Kokua Line
By June Watanabe
Tuesday, September 29, 1998
Kokua Line
There is a sewage treatment truck that parks every day and overnight on Moanalualani Place, the road that leads to Moanalua Village Apartments. Two or three times a week, it transfers sewage to another truck. It smells horrible and I've seen spillage. Isn't there a law against doing this on a public street near a residential neighborhood? Sewage truck can park
on the public streetsThere is no law against it, according to Noel Pfeiffer, source control specialist for the city's environmental quality regulatory control branch.
However, because of complaints such as yours, the grease trap truck had been moved before he called the owner to find out what was going on.
Pfeiffer's branch oversees "honey wagons" and grease trap cleaners on Oahu. "We control where they are allowed to discharge and what they are allowed to pick up," he said. The companies are required to file reports with his branch.
In this case, unless it was doing something illegal -- such as discharging into a storm drain or sewer -- the private vehicle had a right to be on a public road, even if it was transferring grease from one truck to the other, Pfeiffer said.
If there was a problem with odors, however, you could have called the Department of Health.
Also, "If there is an incidental (small) spill, they are required to clean it up," Pfeiffer said. "If there was actually a valve that opened up" -- the truck in question holds 2,100 gallons -- then that would be considered a significant spill and one that would warrant his branch taking some kind of action.
If you have complaints about "honey wagons" or grease trap cleaners, call him at 527-6679.
For your information, such vehicles can legally discharge into manholes at seven approved sites on Oahu: In Waianae, Wahiawa/
Mililani, Kahaluu, Kailua, Ewa Beach/Honouliuli, Pearl City and Sand Island Access Road.
The manhole covers and rims are painted bright green.
"If it's not a bright green rim, it's an illegal site," Pfeiffer said. "We put them where we create the least amount of problems for the public as well as facilitating the flow to the (sewage) plant."
At work, quite a few people have parents who seem to be ill or at the age where they may become ill. We're curious how much Medicare will cover: if there is a certain limit to the days of hospitalization it will cover; how much acute care is covered; and if there is anything for home care. In addition, what are the requirements for someone to qualify for Medicaid? Are there financial limitations? Is Medicaid provided automatically or do you have to apply for it separately?" You can get your questions on Medicare and Medicaid answered by the Sage Plus program, which is run by the state Executive Office on Aging through a grant from the federal Health Care Financing Administration or HCFA.
Sage Plus does individual health insurance counseling and serves as a health insurance information and counseling advocate, said Mary Rydell, HCFA's regional administrator in Honolulu.
Call Sage Plus at 586-0100.
Rydell said you can also call the Social Security Administration at 1-800-772-1213 and request the Medicare Handbook, which also explains Medicaid.
The state Department of Human Services Med-Quest Division, which runs the Medicaid program, is another source of information, she said.
My black Esprit purse was stolen from my car in Ewa's Fernandez Village between 10 p.m. and midnight last Thursday. I don't care about the money, but please return six rolls of film taken of my mother's funeral. -- Susan Debina, pager 598-9756/home 689-4463. Please return film
Need help with problems? Call Kokua Line at 525-8686,
fax 525-6711, or write to P.O. Box 3080, Honolulu 96802.
Email to kokualine@starbulletin.com
