Corporate Pollution Case Study: 1284 Kilauea K&M and Hawaii’s Drinking Water

A Hidden Threat to a Community’s Water

For the people of Hilo, Hawaii, the pristine natural environment is not just a backdrop; it is the source of life, providing the essential resources for the community. Chief among these is the clean, fresh water drawn from underground aquifers.

But for nearly two decades, a hidden threat was operating in their midst. At a commercial property on Kilauea Avenue, home to a formal-wear boutique and the offices of a non-profit organization, a primitive and illegal cesspool was allegedly leaching untreated human waste directly into the ground, posing a significant and ongoing threat to the island’s precious drinking water sources.

The Corporate Playbook: How the Harm Was Done

The corporate playbook employed by the property’s owner, 1284 Kilauea K&M, LLC, was one of prolonged and deliberate non-compliance. The facts, laid out in a settlement with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), paint a stark picture of corporate negligence.

Large-capacity cesspools—which are essentially unlined pits that dispose of raw sewage from 20 or more people per day—are classified as a direct threat to drinking water under the federal Safe Drinking Water Act. Recognizing this danger, the EPA banned the construction of new ones in 2000 and mandated that all existing ones be closed by a firm deadline: April 5, 2005.

1284 Kilauea K&M, LLC, has owned the property in question since at least 2002, well before the ban went into full effect. Yet, the company failed to close its illegal cesspool. For over 19 years, from April 2005 until October 14, 2024, the company continued to operate the banned system, in direct violation of federal law.

A Cascade of Consequences: The Real-World Impact

The consequences of this nearly two-decade-long violation are primarily environmental, with a direct and serious threat to public health.

Environmental Degradation & Public Health

A large-capacity cesspool is not a wastewater treatment system; it is a direct injection of pollution into the earth. It takes “sanitary wastes, containing human excreta,” and disposes of them through an open bottom and perforated sides. This raw sewage contains pathogens, nitrates, and other chemical and biological contaminants that can easily seep into underground aquifers.

In a place like Hawaii, where communities rely heavily on groundwater for their drinking supply, such a system poses an unacceptable risk of causing widespread illness and contaminating an irreplaceable natural resource. For 19 years, every flush of the toilet at this commercial property sent untreated waste into the ground, a ticking time bomb for the local water supply.

Economic Summary

Analysis: A System Designed for This — Profit Over Protection

This case is a textbook example of a business externalizing its operational costs onto the public and the environment—a core feature of unchecked neoliberal capitalism.

The cost of installing a modern septic system or connecting to a municipal sewer line is a standard business expense. By allegedly ignoring the law for 19 years, 1284 Kilauea K&M, LLC, deferred that cost, saving thousands of dollars while shifting the financial and health risks of potential water contamination onto the entire Hilo community.

This is a cold, rational calculation: the cost of compliance versus the risk and potential cost of enforcement. The relatively small penalty of $25,000 for a 19-year violation can be viewed not as a punishment, but as a minor “cost of doing business,” far less than what two decades of proper wastewater management would have cost.

The system, in this light, can inadvertently incentivize non-compliance by making the penalty for getting caught far cheaper than the cost of following the law.

Dodging Accountability: The Power of Inaction

The primary tactic used by the company to dodge accountability was simply to do nothing. For nearly two decades, a federal law was on the books, but it was ignored. This prolonged inaction is a powerful strategy, relying on the hope that regulatory agencies, which are often underfunded and overstretched, will not notice.

When finally confronted by the EPA, the company was able to settle the case through a Consent Agreement. This legal mechanism allows the company to resolve the matter without having to admit to the specific factual allegations laid out by the EPA. While the company paid a fine and finally closed the cesspool, this process allows it to avoid a full public admission of its nearly 20-year failure to protect the community’s environment.

Reclaiming Power: Pathways to Real Change

The only reason this environmental threat was neutralized is because of the enforcement power of the Environmental Protection Agency. This case underscores the vital role of a strong, independent regulatory body in protecting public resources from corporate interests. While the penalty may be criticized as lenient, the EPA’s action ultimately forced the closure of a polluting system that had operated illegally for a generation.

This outcome demonstrates that the most effective path to reclaiming power for communities is to support and demand robust funding and authority for the agencies tasked with protecting our environment. Citizen vigilance and a commitment to holding regulators accountable for enforcing the law are the public’s best defense against this kind of long-term corporate negligence.

Conclusion: A Story of a System, Not an Exception

The story of the illegal cesspool at 1284 Kilauea Avenue is not just about one company’s failure. It is a story about a system where environmental laws can be flouted for decades, where the penalties for doing so are often negligible compared to the profits gained from non-compliance, and where the most essential public resources, like drinking water, are put at risk.

It’s a depressing reminder that the threats to our environment are not always dramatic oil spills or smokestacks, but are often silent, hidden, and buried just beneath our feet.

All factual claims in this article were derived from the attached court document: In the Matter of: 1284 Kilauea K&M, LLC, Docket No. UIC-09-2025-0046 (U.S. EPA, Region 9).

There is a short blurb on this pollution on the EPA’s website as well as the final penalty: https://www.epa.gov/uic/UIC-09-2025-0046