The state Department of Health is investigating the dumping of used cooking oil at Valley of the Temples Memorial Park in 'Ahuimanu.

Tom Arizumi, chief of the Environmental Management Division, said he received the complaint Tuesday and did an initial inspection the same day. He has made a request for more information from Valley of the Temples and the Flamingo restaurant in Kane'ohe.

The complaint came in a letter from Carroll Cox of EnviroWatch Inc.

Arizumi said the restaurant has been supplying the oil to the cemetery, which uses it when it fabricates concrete caskets.

The oil is used on the forms to keep the concrete from sticking to them.

"But sometimes they've taken more oil than they can use and they've been dumping the extra oil in a pit on the property," he said.

Jean Shimabukuro, vice president of Flamingo Enterprises, said a former Kane'ohe Flamingo employee who now works at Valley of the Temples had requested the oil from the restaurant.

"Our understanding was they were picking up the oil from Windward Flamingo and using it for some burial purpose," Shimabukuro said, adding the restaurant had no idea the oil was being dumped in a pit. "We were shocked to find out."

Arizumi didn't know how much oil may have been dumped and said information from the two companies should reveal the quantities and time period involved.

The Health Department will investigate at least two possible sites at the cemetery, he said.

Fines for this type of pollution are $10,000 a day for each violation or $25,000 a day for each violation if it goes into a stream, Arizumi said.

Reach Eloise Aguiar at eaguiar@honoluluadvertiser.com.