Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 37, Number 2, 1 February 2020 — Untitled [ARTICLE]

Represented by Earthjustiee, a coalition of community groups including Nā Kia'i Kai, the Surfrider Foundation and the Pesticide Action Network entered into an agreement with the State of Hawai'i's Agribusiness Development Corportion (ADC) last December in federal court to address ADC's ongoing violations of the federal Clean Water Act in West Kaua'i. The court ruled in July that ADC was violating the Act by daily discharging millions

of gallons of water contaminated with pesticides, sediment and heavy metals from the drainage ditch system it operates on the Mānā Plain into nearshore oeean waters. The agreement provides for implementation of a robust water quality monitoring program, disclosure of water quality data on a public website, and ADC must obtain a Nahonal Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit. Approximately 40 miles of drainage ditches collect polluted runoff and groundwater from land that ADC licenses to large-scale agribusinesses and various industrial operations. The ditches are unlined and eroding, and empty along Barking Sands and MacArthur beaches. An NPDES permit will limit the amount of pollution ADC ean

empty into the oeean to ensure that the discharge does not violate water quality standards. "Our members have been living near the ditches and fishing near the outfalls for generations," said Nā Kia'i Kai representative Bren Naka'ahiki. "We deserve to know whether these waters are safe and have peaee of mind that there will be regulatory oversight over this polluhon as soon as possible." "ADC's commitment to monitor for pesticides will provide a more complete picture of the toxic runoff from large-scale agriculture on Kaua'i's west side," said Dr. Carl Berg of Surfrider's Kaua'i Chapter. Surfrider began sampling for pesticides in 2013, whieh alerted the government and public that the ditches were contaminated and ultimately led to more testing by state

and federal agencies.B