Permit violations being issued in illegal sludge dumping in Waianae

WAIANAE, OAHU (HawaiiNewsNow) At least two agencies that issued permits connected to a dredging project at the Hawaii Kai Marina say misrepresentations and violations occurred when silt from the marina was illegally dumped in Waianae.

The state Department of Land and Natural Resources had issued a conditional use permit to allow the dredging in a conservation area. DLNR chair William Aila said he sent a letter to the Hawaii Kai Marina Community Association Wednesday.

"The action that they took, which was to dispose of the spoils in an area that was not in the permit, is a violation," Aila told a special meeting of the Waianae Coast Neighborhood Board Wednesday night. The sludge was supposed to be disposed of at five sites in the Hawaii Kai area.

He added that if the violations were to continue, the DLNR would pull the permit.

Board chair Johnnie Mae Perry called the meeting, continuing the board's tactic of asking residents to pressure government agencies and companies involved in the dumping.

"We have a city landfill. We have private landfills. So maybe the attitude of the general public is, it's okay, because we're already sharing the burden for the entire island," said Perry. "And I think that's not okay."

Area state Rep. Jo  Jordan and Sen. Maile Shimabukuro also attended the meeting. Shimabukuro said the Army Corps of Engineers has also found that the Marina Association was not in compliance with the conditions of their permit.

The Corps had been conducting an investigation of the association and the contractors involved in the dredging. However, the investigation was suspended during the Federal government shutdown.

Shimabukuro and other residents also blasted a study conducted by a private company, EKNA Services, to American Marine Corporation, which was hired to do the dredging. The study hinted at a way to dump in Waianae.

The June 14 study said:

In order to use the dredged material as beneficial reuse fill material at a 20-acre farm in Wainae (sic), it will be necessary to characterize the dredged material by sampling and to provide a characterization verifying that there are no environmental concerns with respect to using the material on the farm.

"I don't see five sites. I only see Waianae," said resident Alice Greenwood.

The city earlier issued a notice of violation against SER Trucking for illegally dumping the sludge in Waianae, and ordered a halt to the dumping.