Along a quiet stretch of the Pearl Harbor bike path in Pearl City, neighbors say life has turned into a fight against dust. Residents who live beside the Waiawa Stream report waking up coughing, with scratchy throats and a chemical tang in the air, which they blame on a sprawling junkyard across the path on Lehua Avenue.
The roughly 2.6-acre industrial lot, stacked with old cars, refrigerators and other scrap, sits just across from homes, residents say. The state has already stepped in. The Hawaiʻi Department of Health issued a Notice of Violation and Order with a $55,000 enforcement penalty against ABC Towing & Parts and property owner JH Hawaii Property for unauthorized discharges to Waiawa Stream, according to the Hawaiʻi Department of Health. Regulators say the site has been operating without required NPDES permit coverage and warned that water‑pollution violations can carry penalties as high as $60,000 per day.
Neighbors Say Dust and Trucks Never Let Up
Residents who live along the path told Hawaii News Now that the junkyard has turned into a daily nuisance and a health worry. They describe trucks constantly moving scrap, kicking up clouds of fine dust that drift straight into nearby homes.
"All that dust is coming through my house," resident Albert Kim told the station. Another neighbor, Corrie Young, put it more bluntly: "I'm just scared for our health." Neighbors say the problem went from bad to worse after March's Kona‑low storms, which they believe washed junkyard material into Waiawa Stream and left more debris and sediment behind.
Owner Maps Out Months of Cleanup as DOH Meeting Looms
The general manager of ABC Towing told Hawaii News Now that crews are working to clean up the lot and that the effort could stretch to about eight months. The company also said it has a meeting scheduled with health officials at the property on Tuesday.
According to the station, the Department of Health says the Notice of Violation and Order remains unresolved and that it has not yet received a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit application from the operator or owner. DOH representatives, Hawaii News Now reported, have been communicating with the property's legal representative about the enforcement action.
State Inspectors Document Unauthorized Discharges
Records attached to the DOH enforcement order detail what state inspectors say they found on site. Clean Water Branch staff visited the property on Oct. 30, 2024, and again on Jan. 31, 2025, and documented unauthorized discharges of metals, tires, sediment and other debris into Waiawa Stream, according to the DOH NOVO from the Hawaiʻi Department of Health.
The notice identifies the parcel as a roughly 2.6-acre industrial lot at 794 H Lehua Avenue and names both ABC Towing & Parts and JH Hawaii Property as respondents. It orders them to remove unauthorized material and obtain required permit coverage. The document also cites earlier corrective-action orders tied to a previous owner and warns that more enforcement could follow if violations continue.
March Kona-Low Turned Runoff Into a Bigger Mess
In March, a Kona‑low system drenched Oʻahu with heavy rain, flooding streets and pushing debris into streams across the island, according to contemporaneous reporting from The Associated Press. Saturated soils and swollen waterways made it easier for trash and sediment to move downstream.
Neighbors say junk and debris from the Lehua Avenue junkyard were among the materials that ended up in Waiawa Stream during those storms, adding to their concerns about what is in the water and in the dust blowing back toward their homes.
State Has Leverage if Cleanup Stalls
The Department of Health's NOVO and the related fine give the state several tools to push for compliance. Officials can order material removed, require the operator to secure NPDES coverage and tack on additional per-day penalties for ongoing violations. The enforcement framework also holds property owners responsible for what their tenants do on site, which keeps both ABC Towing & Parts and JH Hawaii Property on the hook.
The upcoming on-site meeting is expected to be a key moment, providing health officials with a chance to press for a clear cleanup plan and timeline, and to spell out what happens if the work lags.
Neighbors Want Faster Action and Proof the Air Is Safe
People living along the Pearl Harbor bike path say they have been complaining about the junkyard for years and are now looking for more than warnings and paperwork. They want quicker cleanup, better air and water monitoring and firmer timelines from regulators.
With the DOH visit set for this week, residents and regular bike-path users say they will be watching for signs that enforcement will translate into cleaner air and a safer stream. Until then, some neighbors say they will keep their windows shut and their guard up, waiting to see whether the dust finally settles.
