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Kaluakoi resort
nears settlement
over sewage

By Gary T. Kubota
Star-Bulletin

WAILUKU -- A major resort on Molokai has tentatively agreed to a settlement with the state on alleged waste-water violations that go as far back as 11 years.

The agreement with Kukui (Molokai) Inc., which operates the Kaluakoi resort, averted an administrative hearing about the alleged violations that was to begin in Honolulu today.

The state charged that, based on the violations, Kukui could face a total of $40 million in fines.

Deputy Attorney General Jessica Wooley said the state has agreed not to disclose details of the consent order until it is formally signed in about a week.

Wooley said the waste-water settlement includes monetary fines and an agreement by Kukui to invest in measures to prevent environmental pollution.

She said that Kukui has agreed to a compliance schedule that would eventually bring its waste-water treatment up to federal standards.

Kukui officials and the state are continuing negotiations to settle penalties for alleged drinking water violations at Kaluakoi.

The potential fines total about $10 million, according to the state.

State health officials filed a finding of violation in 1998 that alleged Kukui had violated effluent quality, sludge disposal, record keeping and testing requirements at its waste-water treatment plants.

The resort has been in violation of federal drinking water standards since 1993 and sewage standards since 1989, state officials allege.

Kukui planned to build a nine-mile water pipeline from central Maui to the resort. Work halted in 1994 because of legal disputes.