Media release | Department of Health

HONOLULU — The Hawai‘i State Department of Health (DOH) Clean Air Branch has issued Notices of Violations and Orders against Hawaii Electric Light Company, Inc. and the City and County of Honolulu for air permit violations.

The DOH Clean Air Branch issues air permits to minimize air pollution impacts on the public. Through the permit process, the DOH ensures continuing compliance with applicable state and federal emission standards. In general, penalties are assessed on violators to remove any economic benefit they may have gained from their noncompliance and put them in a worse situation than those who comply with the law. Parties have the right to request a hearing to contest DOH orders.

The following companies were cited:

1. Hawaii Electric Light Company, Inc., (Keahole Generating Station) for combustion turbine generating unit CT-4 exceeding their 20% opacity limit on November 12, 2009. Combustion turbine generating unit CT-5 (CT-5) exceeded their 20% opacity limit on: August 16, 2009, September 22, 2009, October 11, 2009 and August 30, 2010. CT-5 also exceeded their 60% opacity limit on November 6, 2009 and June 15, 2010. Keahole Generating Station also failed to report within five working days the various opacity deviations.

Keahole Generating Station is an electric utility located on Queen Kaahumanu Highway, Kailua-Kona. The violations were discovered during a records review of Keahole Generating Station’s reports and notification letters. A penalty of $29,300 has been paid for the violations.

2. City and County of Honolulu, Sand Island (Synagro) for failing to operate continuously the waste gas burner for five days in calendar year 2010. The waste gas burner is fired on digester gas that is a byproduct from the process of making waste water sludge into fertilizer at the Sand Island Wastewater Treatment Plant (SIWWTP) in Honolulu. The violations were discovered during an August 17, 2010 annual inspection and subsequent record review of Synagro’s reports and notification letters. A penalty of $14,000 has been imposed for the violations.