2 Maui firms
fined for pollutionA total of more than
$3.5 million is levied
for clean-air violations
Two Maui companies -- Hawaiian Commercial & Sugar Co. and Maui Electric Co. -- were fined more than $3.5 million for violations of air pollution rules, the state Department of Health announced yesterday.
The Health Department says Hawaiian Commercial & Sugar operated a biomass boiler since 1975 without complying with federal standards. The company was fined $1.98 million.
"The penalty in this case reflects primarily the economic benefit that the company realized over the years it burned cheaper fuel in the biomass boiler," said Laurence K. Lau, deputy director of environmental health for the Health Department.
"We believe the proposed penalty is excessive," said G. Stephen Holaday, the general manager of the sugar company. "As soon as HC&S discovered the potential permitting problem, we voluntarily self-reported to the DOH and took immediate action to bring Boiler 3 into compliance."
At Maui Electric, the violation stems from diesel engine generators exceeding the visible emission limits at the Maalaea plant, the Health Department said. The company was fined $1.56 million for the violations, which the Health Department said occurred frequently between February 1999 and June 2000.
"The penalty in the MECO-Maalaea case is based on the number of violations and the length of time involved," said Lau.
Maui Electric President Edward L. Reinhardt said, "We are surprised and disappointed" by the fine because the company "solved 90 percent of the problem in the past five years" and is "continuing to work very hard to solve the last part of it."
