(a) If the director determines that any person has violated or is violating any provisions of this chapter, any rule adopted pursuant to this chapter, or any term or condition of a permit issued pursuant to this chapter or section 3005 of RCRA, treatment, storage, or disposal of hazardous waste” class=”unlinked-ref” datatype=”S” statecd=”US” title=”42″>42 United States Code § 6925, the director may do one or more of the following:

Terms Used In Hawaii Revised Statutes 342J-7

  • Answer: The formal written statement by a defendant responding to a civil complaint and setting forth the grounds for defense.
  • Department: means the department of health. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 342J-2
  • Director: means the director of health or the director's authorized agent. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 342J-2
  • Disposal: means the discharge, deposit, injection, dumping, spilling, leaking, or placing of any hazardous or solid waste into or on any land or water so that hazardous or solid waste or any constituent thereof may enter the environment, be emitted into the air, or discharged into any waters, including ground waters. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 342J-2
  • Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
  • Injunction: An order of the court prohibiting (or compelling) the performance of a specific act to prevent irreparable damage or injury.
  • Permit: means written authorization from the director for the owner or operator of a proposed or existing hazardous waste management facility to engage in the treatment, storage, or disposal of hazardous waste. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 342J-2
  • Person: means any individual, partnership, firm, joint stock company, association, public or private corporation, federal agency, the State or any of its political subdivisions, any state and any of its political subdivisions, trust, estate, interstate body, or any other legal entity. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 342J-2
  • RCRA: means the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, as amended, 42 United States Code §§ 6901 to 6991i. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 342J-2
  • Storage: means the containment of hazardous waste, temporarily or for a period of years, in a manner which does not constitute disposal. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 342J-2
  • Subpoena: A command to a witness to appear and give testimony.
  • Treatment: means any method, technique, or process, including neutralization, designed to change the physical, chemical, or biological character or composition of any hazardous waste so as to neutralize the waste or render it nonhazardous, less hazardous, safer for transport, amenable for recovery, amenable for storage, or reduced in volume. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 342J-2
(1) Issue an order assessing an administrative penalty for any past or current violation;
(2) Require compliance immediately or within a specified time; or
(3) Commence a civil action in the circuit environmental court in the circuit in which the violation occurred or the person resides or maintains the person’s principal place of business for appropriate relief, including a temporary, preliminary, or permanent injunction, the imposition and collection of civil penalties, or other relief.
(b) Any order issued pursuant to this section may include a suspension, modification, or revocation of any permit issued under section 3005 of RCRA, 42 United States Code § 6925, by the administrator of the United States Environmental Protection Agency, or issued under section 342J-5 or 342J-54 by the director, and shall state with reasonable specificity the nature of the violation. Any administrative penalties assessed in the order shall be in accordance with § 342J-10.
(c) Any order issued under this chapter shall become final, unless not later than twenty days after the notice of order is served, the person or persons named therein request in writing a hearing before the director. Any penalty imposed under this chapter shall become due and payable twenty days after the notice of penalty is served unless the person or persons named therein request in writing a hearing before the director. Whenever a hearing is requested on any penalty imposed under this chapter, the penalty shall become due and payable only upon completion of all review proceedings and the issuance of a final order confirming the penalty in whole or in part. Upon request for a hearing, the director shall require that the alleged violator or violators appear before the director for a hearing at a time and place specified in the notice and answer the charges complained of.
(d) Any hearing conducted under this section shall be conducted as a contested case under chapter 91. If after a hearing held pursuant to this section, the director finds that a violation or violations have occurred, the director shall affirm or modify any penalties imposed or shall modify or affirm the order previously issued or issue an appropriate order or orders for the prevention, abatement, or control of the violation or disposals involved, or for the taking of such other corrective action as may be appropriate. If, after a hearing on an order or penalty contained in a notice, the director finds that no violation has occurred or is occurring, the director shall rescind the order or penalty. Any order issued after hearing may prescribe the date or dates by which the violation or violations shall cease and may prescribe timetables for necessary action in preventing, abating, or controlling the violation or disposals.
(e) If the amount of any penalty is not paid to the department within thirty days after it becomes due and payable, the director may institute a civil action in the name of the State to collect the administrative penalty which shall be a government realization.

In any proceeding to collect the administrative penalty imposed, the director need only show that:

(1) Notice was given;
(2) A hearing was held or the time granted for requesting a hearing expired without a request for a hearing;
(3) The administrative penalty was imposed; and
(4) The penalty remains unpaid.
(f) In connection with any hearing held pursuant to this section, the director shall have the power to subpoena the attendance of witnesses and the production of evidence on behalf of all parties.

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