Audit of biosolid project disputed
By Peter Boylan
Advertiser Staff Writer
An audit of the city's attempts to comply with a federal court order by converting wastewater sludge into fertilizer pellets said delays in the effort have cost more than $3 million and the pellets have not been approved for sale in Hawai'i.
A 1995 federal consent decree requires the city to reuse sewage sludge by marketing the biosolid pellets as a soil amendment or plant fertilizer, according to the audit, performed by city auditor Leslie I. Tanaka and released Friday.
Eric S. Takamura, director of the Honolulu Department of Environmental Services, said in a statement that the city's In-Vessel Bioconversion Facility at Sand Island, which has been fully operational since September 2007 under contract with Synagro-WWT Inc., has distributed more than 531 tons of the fertilizer pellets from the facility to the Mainland market since March 2008.
"I am very pleased to say that this facility is performing exactly as it was designed to," Takamura said. "The report is outdated at this time; nonetheless, we did provide the auditor in-depth, detailed analysis to bring the report more up to date."
According to the audit the "implementation of test marketing, promotion and sales of the biosolid pellets and efforts to develop a local market of potential users are under way. However, public acceptance of the beneficial use of the pellets is questionable."
Synagro plant manager Kenny Huy did not return calls this week seeking comment.
According to Takamura, the delays and cost overruns on the project were a result of:
The design-build-operate project was awarded to Synagro-WWT on Feb. 6, 2002, according to the city.
The facility was built during the administration of Mayor Jeremy Harris, and Synagro WWT Inc. will operate the facility for 15 years under a separate contract, according to the city.
Delays in completing the consent decree's sludge reuse requirements also could cost the city millions in penalties. The city agreed to penalties for failure to meet reuse conditions and deadlines for each day the consent decree's deadlines are not met, according to the audit.
The EPA calculated the possible penalties for not being in compliance at more than $5.5 million in 2003, according to the audit, although no fines would be levied if compliance is reached in a timely manner.
A bioconversion facility at the Sand Island Wastewater Treatment Plant is the last requirement of the consent decree's section mandating the reuse of wastewater sludge.
The state Department of Health stated that compliance with state administrative rules "adequately protects the community's health and safety. The use of properly treated wastewater sludge as a fertilizer or soil amendment and recycled water for irrigation is a well-established nationwide practice. Treated wastewater sludge from the Mainland has been sold for years to Hawai'i's farmers and gardeners as fertilizer and soil amendment without any reported illnesses," according to the audit.
Takamura said the production of pellets will:
Reach Peter Boylan at pboylan@honoluluadvertiser.com.
