Laserfiche WebLink
Claudia Rohr <br /> 369 Nene St. <br /> Hilo, HI 96720 <br /> 96720 <br /> 934-8040 <br /> April 4, 2005 <br /> Jeremy Johnstone <br /> U.S. EPA Region 9 <br /> 75 Hawthorne Street <br /> San Francisco, CA, 94105 <br /> RE: NPDES HI0000191 Hilo Coast Power Company <br /> Deaz Mr. Johnstone, <br /> Mr. Eugene Bromley sent me a copy of the EPA report "Report on the Evaluation of Wastewater <br /> Discharges from Raw Cane Sugaz Mills in the Hilo-Hamakua Coast of the Island of Hawai'i," <br /> August 11, 1989. It confirmed that copper and manganese were being discharged into the ocean <br /> in exceedences of the EPA acute and chronic marine criteria for copper and the EPA human <br /> health marine criteria for manganese (part 8.2.1.3, pg. 8-5) through the land containment settling <br /> system in 1989. <br /> There aze currently numerous drainage problems in the former land containment settling system <br /> area due to water course disruption where stockpiled soil sediment was never removed and <br /> blocks the drainage. Two water courses saturate the former land containment settling system <br /> azea. There is a pile of sediment from the land containment system under the current coal ash <br /> pile. Surface water seeping into the coal ash pile/sediment pile comes out the other side blood <br /> red as you can see from the photos I sent you in January. The dazk red bacteria most probably <br /> indicates the presence of manganese in the leachate. Surface water saturating and draining <br /> through the land containment settling system is probably causing more contaminates to be <br /> passively leached out and discharged into the ocean through a system of drainage ways which <br /> lead back to the same outfalls servicing the coal ash pile (see attached diagram on aerial photo. <br /> The bacteria and whatever is causing it is being dischazged through the outfall covered by <br /> NPDES HI0000191. I understand that the Hilo Coast Power Company ("HCPC") has failed to <br /> perform the required periodic water testing as their NPDES permit requires and therefore there is <br /> no information to know what contaminants may be dischazged. <br /> The EPA report stated that manganese had previously been at the level of being harmful to <br /> <br /> human health in the flesh offish if consumed. I understand eccessive amounts of manganese <br /> causes central nervous system damage and can be permanent. There are still many fisherman <br /> <br /> who fish in this azea by the outfall. This leachate should be tested and the local fisherman <br /> informed if contamination of the offshore waters may cause health concerns. <br /> Sincerely, + <br /> Claudia Rohr Comm. No. Z' T <br /> Ref. To: Pre~e~ <br /> Raf, Uate <br /> <br />