KEKAHA — The Department of Health’s Clean Water Branch has yet to sign off on a permit that would allow Sunrise Capital to discharge up to 30 million gallons of wastewater effluent and treated shrimp remains into the ocean on
KEKAHA — The Department of Health’s Clean Water Branch has yet to sign off on a permit that would allow Sunrise Capital to discharge up to 30 million gallons of wastewater effluent and treated shrimp remains into the ocean on a daily basis.
The CWB is “still in the process of evaluating” the 167 comments received during the public feedback period, according to CWB officials. The DOH has “not yet” determined whether there will be a public hearing.
Originally owned and operated by Ceatech USA, the Kekaha shrimp farm was acquired by Sunrise Capital in June 2005 and is currently operating at minimal capacity.
“We have serious concerns about the draft permit that need to be addressed to ensure the permit effectively protects water quality and complies with National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System requirements,” the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency NPDES Permits Office Manager David Smith wrote in a letter submitted as public testimony. “… We reserve the right to object to issuance of this permit if our concerns are not addressed.”
Letters were also received from uneasy citizens across the island, many strongly opposing the facility’s request and others urging the CWB to hold a public hearing.
“Central to my objection to this permit is the poor prioritizing of beneficial uses of state waters,” Kapa‘a resident Melinda McComb wrote in her public testimony on the permit application.
Business profits are overriding federal water quality standards which would, in turn, harm “recreational ocean use and fishing” that have “important historic, cultural and economic uses that are protected by state law,” she wrote.
Some residents also voiced their concerns due to previous experience with the shrimp farm when it was operating at full capacity from February 2000 to December 2003, until it became infected with a shrimp virus in 2004.
“I remember how bad it stank,” Kalaheo resident Joseph Metzger wrote in his testimony. “In the past we (surfers) have abandoned favored surf breaks due to the water quality. It’s like swimming in a soup of poop (expletive altered for publication).”
While many individuals and groups are vehemently opposed to the shrimp farm’s proposition, others are proponents of the request.
“This project represents an excellent use of state land to further diversify the state’s agricultural activities on Kaua‘i,” Agribusiness Development Corporation Executive Director Alfredo Lee wrote in his testimony. “Approval of the NPDES permit will allow this project to continue to provide much needed employment …”
O‘ahu resident John Corbin, a former state aqauculture development program manager, said he is “pleased to know that Sunrise Capital is continuing aquaculture production operations on Kaua‘i” and offers his “strong support for the renewal of their NPDES discharge permit.”
“This site is one of the best land sites in the state for marine shrimp due to its warm temperatures and abundant water and sunlight,” he wrote in his testimony. “In my opinion, the innovative production facility has been designed according to the highest standards for environmental sustainability.”
Call the DOH at 808-586-4400 for more information.
• Coco Zickos, business and environmental writer, can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 251) or czickos@kauaipubco.com.
