Thursday, November 21, 2024
Hawai'i Free Press

Current Articles | Archives

Monday, January 26, 2015
$100M Penalty? Federal Court Again Finds Maui County in Violation of Clean Water Act
By News Release @ 7:42 PM :: 6326 Views :: Maui County, Environment

Federal Court Again Finds Maui County in Violation of Clean Water Act

All injection wells at Lahaina wastewater facility pollute offshore waters

News Release from EarthJustice, January 26, 2015

Honolulu, HI — For the second time in less than a year, a federal court has ruled that Maui County is illegally discharging wastewater in violation of the federal Clean Water Act. At issue are the millions of gallons of wastewater injected each day into wells at the Lahaina Wastewater Reclamation Facility that pollute the popular Kahekili Beach Park in West Maui, killing the coral reef and triggering outbreaks of invasive algae.

In May 2014, Judge Susan Oki Mollway found that Maui County's unpermitted discharges into 2 of 4 injection wells at the Lahaina facility violate the Clean Water Act.  Last Friday, Judge Mollway ruled that discharges into the remaining two injection wells are likewise illegal. The Court’s ruling means that, each day the County uses the facility, it commits multiple violations of the Act, subjecting the County to civil penalties of up to $37,500 per day, per violation.

Read the decision here: http://earthjustice.org/documents/legal-document/maui-wastewater-decision-1-23-15

The court will impose civil penalties for the County’s violations following a trial set for August 11, 2015.  Maximum penalties in this case already exceed $100 million, and the meter is ticking at a rate of over $100,000 per day.

“This environmental disaster has been going on for over 30 years,” said David Henkin of Earthjustice who represents a coalition of groups in court.  “This latest decision is a wake up call for the County to stop using the ocean as a sewer and finally fix this problem.  The County can and should re-use the millions of gallons of wastewater from the Lahaina facility to meet the needs of golf courses, resorts, and other developments, not dump them onto fragile reefs.”

Background:

After years of unsuccessful attempts to resolve the issue out of court, in 2012, four Maui community groups—Hawaiʻi Wildlife Fund, Surfrider Foundation, West Maui Preservation Association, and Sierra Club-Maui Group—filed suit to force Maui County to secure a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit, which would set limits on the pollutants that can be discharged from the wells.

In her May 2014 decision, Judge Mollway found that wastewater-laden groundwater entering the ocean at Kahekili “significantly affects the physical, chemical and biological integrity of the receiving waters.”  Evidence presented to the court establishes that the addition of nutrients from the County’s facility accelerates the growth of fleshy seaweed and algae, which can compete with, outgrow, and kill coral.   Long-term, independent monitoring at Kahekili has documented algal blooms and an associated decline in coral cover from 55% to 33% between 1994 and 2006.

Links

TEXT "follow HawaiiFreePress" to 40404

Register to Vote

2aHawaii

Aloha Pregnancy Care Center

AntiPlanner

Antonio Gramsci Reading List

A Place for Women in Waipio

Ballotpedia Hawaii

Broken Trust

Build More Hawaiian Homes Working Group

Christian Homeschoolers of Hawaii

Cliff Slater's Second Opinion

DVids Hawaii

FIRE

Fix Oahu!

Frontline: The Fixers

Genetic Literacy Project

Grassroot Institute

Habele.org

Hawaii Aquarium Fish Report

Hawaii Aviation Preservation Society

Hawaii Catholic TV

Hawaii Christian Coalition

Hawaii Cigar Association

Hawaii ConCon Info

Hawaii Debt Clock

Hawaii Defense Foundation

Hawaii Family Forum

Hawaii Farmers and Ranchers United

Hawaii Farmer's Daughter

Hawaii Federation of Republican Women

Hawaii History Blog

Hawaii Jihadi Trial

Hawaii Legal News

Hawaii Legal Short-Term Rental Alliance

Hawaii Matters

Hawaii Military History

Hawaii's Partnership for Appropriate & Compassionate Care

Hawaii Public Charter School Network

Hawaii Rifle Association

Hawaii Shippers Council

Hawaii Together

HiFiCo

Hiram Fong Papers

Homeschool Legal Defense Hawaii

Honolulu Navy League

Honolulu Traffic

House Minority Blog

Imua TMT

Inouye-Kwock, NYT 1992

Inside the Nature Conservancy

Inverse Condemnation

July 4 in Hawaii

Land and Power in Hawaii

Lessons in Firearm Education

Lingle Years

Managed Care Matters -- Hawaii

MentalIllnessPolicy.org

Missile Defense Advocacy

MIS Veterans Hawaii

NAMI Hawaii

Natatorium.org

National Parents Org Hawaii

NFIB Hawaii News

NRA-ILA Hawaii

Obookiah

OHA Lies

Opt Out Today

Patients Rights Council Hawaii

Practical Policy Institute of Hawaii

Pritchett Cartoons

Pro-GMO Hawaii

RailRipoff.com

Rental by Owner Awareness Assn

Research Institute for Hawaii USA

Rick Hamada Show

RJ Rummel

School Choice in Hawaii

SenatorFong.com

Talking Tax

Tax Foundation of Hawaii

The Real Hanabusa

Time Out Honolulu

Trustee Akina KWO Columns

Waagey.org

West Maui Taxpayers Association

What Natalie Thinks

Whole Life Hawaii