EPA urges Honolulu to settle stormwater violations

The City and County of Honolulu and Waste Management have been issued an order by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to settle stormwater violations at the Waimanalo Gulch Sanitary Landfill on Oahu, Hawaii.

EPA conducted an ongoing review of operations at the Waimanalo Gulch Sanitary Landfill and noticed clean water act violations.

The agency’s review of operations also revealed the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit regulating stormwater discharges from the landfill.

The City and County of Honolulu and Waste Management failed to comply with the requirements of the state of Hawaii’s NPDES stormwater general permit on at least three occasions associated with storm events in December 2010 and January 2011.

Waste Management, the contractor operating the landfill for the City and County of Honolulu, failed to prevent runoff of surface water that had come into contact with waste or control erosion to prevent loss of landfill cover or washout refuse slopes.

The company failed to retain and remove silt from surface water before it was discharged from the site.

EPA Pacific Southwest Regional Administrator Jared Blumenfeld said the order requires the City and County of Honolulu and Waste Management to quickly complete work on stormwater protections at the landfill.

"We will be closely monitoring the work so runoff from future storms is properly controlled and residents’ health and Oahu’s coastal waters are protected," Blumenfeld said.

Under the terms of EPA’s order, Waste Management has agreed to complete a project to separate stormwater generated outside of the landfill from stormwater generated at the landfill.

After completion, the company will submit to EPA for review and approve a study to evaluate the adequacy of the landfill’s stormwater detention basin pond and an enhanced stormwater monitoring plan, as well as submit monthly monitoring reports.

In December 2010 and January 2011, rains caused flooding at the landfill with stormwater, causing waste to be released.