The Kaua‘i County Public Works Committee yesterday recommended the Public Works Department pay a Department of Health fine of $30,000 for not properly managing a residential oil recycling program at three county refuse stations between October and November of 2005.
The Kaua‘i County Public Works Committee yesterday recommended the Public Works Department pay a Department of Health fine of $30,000 for not properly managing a residential oil recycling program at three county refuse stations between October and November of 2005.
Had the state agency not found the problems during an inspection and the county had not taken corrective action, rain could have carried excess oil beyond a cement berm on which recyclable oil drums sat, seeped underground and polluted the ocean, according to Department of Health spokeswoman Grace Simmons.
If the county doesn’t pay this fine, the Environmental Protection Agency could impose much higher fines, committee members were told during a meeting yesterday at the Historic County Building.
The full council will take up the committee’s recommendation during an upcoming meeting.
Saying the violations were inexcusable, county engineer Donald Fujimoto took overall responsibility for the incident that led to the Department of Health’s action.
But council Chairman Kaipo Asing and Councilman Mel Rapozo wanted to know who was specifically responsible and whether anyone was disciplined.
“There was no suspension letter to somebody, no warning letter, no disciplinary action — nothing, and we pay a $30,000 fine?” Asing asked.
County solid waste spokesman Troy Tanigawa said he was not aware of anyone being reprimanded or disciplined.
Rapozo said he wasn’t advocating “firing anybody,” but wanted to make sure supervisors and employees in charge of the program “understand their jobs.”
While the violations left him embarrassed, Fujimoto said he has received pledges from employees that they will take steps to prevent reoccurrences.
Fujimoto said the violations are behind him, and he and his department are “moving forward.”
The county could have agreed to establish an environmental program, as suggested by the department, but the cost of doing that would have been far more than the fine, Fujimoto said.
The health department provides yearly funding for the recyclable oil program, while the county provides staff to implement and monitor the program.
Public Works also submits quarterly and yearly progress reports to the state agency.
The state agency discovered the problems during inspections of the Lihu‘e, Kapa‘a and Hanapepe refuse transfer stations in October 2005, Tanigawa said.
He reported that oil recycling drums had not been properly labeled, old oil had been deposited into drums not designated for such use and oil had seeped out of the tops of uncovered drums and onto cement berms.
Fujimoto said the lack of manpower also accounted for some of the shortcomings in the program, citing one instance where “a supervisor was overwhelmed and trying to do everything himself,” Fujimoto said.
Asing said problems cited by Tanigawa amounted to nothing more than “excuses for what wasn’t done” and that the situation left him frustrated.
Tanigawa said he, Fujimoto and the division in charge of the program “do take these fines seriously,” and Public Works has “taken steps to correct the problem.”
While the county may not have had enough employees for the work, Simmons said it didn’t respond immediately to state requests for action after the problems became known.
“There was a lot of oil in the berm areas, and after initially asking for a cleanup in September 2005, and when inspectors went (to refuse stations) a week later in October, they still observed the releases,” she said.
Fujimoto said he received a letter from the department about the mismanagement of the program in January 2006 and immediately took steps to clean up the oil.
A contractor Simmons said she couldn’t immediately identify was hired by the county for that work.
Two weeks after receiving the letter, Fujimoto said his department implemented corrective measures that resulted in the county being “in full compliance” with state requirements.
Tanigawa said the corrective measures that were taken included:
• Hiring new employees for programs to prevent oils spills.
• Holding training sessions to acquaint employees with Health Department requirements on the disposal of the oil.
• Having a program manager conduct inspections and to report to supervisors, and buying equipment to facilitate compliance with the DOH standards.
Implementation of such measures has brought the operation of the program to where the “transfer stations are 100 percent better than they were (previously),” Fujimoto said.
As part of the process, the state issued a formal complaint against the county in January of this year.
Fujimoto said the program works today because county employees have a “feeling they have direct control over the transfer station,” he said.
“We have taken steps to ensure accountability,” he said, as workers will now go through a checklist to ensure effective implementation.
Asing said that what Fujimoto predicted remains to be seen, as the current program is overstaffed and that there is not enough work to go around.
Asing also said the best way to encourage people to recycle oil is to have small recycling containers distributed at refuse stations. If the county doesn’t do that, he said it should not expect many people to participate in the program.
Tanigawa said the department would give that idea serious consideration to further diversify county recycling efforts.
