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Kokua Line
Craig Gima
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FL MORRIS / FMORRIS@STARBULLETIN.COM
Some of the trucks driving down Coral Sea Road are delivering stones for Haseko's Hoakalei Marina project.
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Down in the dumps
The heavy trucks roll day and night to unload boulders near White Sands Beach and are disturbing Kalaeloa residents
Question:
Residents in Kalaeloa have been complaining about heavy trucks carrying boulders day and night. The noise disrupts everyone's sleeping patterns and it goes on all night and into the morning. The trucks are prominently marked "Richard Lee." I took a drive to see where the trucks were bringing the boulders and found they were being dumped in huge piles near White Plains Beach. What's going on and is this action authorized?
Answer: Richard Lee Trucking told us they are under contract to Haseko.
Haseko Vice President Sharlene Saito Tam confirmed that some of the trucks traveling on Coral Sea Road are delivering stones for Haseko's Hoakalei Marina project.
The trucks are taking stones from Barbers Point to the project site on the east end of Kalaeloa.
Saito Tam said the final shipments should have been completed yesterday. The deliveries started on Aug. 18.
The stones were delivered at night and during the day to shorten the overall duration of the trucking, Saito Tam said.
Saito Tam said all state and city laws and regulations are being followed. Haseko also hired patrols to monitor their trucks to make sure they aren't speeding or making excess noise and held briefings with drivers to remind them to be sensitive to the community.
Haseko worked with the Hawaii Community Development Authority about the deliveries and explored alternative routes to minimize the impact on traffic and residents.
HCDA spokesman Craig Nakamoto said the state agency discussed the impact of the deliveries with informal community focus groups, but did not issue a widespread alert to the community.
The route the company chose had the least community impact, Saito Tam said.
"Haseko understands the additional traffic is an annoyance to some people along the route. We thank the residents for their understanding during this temporary inconvenience," she said.
Residents with concerns, questions or complaints about the project can still call Haseko's community relations office at 689-7772, ext. 237.
Saito Tam said they received one complaint about noise from the trucks.
The state departments of Health and Transportation say there are no state laws governing the amount of noise generated by commercial trucks or the hours they can operate.
Gareth Sakakida, the managing director of the Hawaii Transportation Association, said if people do have complaints about noise or the hours of operation of a trucking company, they should call the general contractor of the project they are delivering to.
State Department of Health spokeswoman Janice Okubo said, in general the dumping of stones and clean fill materials are not regulated by the state. But an inspector was scheduled to go out to the site on Friday to make sure the company is following the law and not dumping other materials.
If you suspect illegal dumping is going on, you can call the Department of Health, Solid and Hazardous Waste Branch at 586-4226; the Department of the Attorney General, Investigations Office at 586-1240; the Oahu Environmental Concern Line at 768-3300; 911; or District Health Offices on the Neighbor Islands at 933-0401 in Hilo; 322-1507 in Kona, 241-3323 on Kauai; or 884-9230 on Maui.
Okubo said you should be as specific as possible with information on the date; time; names on the trucks; license plate numbers; location of the dumping activity; types of materials disposed; estimated quantity of waste; photos and other identifying marks or information.
June Watanabe is on vacation.
Got a question or complaint? Call 529-4773, fax 529-4750, or write to Kokua Line, Honolulu Star-Bulletin, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., No. 7-210, Honolulu 96813. As many as possible will be answered. E-mail to
kokualine@starbulletin.com.
See also: Useful phone numbers