January Garbage Spill Was Second In A Month
02/02/2011
Hawaii Department of Health
Editor's note: Read a related story about developments at the landfill.
The landfill spill that sprinkled medical waste along the Leeward Coast in mid-January was the second unauthorized release of contaminated material into the ocean in three weeks — news that has only now come to light.
The revelation came at Wednesday's Land Use Commission meeting, where officials discussed a report produced by the Hawaii Department of Health after it inspected Waimanalo Gulch Landfill in late December. The report, obtained by Civil Beat, says the landfill operator violated the state's water pollution law by purposefully discharging leachate — water that has been mixed with garbage. The company, Waste Management, and the city of Honolulu could face penalties.
Asked why the report wasn't released until Wednesday, Deputy Health Director Gary Gill said, "It's not our practice to make investigation reports public unless somebody asks for it or unless it becomes a product of an enforcement case."
