The state Department of Health issued a notice of violation and order against Par Hawaii Refining for violations relating to the disposal and transport of hazardous waste. 

What You Need To Know

  • Par Hawaii was cited for illegal disposal of hazardous waste at a facility not permitted to dispose of hazardous waste
  • An investigation was initiated after the Utah Department of Environmental Quality notified the Hawaii Department of Health that in October 2023 Par Hawaii shipped six drums of waste to a non-hazardous waste landfill.
  • The state fined Par Hawaii $169,500 for the three violations and ordered the company undertake corrective actions, including but not limited to training its employees, to correct the violations
  • Par Hawaii president Eric Wright said the company has already implemented new procedures to prevent a recurrence

Specifically, Par Hawaii was cited for illegal disposal of hazardous waste at a facility not permitted to dispose of hazardous waste; failure to make a hazardous waste determination; and failure to use a uniform hazardous waste manifest for transportation of hazardous waste.

An investigation was initiated after the Utah Department of Environmental Quality notified the Hawaii Department of Health that in October 2023 Par Hawaii shipped six drums of waste to a non-hazardous waste landfill. Tests later revealed that the waste had chromium content toxic enough to qualify as hazardous waste.

According to the notice of violation, Par Hawaii failed to make a proper hazardous waste determination because it shipped the waste before receiving analytical results that showed it was a hazardous waste.

Regulations require hazardous waste to be shipped using a uniform hazardous waste manifest to facilities permitted to properly treat, store, or dispose of hazardous waste. According to the notice, Par Hawaii failed to ship the waste using the correct manifest and failed to properly dispose of the waste at a permitted hazardous waste facility.

The state fined Par Hawaii $169,500 for the three violations and ordered the company undertake corrective actions, including but not limited to training its employees, to correct the violations. Par has 20 days to respond to the order.

Par Hawaii president Eric Wright said the company has already implemented new procedures to prevent a recurrence.

"Protecting and preserving the environment is important to us and we recognize compliance with all county, state and federal environmental laws is critical to our operations,” Wright said in a statement released on Monday. 

“We conducted a thorough investigation to understand what occurred and to ensure this does not happen again,” Wright said. “As we reported back to the Department of Health in mid-February 2025, we have since strengthened communications between departments and retrained our employees to properly identify and control hazardous waste prior to shipment for disposal. We apologize for this incident and will continue to work closely with the Department of Health to make sure we follow through on appropriate steps to ensure the health and safety of our employees and those in our community.”

Par Hawaii operates the only petroleum refinery in the state.

Michael Tsai covers local and state politics for Spectrum News Hawaii. He can be reached at michael.tsai@charter.com.