Hawaii

EPA settles with Hawaii company over 2013 molasses spill

Associated Press
Published | Updated

In this Sept. 16, 2013 file photo, a Maston ship sits in Honolulu Harbor near the site of a molasses spill. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has reached a settlement with the shipping company responsible for the 1,400-ton molasses spill in Honolulu Harbor in 2013. The federal agency announced in a statement Thursday, Jan. 19, 2017 that Matson Terminals Inc. will pay a civil penalty of $725,000. The molasses leaked from a section of pipe that had been flagged by the state a year before the spill. (AP Photo/Oskar Garcia, File) (The Associated Press)

In this Sept. 10, 2013 file photo, Placido Shim shows two fish he gaffed that were floating near his boat after a leaky pipe caused molasses to ooze into the harbor and kill marine life. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has reached a settlement with the company responsible for a 1,400-ton molasses spill in Honolulu Harbor in 2013. The federal agency announced in a statement Thursday, Jan. 19, 2017 that Matson Terminals Inc. will pay a civil penalty of $725,000. The molasses leaked from a section of pipe that had been flagged by the state a year before the spill. (Dennis Oda/The Star-Advertiser via AP, File) (The Associated Press)

FILE - In this Sept. 11, 2013 file photo, a worker from Pacific Environmental Corporation skims the water near the Matson shipyard in the Kapalama Basin in Honolulu after a molasses spill in Honolulu Harbor. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has reached a settlement with the company responsible for the 1,400-ton molasses spill in Honolulu Harbor in 2013. The federal agency announced in a statement Thursday, Jan. 19, 2017 that Matson Terminals Inc. will pay a civil penalty of $725,000. The molasses leaked from a section of pipe that had been flagged by the state a year before the spill. (Cindy Ellen Russell/Honolulu Star-Advertiser via AP, File) (The Associated Press)

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency says it has reached a settlement with the company responsible for a 1,400-ton molasses spill in Honolulu Harbor in 2013.

The federal agency announced in a statement Thursday that Matson Terminals Inc. will pay a civil penalty of $725,000. The molasses leaked from a section of pipe that had been flagged by the state a year before the spill.

The civil settlement follows a criminal case against Matson in which the company paid $1 million in fines and restitution, which was split between the Waikiki Aquarium for coral reef research and Sustainable Coastlines Hawaii for beach cleanups.

The company also reached a settlement with the state to stop transporting molasses through the harbor and paid for cleanup and coral restoration.

Matson did not immediately return requests for comment.