Complaints lead to quieting of landfill’s nighttime work

Question: There have been heavy equipment operations going on 24/7 at the Waimanalo Gulch Landfill for the past several weeks. Don’t they have to adhere to normal construction hours, that is, 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday to Friday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday? The nightly noise they generate is significant, especially with the reverse beeping of the construction vehicles.

Answer: You should be getting some noise relief in about a week.

We’re told that night excavation work at the city’s Waimanalo Gulch Sanitary Landfill in Kapolei has been going on since 2010, after expansion into a new area.

However, work recently moved to the front portion of the landfill, which would account for the more noticeable sounds.

Based on your concerns, steps will be taken to reduce the noise, Markus Owens, spokesman for the city Department of Environmental Services, said last week.

He explained that the Occupational Safety and Health Administration requires warning backup sirens on construction vehicles for safety.

However, the city, Waste Management of Hawaii, which manages and operates the landfill, and the construction contractor "are considering ways to reduce the noise, potentially rescheduling the stockpiling to daytime hours or using ‘spotters’ to assist the trucks when backing up, while continuing night work in the back portion of the landfill," he said.

When we contacted the state Department of Health to ask whether any noise permit was required because of the night work, it had already received a complaint about the noise.

It then contacted the general manager of the landfill.

"They have agreed to cease the night portion of their operations until they can put a toggle switch for their equipment with back-up alarms," James Toma, supervisor of the noise section for the department’s Indoor and Radiological Health Branch, told us Friday.

"Once they are installed, they can switch the back-up alarms off from 6 p.m. and use flag men," he said.

The installation should be done in about a week.

Earlier, Jeffrey Eckerd, program manager for the Indoor and Radiological Health Branch, explained that "in general, contractors or landowners will file for a noise permit for construction activities in order to exceed the maximum permissible sound levels for their specific zoning district," as specified in the Health Department’s Hawaii Administrative Rules, Chapter 11-46.

The landfill, at 92-460 Farrington Highway in Kapolei, is in an area zoned Agriculture-2, which allows noise up to 70 dBA (decibels adjusted) at or beyond the property line, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, he said.

What’s Going On

The work involves excavating areas for trash disposal "cells," and the excavated material is being stockpiled for crushing and used as cover material during the course of filling the cells, Owens explained.

Owens said excavation in the back is to take more than a year, while the stockpiling in the front is to last another five to six weeks, "after which, all work will be done in the back of the landfill," he said.

The landfill takes in about 400,000 tons of waste a year. See www.keepinghawaiiclean.com/waimanalo.htm for more information.

Mahalo

To JTK at the state Department of Health, who helped me get copies of my marriage and birth certificates. I got in line at 9:28 in the morning with about 40 people ahead of me. Out of three windows, only two were open. But people in line were very nice and chatted to pass the time. I did not have the proper information and dates, and JTKhelped me through the process. Mahalo to him and his co-worker for their efficiency and patience! I received both copies eight days later. — F.E. Ige

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