EPA awards over $1M to CUC
HONOLULU—The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recently awarded an additional $1 million to an existing grant to the Commonwealth Utilities Corp. for the design and construction of a deep ocean outfall at the Agingan Wastewater Treatment Plan. The EPA grant now totals $3.1 million.
The new outfall will discharge treated effluent into deeper water further offshore.
CUC is currently under an administrative order by the EPA for failure to meet effluent limits for certain pollutants as required by its EPA discharge permit. The completed project will help the CUC’s efforts to achieve compliance with this permit.
The Agingan ocean outfall project consists of the installation of a sewerline outfall solely by horizontal directional drilling method, according to CUC. It includes land and underwater piping, junction structures, demolition of the existing clarifier, connection to existing system, and diffuser assembly, among other things.
The project is being undertaken pursuant to EPA’s November 1999 order, which cited CUC’s failure to construct an ocean outfall and improve the quality of water effluent being discharged from the Agingan treatment plant into the ocean, and for its inability to match grant funds from the environmental agency for Agingan’s plant repairs.
CUC’s continued failure to comply with the order prompted another EPA warning contained in a Sept. 24, 2004 message faxed by EPA environmental engineer Michael Lee to the utility firm.
“CUC needs to take whatever steps necessary to secure adequate funding for construction of the ocean outfall to ensure compliance as soon as possible. Failure to do so may result in EPA elevating this matter, which would result in penalties of up to $32,500 per day per violation,” read a portion of the fax.
