Question: In August 2013 the Hawaii Kai Marina Community Association contractor dumped a load of dredge material on H-1, closing the westbound freeway for hours. It was learned that dredge material was illegally being dumped in Waianae in violation of state and federal permits. Was anyone ever fined?
Answer: The Waianae landowner hired by the association’s dredging contractor, American Marine Corp., to dispose of the material has been the only one fined in this case.
Sandra Silva of SER Silva Equipment faces more than $50,000 in fines, accruing daily, for failing to obtain a grading permit for dredged material dumped on her property at 85-1383-C Waianae Valley Road, said Art Challacombe, deputy director of the city Department of Planning and Permitting. The matter has been referred to the city corporation counsel.
The state Department of Land and Natural Resources and Department of Health have not imposed any penalties in this case. Neither has the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
After investigating, "We ultimately determined that assessment of a penalty under the Clean Water Act was not warranted and that no further enforcement action was necessary," said Joseph Bonfiglio, the corps’ chief of public affairs.
The Hawaii Kai Marina Community Association, which has not been cited by any agency in this matter, is looking at a location in Kahuku as an alternate disposal site, said marina manager Beverly Liddle.
The contractor is working to obtain the required permits, she said.
According to Challacombe, a complaint about possible illegal dumping on Silva’s property had been made before the H-1 spill of material being transported from Hawaii Kai to Waianae. The Aug. 31, 2013, incident on the freeway caused a massive traffic jam.
On Aug. 20, 2013, someone complained that gray sludge was being disposed of on Silva’s property, he said. A department inspector determined that about 312 cubic yards of earthen material was trucked in and used as fill without a grading permit.
On Sept. 6, 2013, the department issued a notice of violation to Silva and lessees Xian Xing and Fanny Huang for grading without a permit.
They were ordered to stop the illegal activity, stabilize the site, protect abutting properties and obtain a grading permit. Silva was given until Oct. 7, 2013, to correct the violation.
One extension was granted to Silva, but the violation was not corrected, so a notice of order was issued Nov. 14, 2013, Challacombe said. (A notice of order is issued when a violation is not corrected and leads to a fine.)
Silva was fined $150 and warned that if the violation was not corrected by Dec. 16, 2013, daily fines of $150 would be assessed, he said.
Silva paid the initial $150 fine but has not corrected the violation, and daily fines totaled $52,800 as of Thursday.
Challacombe said the matter was referred to the corporation counsel for further action. The city has the authority to place a lien on the property as well as take foreclosure action, he said.
Separately, the department also issued a notice of violation to Silva on Sept. 23, 2013, for an illegal trucking business being operated on property that is zoned for agriculture. Silva was fined $550.
Daily fines of $550 for that violation began Oct. 18, 2013, Challacombe said. The violation was corrected Oct. 31, 2013, and the initial $550 fine was paid Nov. 12, 2013.
Daily fines that totaled $6,600 then were reduced to $1,650 on Dec. 19, 2013. However, that fine was not paid, and the matter also was referred to corporation counsel to obtain the full amount of $6,600, Challacombe said.
Mahalo
To Alan Leong, senior customer field investigator with Hawaiian Electric Co. He was in his HECO vehicle when he saw I had a flat tire on Kalaheo Avenue. He took my spare tire to an auto body shop to put air in it, then came back and changed my tire. It was a lovely gesture of the aloha spirit. — Pat in Kailua
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