KEKAHA — A Kekaha community group announced Tuesday that it has filed complaints with the Department of Health and the Environmental Protection Agency against an energy developer for its lack of transparency in plans to remove toxic substances from the
KEKAHA — A Kekaha community group announced Tuesday that it has filed complaints with the Department of Health and the Environmental Protection Agency against an energy developer for its lack of transparency in plans to remove toxic substances from the site of an old sugar mill.
“We refuse to accept secrecy about toxins in Kekaha and the Westside,” said Mary Jean Buza-Sims, president of E Ola Mau Na Leo O Kekaha, a 40-member community organization. “We are requesting information on what kinds of toxins and hazardous materials are there, what’s the process for their removal, and what can the community do to protect itself … People are complaining about sore throats and burning eyes.”
In preparation to convert Kekaha Sugar Mill into a biomass energy production facility, Pacific West Energy Kaua‘i announced in January that cleanup operations had begun, including the abatement of asbestos and the removal of scrap materials.
The sugar mill, centrally located in Kekaha and in close proximity to residences and schools, ceased operations nearly a decade ago and had become a dumping ground for old cars, batteries and hazardous materials.
The building and associated 23 acres of industrial-zoned land are now owned by Kekaha Land and Mill, an affiliate of Pacific West Energy, according to a flyer. However, William Maloney, president and CEO of Pacific West, said his company is not the owner of the mill or the site, it is not involved in the cleanup of the scrap materials, and it is not the company contracting for the planned asbestos remediation and abatement.
“The parties that are involved explained to community leaders at the January meeting of E Ola Mau Na Leo O Kekaha that they would be cleaning up the site, removing scrap and other old equipment, and then commencing the remediation and abatement of asbestos at the site — and that they would update the community on activities,” Maloney said in a prepared statement. “There has not been or will there be any attempt to keep anything secret or to hide any information regarding toxins or hazardous materials at the Kekaha mill site.”
Meetings with local community leaders were held regarding its planned project, Maloney said, which is to develop a 20-megawatt biomass power plant at the former Kekaha mill site when the cleanup and asbestos remediation work is completed. The energy would then be sold to Kaua‘i Island Utility Cooperative through a power-purchase agreement.
“At public meetings PacWest and the companies involved have invited community leaders to tour the site, to inspect the current activities and understand planned future activities,” he said.
Buza-Sims tells a different story.
“We have not been informed at all,” she said. “There are no signs on the fences about what they’re doing, and we’ve been trying to get information. We’ve seen no warning to the community. We’re worried that workers aren’t wearing any protecting gear. They’re not disclosing what they’re doing. We want some transparency.”
Scott Matsuura of Kekaha Land and Mill and consultant for Pacific West Energy said, “We have provided them with numerous reports and had meetings with them. I don’t know what their expectations are.”
He said Kaua‘i Industries has been clearing the site of scrap and junk. The asbestos remediation and abatement process, expected to last nine months, has not begun yet. For now, “there are specific areas where the asbestos is marked off in yellow tape, so people don’t go there.”
When the process begins, the mill will be completely sealed off and proper precautions taken, Matsuura said, including sealing off the building to prevent area contamination.
According to the concerned community group’s press release, Pacific West and the sugar mill owners failed to adequately disclose to the community and to regulators the levels of toxic materials at the site, and that DOH complaints state that the energy developer, without adequate public warning or regulatory permissions, has been dismantling, hauling and disposing hazardous materials and “disturbing toxic airborne particulates that threaten the lives of Kekaha residents.
“Asbestos and lead are among the many contaminants known to exist at this site, though the extent of their levels remains undisclosed,” the release states. “Residents and pedestrians have noticed an astringent, metallic smell emanating from all sides of the toxic site, especially during high wind periods … Kekaha community leaders are demanding that a more careful and publicly accountable assessment of the levels of toxic and hazardous materials, especially asbestos and lead, be made before any further work is done at the site.”
The Pacific West statement responded, saying: “ … we are not disposing hazardous material-laden components; steel is primarily unpainted and lead was not identified as a concern; recent inspections have not identified loose or flaking lead-based painted items. No excavation of ground is or will be required for scrap removal. No excavation or other activity has been undertaken at the site that has disturbed or created hazardous airborne particulates.”
The engineering and environmental firm Integral Consulting has been retained to oversee and document compliance with the Environmental Protection Agency, state and county regulations for clean-up work, a Pacific West Energy project flyer states. Nuprecon, an environmental remediation firm headquartered in Seattle, Wash., has been contracted to handle the asbestos and other hazardous materials abatement.
The DOH had not responded by press time for comments and copies of the complaints.
Integral Consulting said to contact Nuprecon for comments on asbestos removal plans, but Nuprecon was closed for the business day at the time of publication.
