The owner of two Hawaii Island hardware stores will pay a $134,000 fine for operating banned large-capacity cesspools.
The owner of two Hawaii Island hardware stores will pay a $134,000 fine for operating banned large-capacity cesspools.
Maui Varieties Investments Inc. is required to close the cesspools, located at Housemart Ace Hardware stores in Naalehu and Waimea, and another property that’s home to a farm supply store in Hilo.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency found three cesspools at the hardware locations during a 2016 inspection. MVI disclosed the one in Hilo.
The two cesspools serving the Naalehu store will be replaced with a wastewater treatment system approved by the state Department of Health. The Waimea store will be connected to a private sewer system, while the one in Hilo will be connected to the county’s sewer system.
Cesspools can contaminate groundwater. Large-capacity cesspools were banned in 2005.
According to the EPA, cesspools are used more widely in Hawaii than in any other state.
Since 2005, more than 3,400 large-capacity cesspools have been closed in the state.