Tougher penalties
sought for dumpingOfficials also want more funding
to carry out investigations
State and federal officials told state lawmakers yesterday they are moving jointly to get tough on those who dump solid and hazardous waste -- prison time tough.
The catch is, they'll need more money.
Attorney General Mark Bennett told a hearing by the Joint Legislative Task Force on Waste Management and Recycling that he'll ask that illegal dumping of solid waste, now a petty misdemeanor, be classified as a class C felony.
That would boost the maximum penalty to five years in prison from 30 days in jail.
Meanwhile, a federal official announced the formation of the Hawaii Environmental Crimes Task Force, a cooperative law enforcement effort by federal, state and county agencies to investigate and prosecute cases of criminal dumping.
Fred Burnside, director of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Pacific Rim Environmental Resource Center, told lawmakers the immediate problem is the lack of trained investigators and funding needed to build cases that can be taken to court.
The center was set up early this year by the EPA's Office of Criminal Enforcement to assist Hawaii and the U.S.-affiliated Pacific nations in setting up enforcement programs, he said.
"When we started our program in the '80s, we were going after companies and we were getting large fines," Burnside said. "And then we realized that you need to find the people who are making the decisions, and you need to go after them because they're the ones getting up in the morning and deciding, 'I'm going to make money off the environment and human health.'"
Since the resource center opened 11 months ago, Burnside said he's established relationships with state attorneys and health officials, city prosecutors, police and the city's Environmental Services Department.
Despite the willingness of the agencies to work together, the weak link is a lack of funding, Burnside said.
"Ask any prosecutor and they will tell you that criminal cases don't make it to court without adequate investigative resources," he said, adding that the effort now consists of himself, working part-time, one EPA special agent and one investigator from Bennett's office.
Burnside said investigating environmental cases requires specialized training, special equipment and operating funds.
Sen. Melody Aduja (D, Kahuku-Kaneohe), who chairs the legislative task force, said she was surprised that Burnside was seeking state and county funding.
"I was actually quite disappointed because I thought we could rely on the EPA to do some follow-up and follow-through in which the state may be lacking, and come to find out that they are just as inefficient in their resources as the state is," she said. "So our next level of enforcement is also crippled by not having adequate resources."