Question: I was wondering what the plans are regarding the disposal of sediment and debris from the Ala Wai Canal dredging? Where will they be taking all that after it is dredged?
Q: Where will the 186,000 cubic yards of silt and sediment be dumped? On island? Out to sea?
Answer: At sea. “The dredged material is suitable for ocean disposal at an Environmental Protection Agency-approved site — the South Oahu Ocean Dredged Material Disposal Site,” according to the state Department of Land and Natural Resources’ latest announcement about the Ala Wai Canal dredging project, which is beginning this month.
The South Oahu disposal site, which is about four miles offshore from Pearl Harbor, is one of five EPA- approved ocean disposal sites for dredged material from Hawaii. The others are off Hilo, Kahului, Nawiliwili and Port Allen. The South Oahu site is the most heavily used, receiving material dredged from Pearl Harbor, Honolulu Harbor and other projects.
“As with all of EPA’s other dredged material disposal sites, only projects having clean (nontoxic) dredged material are eligible for ocean disposal, and only when project-specific alternatives (including beneficial reuse) are not practicable,” according to the EPA.
Monitoring reports describe the South Oahu site as occupying an area of about 2 square miles on the ocean floor, in water ranging from about 1,300 to 1,650 feet deep. You can read more at 808ne.ws/smmp or 808ne.ws/monrep.
As your questions indicated, the DLNR expects the Ala Wai Canal dredging to remove 186,000 cubic yards of material from depths of 6 to 8 feet. The project also will remove outdated Hawaiian Electric cables and repair two sections of canal wall. The wall repairs are scheduled first, with the actual dredging expected to begin in December. Read more at 808ne.ws/dredge.
Q: I think this is a scam but I don’t know what to do other than hang up. Have others been calling about this? Here’s what happened: I got a threatening call saying I had to pay a fine because I didn’t show up for jury duty. But I didn’t even get a juror letter in the mail.
A: This is a scam, and you did the right thing by hanging up or not returning the call (sometimes the threat is left as a voicemail). We’ve received similar complaints over the years, but none in the past few months. The U.S. District Court of Hawaii discusses this scam on its website. Here’s a summary:
District courts have reported citizens receiving phone calls (or emails) from scammers falsely claiming to be with law enforcement. The caller provides a badge number and sometimes a phone number, purportedly for verification purposes. The caller claims the person failed to appear for jury duty and will be arrested unless they pay a fine, which the caller (or voicemail) instructs the person how to pay.
Genuine federal law enforcement and court staff will never do this. They don’t initiate phone calls or emails requesting personal information such as Social Security numbers, mothers’ maiden names, credit card numbers, bank account numbers, etc. If you receive this type of email or phone call, hang up. Do not give out any information. Call the FBI at 566-4300 in Honolulu to report the scam attempt.
The valid process for following up with people who fail to appear for jury duty is that they would receive a letter in the mail containing instructions from the court.
Mahalo
Mahalo to the gentleman customer at City Mill Pearl City on Oct. 9. He helped us find the right bolt, washer and nut to fix a walker and made sure they were nice and tight before we left. — Two grateful senior citizens
Write to Kokua Line at Honolulu Star-Advertiser, 7 Waterfront Plaza, Suite 210, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., Honolulu 96813; call 529-4773; fax 529-4750; or email kokualine@staradvertiser.com.
