EPA fines state $157,000
for lack of oil spill plans

Violations are noted at three
airports and a DOT base yard

By Mary Adamski
madamski@starbulletin.com

The state Department of Transportation will pay $157,000 in fines to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for failure to have adequate plans to prevent and control oil spills at three airports.

The violations took place in 1999 and 2000 at Honolulu, Lihue and Kahului airports and at the state Highways Division base yard on Maui.

The state has since submitted plans for all four areas, according to an EPA announcement yesterday. The fines were agreed to in a consent decree between the federal agency and the state in settlement of citations.

The state Transportation Department pointed out that the citations did not involve actual oil spills. In a release to "clarify" points in the EPA announcement, the state said the citations were for "incomplete" plans for preventive measures. It said complete spill containment plans were submitted in 2002 and the state has been in compliance since then.

Besides the failure to have oil spill plans that were certified by a professional engineer, the EPA issued citations charging that the state:

» Failed to have adequate drainage controls to prevent discharges if a spill occurred during fuel transfers between tanker trucks and aircraft, or transfers from oil storage tanks to trucks.
» Failure to have adequate containment for small tanks and portable fuel truck parking areas.
» Failure to have drainage controls for undiked areas where oil operations are occurring.

"The Department of Transportation needs to fully implement oil spill prevention plans, drainage controls and secondary containment for fuel storage at all of its facilities," said Keith Takata, director of the EPA Pacific Southwest Region's Superfund Division. "This settlement will help ensure that these actions are taken."

EPA Pacific Southwest Region
www.epa.gov/region09/
State Department of Transportation
www.state.hi.us/dot/

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EPA fines state $157,000 for lack of oil spill plans

Violations are noted at three airports and a DOT base yard

EPA fines state $157,000
for lack of oil spill plans

Violations are noted at three
airports and a DOT base yard