Princess Kawananakoa sues Haleiwa eatery over sewage spills

HALEIWA, OAHU (HawaiiNewsNow) - Princess Abigail Kawananakoa has filed a lawsuit alleging a Haleiwa restaurateur of knowingly dumping sewage in a pond frequented by children and putting the public at danger.

The lawsuit also says the city and state didn't do enough to stop the contamination from the Haleiwa Beach House restaurant.

"I don't know why the bureaucrats aren't stepping in and really doing what they're supposed to do to stop the pollution," said her attorney, William Saunders.

But the restaurant's owner, developer Andy Anderson, said the lawsuit has no accuracy.

Anderson, who is also a former city Councilman and Honolulu managing director, claims a report by the Department of Health came back negative on three tests. He said he has been working with agencies to obtain all the necessary permits.

Kawananakoa, who traces her ancestry to King David Kalakaua and is the great-granddaughter of James Campbell, says Anderson deliberately drained human sewage into the vicinity of an ancient fishpond.

"Draining human sewage into the vicinity of an ancient fishpond by Andy Anderson was not an accident; it was the inevitable result of ignoring the law," she said, in a statement. "It was deliberately done knowing full well that children were using this pond to study important Hawaiian traditions and culture. To the Hawaiians, a fish pond was extremely sacred and tantamount to life itself because it was used to feed them. Mr. Anderson knew he was endangering the public and the environment, all the while acting without proper permits. We have had enough callous lawlessness in our state."

Haleiwa Beach House Restaurant was shut down temporarily in June for spilling wastewater into the fish pond.

"The Department of Health has done tests, dye tests that confirm when they flush it down the toilet in Mr. Andersen's restaurant, it comes out and they can detect it on the surface and going into the stream bed," Saunders said.

Andersen more than tripled the size of the old Jameson's by the Sea restaurant back in March to open his new eatery.

Health officials said the restaurant was expanded to serve up to 388 people, but its wastewater system was only authorized for 114 people and it was unable to handle the increased capacity.

After numerous fines and the mandatory shutdown, the restaurant was allowed to reopen.

The Health Department declined to comment on the lawsuit.

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