News Releases from Region 09
U.S. EPA requires Lanai Oil Company to protect Hawaiian waterways from oil spills
10/14/2020
HONOLULU – Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced a proposed settlement with Lanai Oil Company, Inc. (Lanai Oil) for Clean Water Act violations at its facility on Lanai Island. Under the agreement, Lanai Oil is required to pay a penalty of $71,166. EPA believes the penalty will reduce the risk of oil spills from their terminal to Lanai’s Kaumalapau Harbor and the Pacific Ocean.
“It is critical that companies operating near our waterways develop and follow a spill prevention plan,” said EPA Pacific Southwest Regional Administrator John Busterud. “Our action will help prevent oil spills to Hawaii’s harbors and coastal waters.”
The Lanai facility is located on the leeward side on a property about 200 feet from Kaumalapau Harbor. An EPA inspection in November 2018 found that Lanai Oil had violated the Clean Water Act’s oil pollution prevention regulations by failing to:
- Review and evaluate the Spill Prevention, Control, and Countermeasure (SPCC) plan at least once every five years.
- Conduct integrity testing of the aboveground storage tanks.
- Permanently close out-of-service aboveground storage tanks.
EPA's oil pollution prevention regulations aim to prevent oil from reaching navigable waters and adjoining shorelines and to ensure containment of oil discharges in the event of a spill. Specific prevention measures include developing and implementing spill prevention plans, training staff, and installing physical controls to contain and clean up oil spills.
EPA's proposed settlement with Lanai Oil can be found at: https://www.epa.govhttps://www.epa.gov/hi/lanai-oil-company-inc-isle-lanai-hawaii-proposed-settlement-clean-water-act-section-311-class-ii.
For more information on the SPCC program, please visit: http://www.epa.govhttps://www.epa.gov/oil-spills-prevention-and-preparedness-regulations.
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