CORRECTION: A previous version of this story contained an incorrect bid amount. The Tribune-Herald regrets the error.

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CORRECTION: A previous version of this story contained an incorrect bid amount. The Tribune-Herald regrets the error.

Despite settlement last year of a federal civil suit brought by a community group against Hawaii County requiring it to begin upgrading to the Kealakehe Wastewater Treatment Plant by March 1, construction hasn’t started — and the plant continues to discharge sewage into Honokohau Small Boat Harbor in North Kona.

A protest by Honolulu construction firm Hensel Phelps of a previous bid award of $24.835 million to Maui contractor Goodfellow Bros. for the project has delayed court-ordered improvements to raise the quality of the facility’s treated wastewater to state and federal standards for recycled water.

The goal is to reduce the contaminants entering the harbor, as well as to use the recycled, treated wastewater for irrigation, firefighting and other beneficial uses.

According to the lawsuit by Hui Malama Honokohau, the plant discharges about 1.7 million gallons of treated sewage daily from two pipes into a natural disposal pit located “in a lava field upslope from Honokohau Harbor.” The suit alleges the sewage enters the harbor through groundwater, polluting the marine environment and harming harbor users.

The filing claims discharges from the plant entering into the Pacific Ocean via groundwater “began in 1993 and will continue into the future on an ongoing basis.”

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Those reportedly harmed by ongoing water pollution include swimmers and divers, anglers and seaweed harvesters.

A recently filed court agreement in the litigation has reset timelines. Fines for noncompliance to the previously scheduled date for commencement of construction have been deferred.

“Pursuant to our settlement agreement with the county, stipulated penalties accrue from March 2, 2026, the day after the county was supposed to issue a notice to proceed with construction, and will continue to accrue until the county issues a notice to proceed … ,” Elena Bryant, senior associate attorney for Earthjustice Hawaii, which represents Hui Malama Honokohau, said Thursday in an email. “However, these penalties will be due and payable only if the county does not complete the (recycled wastewater project) by June 30, 2029.”

Corporation Counsel Renee Schoen, the county’s top civil attorney, said Wednesday in an email the “prior procurement protest has been formally resolved.”

“The project is moving forward under the structured framework of the recently filed court agreement,” Schoen said. “That agreement does not mandate a specific calendar date for the commencement of construction; instead, physical work will begin following the thorough completion of specialized engineering designs and the conclusion of the upcoming competitive public bidding process which is open to all qualified contractors.”

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Email John Burnett at [email protected].