Council won’t budge
on Sand Island sludgeA proposed plant is stalled in
discussions of the pros and cons
Permit approval for a $34 million egg-shaped sludge conversion plant planned for the Sand Island Wastewater Treatment facility will have to wait at least another month.
The City Council deferred until its next meeting a vote on the permit for the plant allowing the city to recycle 25,000 tons of sludge a year instead of trucking it to the Waimanalo Gulch Landfill.
For several hours yesterday, experts on both sides debated whether the facility and the fertilizer pellets produced would be safe or pose a nuisance to surrounding communities.
Members of several community organizations and businesses, including the Kalihi-Palama and Salt Lake neighborhood boards, the Kalihi-Palama Community Council, Matson Navigation, EarthJustice, the International Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 142 and the Sand Island Business Association, oppose the project because of safety concerns.
The permit approval has been delayed several times to give Houston-based Synagro Technologies, the company contracted by the city to build the facility, more time to explain their plans to the community.
Councilman Romy Cachola, who represents the district the sewage treatment is in, said he would like the pellets tested to see if they are safe.
But Synagro representatives, who took out newspaper ads yesterday to urge approval, said their product and facilities have been proven safe.
"Enough is enough. It's time to move the project on," consultant Don Clegg said.