Federal judge approves Matson plea deal

It was a devastating scene as molasses blanketed the reef killing thousands of fish along the shoreline in September  2013.

Click here to watch Catherine Cruz’s report.

Sixteen months later, Matson admitted to two misdemeanor counts of violating the Rivers and Harbors Act by failing to property fix a leaky pipe which discharged close to a quarter million gallons of molasses in Honolulu Harbor.

Matson agreed to a million-dollar penalty–$400,000 in an outright fine and 600,000 is to go for restitution.

A federal court gave the nod to the plea deal Thursday.

“We are happy this matter behind us. We appreciate the professionalism of the U.S. attorney. The State of Hawaii still has a pending investigation which we are continuing to cooperate with,” said Peter Heilmann, vice-president of Matson Terminals.

The state had been in talks with Matson over damages it incurred responding to the environmental disaster, although a lawsuit has yet to be filed.

Following the court hearing, the EPA released a statement.

“Today’s sentence sends a strong message that corporations have an obligation to fix system failures before they harm human health, and the environment,” said EPA criminal enforcement agent Jay Green.

And EPA Regional Administrator Jered Blumenfeld called it a victory for Oahu’s coastal waters, bolstering local community efforts to maintain the health of their coral reefs and beaches.

The plea deal had been announced last year but the court had some reservations about the payout to the nonprofits and until Thursday, the Waikiki Aquarium and Sustainable Coastlines couldn’t count on anything.

“We are extremely ecstatic. It’s been a  nerve-wracking month and a half, yet we didn’t really expect it we just kept our heads down and did the work we needed to do and this will let us exponentially reach the communities of Hawaii,” said Kahe Pacarro. of Sustainable Coastlines.

”Compliments to Matson for recognizing the coral reefs of Hawaii are in a precarious state, and for recognizing the work the aquarium has done for coral propagation,” said Aquarium director Andrew Rossiter.

Rossiter says the money was an unexpected boost to its research.

“We have already earmarked it. We have expanded the coral propagation area behind the scenes. We will able to do more to hopefully repopulate Hawaii’s reefs,” said Rossiter.

The share of $300,000 is three times the annual budget for Sustainable Coastlines which should sustain it for some years to come.

KITV has inquired about the talks between the state and Matson.

A lawsuit has yet to be filed, and we were told nothing would happen until a new state attorney general formally takes office. At last check, a confirmation hearing had not yet been scheduled.

Federal judge approves Matson plea deal