Kona storage business to pay $130K fine
HONOLULU — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Wednesday announced a settlement with Extra Space Management Inc. and Kaloko Storage 18 LLC, the respective operator and owner of the Extra Space Storage facility located at 73-4864 Kanalani St. in Kailua-Kona.
The two entities agreed to pay a $130,000 penalty, according to the EPA.
The Extra Space Storage facility had been operating an illegal large capacity cesspool at the property. Under the federal Safe Drinking Water Act, the EPA banned large capacity cesspools in 2005.
“Illegal large capacity cesspools pose major threats to groundwater and precious coastal resources across Hawaii,” said EPA Pacific Southwest Regional Administrator Martha Guzman in a statement. “EPA is committed to using our enforcement authority to ensure that all such unlawful cesspools are permanently closed to protect the public health of residents and their vital water resources.”
The EPA inspected the Extra Space Storage facility in July 2021 and sent an information request in September of that year about the method of wastewater disposal at the property. The agency confirmed there was one large capacity cesspool in operation at the site. As a result, the cesspool was backfilled in December 2022, and Extra Space Management Inc. and Kaloko Storage 18 LLC agreed to pay the fine.
