USEPA issued an Administrative Order for Compliance to the County of Hawaii for violations of its permit under the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System of the Clean Water Act at the Hilo Waste Water Treatment Plant. This order requires the County of Hawaii to correct discharge permit violations resulting from leaks along the plant?s 4500-foot outfall pipe located east of the Hilo Bay breakwater. The Hawaii Department of Health?s permit was issued on the condition that the treated wastewater would be discharged at the far end of the pipe.
The County is required to complete its repairs within 90 days of receiving permits from the
Department of Health and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Once the repairs are made, the
County will need to test the integrity of the outfall pipe to confirm the leaks have been
eliminated, and report the results to the EPA. The County must inspect the land-based sections
of the pipe by December 31, 2014, and do any necessary repairs. In addition, The County is to
assess and improve the wastewater treatment plant?s operations and maintenance by June 30,
2015.