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Matson to end Hawaii molasses operation, pay $15.4 million
Posted On Jul 31 2015
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State officials on Wednesday announced a settlement agreement with Matson over the massive molasses spill into Honolulu Harbor in 2013.
Chin said that Matson, along with paying for removal of any molasses in Hawaii also agrees to stop its molasses operation here. Moving molasses from a Maui sugar company to Honolulu, and then shipping it to the mainland, is a remnant from the days when Hawaii had many sugar plantations, company spokesman Jeff Hull said. The settlement includes a combination of cash, restoration efforts and funding for environmental programs, he said.
Most of the money, $9.5 million, will be used to remove the remaining molasses equipment and to convert the pipeline for uses other than conveying fluids, it said.
“The state will make sure that Matson spares no costs and cuts no corners”, Chin said.
Matson executives said previously that they were not prepared for the possibility of a spill, despite transporting molasses from the pipeline for about 30 years.
Matson released a report Wednesday on the spill, which cites a 2012 state-commissioned survey of aquatic life in the harbor.
Two years ago, 233,000 gallons of molasses spilled into the harbor. It will also reimburse the state for cleanup efforts and other costs, including almost $2 million in legal fees.
A “damage assessment showed that some of the coral killed in the molasses spill can take hundreds of years to grow and are irreplaceable”, Kaluhiwa said. When Matson’s settlement is satisfied, it will cost the company between 11.4 and $15.4 million.
Matson agreed in October 2014 to pay USD1 million to resolve all federal criminal charges arising from the spill.
The state didn’t actually file a lawsuit but worked out a deal to cover damages to our marine ecosystem, as well as for penalties that Matson could have faced if it had gone to court.
“Environmental stewardship is a core value in our company, so this event was a blow to all of us at Matson”, President and CEO Matt Cox said in a statement.
