January 2009
U.S. Water News Online
HONOLULU — Honolulu must upgrade its two largest sewage treatment plants because they fail to protect marine and human life near where they empty into the ocean and because they violate federal water quality standards, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said.
The decision could be expensive for the city and lead to a hike in sewage fees.
Mayor Mufi Hannemann said it would cost the city about $1.2 billion to fix the Sand Island and Ewa Beach plants as the agency demands, forcing the city to hike residential sewer fees. He didn't say how high sewer rates would go, but two years ago Hannemann said they could hit $300 a month within 20 years.
Hannemann said the city had hoped the agency would rule differently because local scientists and engineers submitted overwhelming evidence the upgrades weren't necessary or beneficial.
The mayor said the city would likely seek a review as allowed for under EPA regulations. Hannemann said he would prefer to spend the city's money repairing and upgrading sewer pipes feeding into treatment plants.
The agency has been giving the city exemptions from Clean Water Act requirements for the operation of these two plants. But it now says the plants don't meet the conditions needed exemptions to continue.
Wayne Nastri, EPA's Pacific Southwest region administrator, said the agency will work with the city to develop a realistic schedule for upgrading the treatment plants.
“This action will ensure that residents and visitors using Hawaii's ocean waters are protected from inadequately treated sewage,” Nastri said in a statement.
Honolulu has had difficulty with its sewage infrastructure in recent years.
A 40-year-old Waikiki sewer pipe ruptured in March 2006 after heavy rain flooded the city's aging sewer system, sending 48 million gallons of raw sewage into the Ala Wai Canal and the Pacific Ocean.
After that incident, the city agreed to install a permanent replacement for the broken pipe by 2012. The EPA may fine the city as much as $3,000 per day if it doesn't finish the work by the deadline.
In 1998, the city settled a lawsuit filed by the EPA and the state Department of Health regarding wastewater treatment system spills on Oahu.
The agency said the city's Sand Island and Honouliuli Wastewater Treatment plants would need to start putting sewage through a secondary as well as a primary treatment process.
When carrying out primary treatment, plants generally sift out large floating objects like rags and sticks. They also remove sand, small stones and other grit. The plants then allow wastewater to settle and remove solids that collect, the agency said.
During the secondary step, plants remove organic matter before releasing the treated liquid.
The agency said the Clean Water Act requires city wastewater treatment plants to use both primary and secondary treatments. Some exceptions are allowed when the product is released into the ocean, so long as the plant meets water quality standards.
The EPA said Honolulu was failing to meet those standards.
Most coastal cities that have been exempted from using secondary treatment processes have since upgraded their treatment plants so they now comply with the Clean Water Act without exceptions, the agency said.
Rob Harris, the Sierra Club Hawaii's director, said the agency's move was in the best interest of public health and safety.
“It makes sense considering how much people in Hawaii use the ocean for recreation and subsistence,” Harris said.