Matson has pleaded guilty to federal criminal charges tied to last year’s disastrous 233,000-gallon molasses spill in Honolulu Harbor, but a federal judge won’t yet approve the shipping company’s $1 million plea agreement until he’s certain that it is legal.
Matson Director and Vice President Peter Heilmann pleaded guilty on behalf of the company Friday in U.S. District Court to two misdemeanor violations of the Rivers and Harbors Act — one charge for each day that molasses leaked into the harbor. Each charge carries a maximum $200,000 fine for a total of $400,000.
Under its plea deal with the U.S. attorneys, Matson would pay that maximum penalty plus $600,000 in community service payments to one or more local groups. U.S. Magistrate Judge Richard Puglisi accepted Heilmann’s plea Friday but then expressed concerns about the deal. Such community service payments are allowed as a condition of probation, but Matson hasn’t agreed to any probation, Puglisi said.
Puglisi also wants to make sure that the community service payments aren’t being used as an attempt to increase the maximum authorized fine that Matson could face, he said.
He requested a court "pre-sentencing" report analyzing the matter, and the parties will revisit the plea deal at a hearing scheduled for Jan. 29. In the meantime, Puglisi’s reservations over the Matson plea deal leave question of whether the company eventually will have to pay the $600,000 for community service.
Lisa Munger, an attorney for Matson, declined to comment Friday, citing the unresolved legal matter.
Matson officials reported the molasses leak Sept. 9, 2013, as the syrupy substance leaked from a corroded faulty pipe below Pier 52. The leak persisted through the next day before workers were able to stop it. The disaster killed at least 26,000 fish on the surface waters of the harbor and Keehi Lagoon and significant numbers of coral heads, which researchers said had flourished in those waters despite the area’s industrial use.
The company, which had pumped molasses from storage facilities on Sand Island onto ships bound for the mainland for refining, halted operation of its molasses pipeline following the spill.
According to the company’s past four quarterly financial reports, Matson Inc. has already spent $5.2 million for cleanup, legal expenses and third-party claims stemming from the molasses spill.
It still faces possible civil claims from the Environmental Protection Agency and the state of Hawaii for damage caused by the spill.
"The attorney general is thoroughly evaluating all claims against Matson for damages from the molasses spill," James Walther, deputy attorney general for the Health and Human Services Division, said in an email Wednesday. "The state has hired expert consultants who continue to analyze the data to determine the full value of the environmental damage. While there has been significant progress, no estimate is available at this time."
Nearly two weeks after the 2013 spill, state transportation officials disclosed that their workers had twice seen molasses leaking from the pipe, but they failed to notify Matson on one of those occasions.
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Star-Advertiser reporter Nelson Daranciang contributed to this report.
