School sewers need costly rebuild
The state Department of Education is asking for $49 million so it can skirt federal fines
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Education officials are asking for $49 million from the state Legislature to shut down hundreds of archaic sewage disposal systems polluting the ground at dozens of public schools across the state.
The Education Department says it needs the money to close 320 cesspools by next year or face daily federal fines of up to $32,500 per operational cesspool.
Schools were supposed to have stopped using cesspools in April 2005, but the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has postponed enforcement until Sept. 30, 2009.
Schools Assistant Superintendent Randy Moore said the funds must be appropriated this year so that schools can be linked to sewer lines or septic tanks in time.
"I have no reason to believe we are not going to get the money," he said. "It just makes sense."
A key state representative says lawmakers will have to cover the Education Department's request to avoid fines and possible lawsuits.
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The Department of Education, facing a deadline next year to close hundreds of cesspools at Hawaii schools, wants $49 million from the state to get the job done and avoid stiff environmental fines.
The Education Department was originally required to shut down 320 large-capacity cesspools at 60 campuses by April 2005 or pay daily federal penalties of up to $32,500 per cesspool. But a deal with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency postponed enforcement until Sept. 30, 2009.
The agreement is one of several the EPA has recently made with state agencies, the federal government, counties and private landowners to close nearly 1,000 cesspools.
Cesspools discharge untreated sewage into the ground, posing health risks and contaminating groundwater, streams and the ocean, according to the EPA. Large-capacity cesspools -- those handling sewage from two or more homes or serving 20 or more people on any day -- must be replaced with sewer systems or a treatment plant, the agency says.
Cesspools are widely used in Hawaii, especially on the neighbor islands and in rural areas of Oahu like the North Shore and Kahuku, according to the EPA.
There are 2,291 large-capacity cesspools in the islands. Of those, 839 are scheduled to be put out of service under EPA agreements, and 697 others are being closed voluntarily. The EPA says landowners who have large cesspools should provide a plan to close them down.
Konawaena High Principal Shawn Suzuki said the Big Island school's 13 cesspools haven't disturbed classes or created any problems, but that they need to be filled in to meet environmental standards.
"The school is so much older than I am, and has been here so much longer than I have," he said. "It's certainly going to be an involved project."
Schools Assistant Superintendent Randy Moore said the $49 million would allow the department to link schools to a municipal sewer line or build septic systems. Since 2002, the Legislature has appropriated $33.6 million to replace school cesspools, he said.
Big Island schools have the most cesspools, 132, followed by Kauai with 66 and Oahu, which has 55. Maui schools have 42 cesspools while Molokai has 25, according to Education Department data.
The Legislature, planning to focus this year on funding essentials like health, safety programs and public infrastructure because of a slowing economy, will have to cover the Education Department's request to keep the state "out of court," said House Finance Chairman Marcus Oshiro.
"It's a big amount, but it's almost mandatory," said Oshiro (D, Wahiawa-Poamoho). "Failure to abide by the deadline subjects the state of Hawaii to additional fines and costs."
EPA spokesman Dean Higuchi said the Education Department received more time to convert its cesspools because officials showed they were making progress.
Similar deals have been reached with the state Department of Land and Natural Resources, which needs to close 60 cesspools by May 31, 2009, and the former Housing and Community Development Corp. of Hawaii, which has until June 30, 2011, to close 230 cesspools at public housing units.
It's unclear how much it would cost the state to close all of its cesspools because expenses vary widely by project, officials said.
"What we were encouraging was compliance," Higuchi said about the agreements. "We really wanted people to come into compliance and come in with the management plans on how they are going to replace the systems over time."
In October, the EPA filed a complaint against Mauna Loa Macadamia Nut Corp. for failing to close three cesspools in Hilo by April 2005, proposing a penalty of up to $175,500. And in 2006, the EPA fined Costco Wholesale Corp. $75,000 for keeping three cesspools in Kona open past the same deadline.
