Hawaii Gas will pay $155,000 for violations at its Kapolei facility. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency says an inspection revealed deficiencies in its risk management plan. These included a failure to annually certify its operating procedures as well as provide refresher training for employees. Dean Higuchi is a spokesman for the EPA.
The EPA audit also fined the facility for a sodium hydroxide spill into an underground injection well in 2010. Hawaii Gas did report the incident to state and local authorities, but failed to tell Federal agencies. 3,585 pounds were released. That’s three times the amount that requires reporting to the federal National Response Center. The EPA said no health or environmental impacts resulted from the spill.
Hawaii Gas has agreed to pay both penalties and has since updated its risk management plan.
