Posted October 7, 2013
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and
Hawaii’s state Department of Health will both investigate a spill of 1,400 tons
of molasses in the Honolulu Harbor, according to Audrey McAvoy of the
Associated Press in an article available here.
EPA spokesman, Dean Higuchi, said that investigators
will determine whether there were any violations of the Clean Water Act.
Keith Kawaoka, with the state Department of Health’s
hazard evaluation and emergency response office, said it will investigate who
was responsible.
In early September, up to 233,000 gallons of molasses
dripped into the harbor from a pipe belonging to Matson Navigation Co., a
shipping company. That volume is
equivalent to what would fill about seven rail cars or about one-third of an Olympic-sized
swimming pool. The spill caused
extensive damage, killing more than 26,000 fish and other marine species.
Matson said that the spill came from a section of the
pipe it thought had been sealed.
The state Department of Transportation “disclosed that
state inspectors saw molasses dripping from the same spot on two occasions last
year.” In July of 2012, inspectors saw
the leak while looking for storm water discharge, notified Matson and asked
them to repair the leak. In May, a
separate state crew noticed molasses dripping, but did not tell Matson about
the second incident.
The government shutdown has made the situation more complicated
since 93 percent of EPA employees are not at work, according to a Huffington
Post article, available here. Gary Gill, deputy director for environmental
health at the Hawaii Department of Health said “These investigations take time,
so it would be a delay obviously if we don’t have our partners to work with.”
Members of the Hawaii Legislature are expected to hold
hearings in the coming days on the possible failings by both Matson and the state
agencies which oversee the harbor.
Hawaii’s Department of Transportation, which has a “history
of running afoul of the Clean Water Act, is expected to shoulder the brunt of
criticism because it is in charge if the harbor.” In 2009, the DOT was fined $100,000 by the
EPA for lax oversight of pollution into coastal water at the Honolulu and
Kalealoa Barbers Point Harbors. In 2005,
the DOT was also fined
$1 million and required to invest $50 million to control storm water runoff
from its highways and airports.
Jeff Hull, spokesman for Matson, said, “We are working
with all the agencies and providing any information they need.”
For more information on the Clean Water Act, please visit the National Agricultural Law Center's website, here.
