The state Department of Health has fined the City and County of Honolulu more than $434,000 for discharging liquid waste exceeding permit limits from its wastewater treatment plant into Kailua Bay.
The DOH said the Kailua Regional Wastewater Treatment Plant showed levels exceeding permits for enterococci bacteria, an indicator of fecal material in water.
The incidents occurred on 13 occasions between April and May, according to the DOH. The department issued a Notice of Violation and Order, or NOVO, to the city for surpassing the allowed permit limit.
The department said the fine is due to the effluent discharges and the late submission of a required discharge monitoring report.
“Discharge of pollutants above allowable limits into state waters is not acceptable,” said Kathleen Ho, deputy director of environmental health in a press release Wednesday.
“We will continue to take action to protect public health and the environment," Ho continued.
The exceedances of the bacteria were first reported to DOH on April 9. In May, the DOH warned ocean users to avoid waters within the area, after noticing several more occurrences of the enterococcus while testing.
