed material, including medical waste, from the landfill into the ocean near Kahe Point and Ko Olina.

"So it’s not just what we’re eating or where we’re playing, it’s in what we’re breathing," said Maeda Timson, former Makakilo/Kapolei/ Honokai Hale Neighborhood Board chairwoman, "Pretty soon we’re all going to turn green. And still nothing happens."

At issue are so-called non-methane organic compounds, which the EPA says are present in household cleaning products, materials coated with or containing paints and adhesives, and other items.

The lawsuit says the city and Waste Management failed to submit a design or control plan for a gas collection and control system to the EPA by April 14, 2001, as required by federal regulations, failed to award contracts for construction or installation of such a system by Sept. 6, 2001, failed to start construction by Jan. 18, 2002, and failed to install and operate such a system by July 6, 2002.

The EPA claims that the system that started operation on Aug. 1, 2005, reported a maximum wellhead gas temperature of 188 degrees Fahrenheit. Federal regulation requires the landfill gas temperature of each interior wellhead to be less than 131 degrees Fahrenheit.

Contacted by the Star-Advertiser Wednesday night, a spokeswoman for the Ko Olina Community Association said the group had not seen the lawsuit.

"However, as evidenced by their numerous filings over the past decade, we’ve had grave concerns about the potential health hazards associated with landfills," spokeswoman Sweetie Nelson said.

"We are working closely with Mayor (Kirk) Caldwell and the current administration to find alternative means to dispose of the island’s trash and eliminate the need for any landfill in the future," she said. "Our team will be reviewing the recently filed legal docs immediately."

———

Star-Advertiser reporter Gordon Y.K. Pang contributed to this report.