A former Hawaii lawmaker was sentenced in a federal corruption case that's drawn attention to a perennial problem in the islands: the tens of thousands of cesspools that release 50 million gallons of raw sewage into the state's pristine waters every day
“I want to say I’m sorry to my family who stayed by me, to my friends, to my constituents, my community and the people of Hawaii,” Cullen said, choking up. “I will continue to work to make my wrongs right. And ensure that this never happens again.”
Public spending on such efforts and the lack of knowledge about the specialized field can create conditions ripe for corruption, said Colin Moore, a political science professor at the University of Hawaii. An estimated 16% of Hawaii housing units have cesspools, but the share is much higher on more rural islands like the Big Island, where more than half of the homes have them. They're found everywhere from the mountains to the seashore and even in urban neighborhoods just miles from downtown Honolulu.
Such concerns have prompted the Legislature to draft bills to phase out cesspools. In 2017 the state enacted a law requiring homeowners to close their cesspools and hook up to sewer systems or install cleaner on-site waste treatment systems by 2050. The most common on-site alternative is a septic tank and leach field combination, in which bacteria break down solids inside a tank and a disposal field removes wastewater and pathogens while safely returning water to the environment.
Cullen accepted a total of $23,000 from Honolulu businessman Milton Choy, who is due to be sentenced next month. He's also admitted accepting $22,000 in gambling chips from Choy during a trip to a New Orleans wastewater conference.
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