Landfill Flooding Litigation Support

WWE investigated stormwater discharges from the Waimanalo Gulch Sanitary Landfill in Hawaii for litigation.

Jon Jones, Andrew Earles, and Wayne Lorenz performed extensive research and were slated to testify on behalf of the defendants on a wide range of issues including NPDES permitting; construction practices and scheduling; stormwater management practices including best management practices; protection of public health, safety and welfare; municipal biosolid characteristics; and water quality data interpretation, among others.  At issue was the decision by landfill staff to alleviate flooding, including the danger of flooding the nearby power plant, by discharging stormwater that potentially presented threats to public health, safety, and welfare.

A settlement was reached in the federal criminal case in 2015. The U.S. Department of Justice, which had originally alleged 13 felonies including an alleged conspiracy and multiple violations of the Clean Water Act, offered the landfill operator a settlement agreement in which it plead guilty to two misdemeanor negligence charges. The landfill’s general manager and environmental protection manager, who were facing felony charges, also plead guilty to one misdemeanor each.