Hawaii Landowner Assessed Largest Single Stormwater Penalty

HONOLULU, Hawaii, March 9, 2006 (ENS) - The largest penalty in U.S. history for stormwater violations at a single site, by a single landowner, has been assessed against car dealer James Pflueger for damage to streams crossing his property on Kauai's north shore.

Under a settlement filed in federal court today, Pflueger agreed to pay $7.5 million dollars in penalties for construction work done without Clean Water Act permits. Of that, $2 million will be paid to the state of Hawaii and the United States, and $5.3 million will be spent to prevent erosion and restore three streams damaged by construction on the 378 acre property at Pila'a Bay.

Pflueger must also pay $200,000 to replace cesspools at downstream residences damaged by stormwater runoff from his property.

A coastal access road Pflueger built without Clean Water Act permits (Photo courtesy EPA)

Pflueger is appealing an additional $4 million in fines imposed last July by the Hawaii Board of Land and Natural Resources for damages to the beach and coral reef at Pila'a.

Since 1997 when he bought the property, Pflueger never sought the required Clean Water Act permits for work that included excavating a hillside to create a 40 foot vertical road cut next to the coast, building dams in streams to create ponds.

“The unauthorized construction work at Pila’a did not incorporate stormwater erosion control measures required by permits issued under the Clean Water Act. These measures would have prevented the extensive damage caused by Pflueger’s construction,” said Wayne Nastri, the EPA’s administrator for the Pacific Southwest.

“This settlement will reduce erosion, restore stream systems and native plant habitats, resulting in healthier stream, ocean and reef ecosystems," Nastri said.

Two Kauai community groups who had pressed a 2002 lawsuit against Pflueger are pleased with the settlement.

A large chunk of the Pflueger property broke away and fell to the beach below. (Photo courtesy EPA)

"This innovative settlement not only sends a strong message that violating water protection laws will not be tolerated, but also gives the land, streams and reef at Pila'a a chance to recover," said David Henkin, an attorney with the national non-profit public interest law firm Earthjustice who represented the community groups.

During more than three years of negotiations, expert hydrologists, engineers, biologists, and botanists retained by the community groups and defendants worked collaboratively with federal, state, and county agencies to develop remediation plans that will not only prevent further polluted discharges into Pila'a's streams and ocean, but will also help restore native ecosystem function, said Henkin.

The remedial work the settlement requires terracing of slopes, and the use of native trees, shrubs, and stream vegetation to control runoff and erosion and to bring life back to three streams into which Pflueger illegally dumped dirt and rocks to create fantasy pools and a roadway for his now-abandoned luxury subdivision.

"Those who violate our environmental laws must know that when they are caught, they will pay a very heavy price,” said Hawaii Attorney General Mark Bennett. “That is the only way to deter the type of conduct that took place here. This case is an example of the exceptional cooperation between the state of Hawaii and the EPA, which continues.”

Erosion control terraces with native vegetation installed on the Pflueger property above Pila'a Bay. (Photo courtesy EPA)

This work includes completion of a wall to stabilize the 40-foot vertical road cut adjacent to the Pila’a Bay shoreline. Pflueger will maintain erosion controls on roadways and trails that are used on the property.

The environmental consequences of the construction activity include continuous discharges of sediment-laden stormwater and a massive discharge in November 2001, which flowed to the ocean, damaging a beachfront home and the coral reef.

Once alive, the corals are now dead, and Henkin quoted scientific estimates it will take at least 100 years before they regenerate.

The settlement, which will be open to a 30 day public comment period once it is noticed in the Federal Register, resolves multiple enforcement actions taken by federal, state and county agencies, as well as the citizen groups.

A Honolulu car dealer and racer, Pflueger and his family own and operate a conglomerate comprised of Pflueger Inc. (dba Pflueger Honda, Pflueger Acura, Pflueger Cadillac/Hummer, Pflueger GMC/Buick, and three Pflueger Auto Value Centers for used cars); and Pflueger Group LLC (Pflueger Honda Yamaha Motorcycle); as well as Pacific Auto Distributors LLC (dba Rhino Linings of Oahu).

A new Pflueger dealership is scheduled to open on Maui this year.

In 1963, Pflueger developed Hawaii Raceway Park on Oahu, which still presents weekly drag racing, dirt short-track racing and Team Hawaii motorcycle road racing. The track is scheduled to close at the end of March when its lease expires.