HONOLULU (KHON2) — The Hawaiʻi Department of Health issued a Notice of Violation and Order to Hawaii American Water for discharging liquid waste past the legal amount from the East Honolulu Wastewater Treatment Plant into the Pacific Ocean.
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Ammonia nitrogen discharged from the facility exceeded the limits outlined by the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System between August 2022 and April 2024 on 14 separate occasions.
“Ammonia is derived from the breakdown of proteins and amino acids in wastewater. High concentrations of ammonia can have toxic effects on aquatic organisms and contributes to excess nutrients in the water,” said Kathleen Ho, deputy director for the Environmental Health Administration. “As such, the discharge of ammonia above allowable limits into state waters is unacceptable.”
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The facility also failed to submit the required written noncompliance reports on two occasions.