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With just five weeks to go until Mayor Peter Carlisle must present his first budget, he still doesn’t have a full-time budget director. One big distraction: Cleaning up the literal and figurative mess at Waimanalo Gulch Sanitary Landfill. It’s a busy week, and Civil Beat is reporting from the inside.

After EPA Intervened, Waste Management Stopped Putting Debris Back in Dump

3:10 p.m.
After Joe Whelan revealed his crews were putting medical and other waste washing ashore back into the dump from where it came, City Council member Tulsi Gabbard Tamayo pressed him to explain why.

“EPA came to the site on Saturday (Jan. 15),” Whelan said. “At that time, when they came on site, they requested that we start doing it differently. We had already put it into the landfill but after that, we’ve continued to store that material on site.”

Whelan refused to take questions from the press after the hearing, and wouldn’t schedule an interview or press availability any time this week. Almost immediately after the nearly four-hour hearing concluded this afternoon, Whelan was whisked away by a public relations representative.

Medical Waste Went Straight Back into the Dump

10:02 a.m.
Waimanalo Gulch remains closed this week, and trash island-wide is stacking up. Mayor Peter Carlisle said he’s praying for sun. The landfill isn’t ready to handle the kind of rain that caused a flood of medical waste and other debris to leave the landfill and enter the Pacific Ocean.

But landfill operator Joe Whelan said clean-up crews put the debris they collected back into the landfill.

“It would have been placed back into the landfill,” Whelan testified before the City Council this morning. “I can tell you, from offsite locations, we picked up around 55 or 60 bags, 40-gallon trash bags. Of that, probably a gallon to a gallon-and-a-half was medical waste.”

Whelan’s testimony is inconsistent with other city officials — including City Council member Tulsi Gabbard Tamayo, who combed beaches with constituents — who have reported far more syringes, vials of blood and urine and other medical waste than Whelan suggests.

State Investigates Possible Wrongdoing at Landfill

9:29 a.m.
State Department of Health officials are investigating whether the city or landfill operator Waste Management could face violations in connection with the recent Waimanalo Gulch landfill spill.

Officials say an investigation is still in the “information gathering” stage, and it’s too early to say when a determination will be made. It is possible the city will face a monetary penalty.

“There’s always a potential for every violation to carry fines,” a Department of Health representative testified this morning.

Committee Room Packed For Landfill Hearing

9:02 a.m.
Mayor Peter Carlisle is sitting front and center at the joint hearing to discuss a landfill spill that flooded medical waste into the Pacific Ocean and onto Leeward shores. He’s sitting next to Joe Whelan, who operates the landfill.

Also here are Honolulu Managing Director Doug Chin, Environmental Services Director Tim Steinberger, Emergency Services Director James Ireland and many others. With the knock of a gavel by Tulsi Gabbard Tamayo, the meeting is just starting.

Sparse Public Schedule for Mayor Carlisle

6:35 a.m.
Mayor Peter Carlisle is back after more than a week of traveling to Los Angeles and Washington, D.C. There’s no question he’ll be busy with just five weeks left until his budget is due, and persistent concerns over the still-closed Waimanalo Gulch landfill.

Maybe that’s why the mayor has only a single item on his public schedule until the weekend. On Wednesday, Jan. 26, Carlisle will serve as a guest speaker at the 2011 Kaneohe Business Group General Meeting. After that, his next public event is the Narcissus Festival in Chinatown on Friday evening.

Landfill Operator Finally Speaks Up on Landfill, Says Little

City Council officials could be in for a frustrating committee hearing this morning if Waste Management general manager Joe Whelan, who runs the Waimanalo Gulch landfill.

After days of refusing interviews — to Civil Beat and our colleagues in other newsrooms — Whelan finally broke his silence with in the Sunday Honolulu Star-Advertiser.

But those looking for some of the answers that Civil Beat is seeking won’t find them in that piece. Whelan’s column doesn’t offer any new information about the landfill spill, related operations at Waimanalo Gulch, or a serious exploration of how the spill could have been prevented.

A Civil Beat investigation found a lack of regulation and confusion over who’s in charge of oversight of some aspects of waste disposal. (Click here to read the full story.)

Whelan blames record-breaking heavy rains and reminds readers that a new diversion channel that could have prevented the spill was mere weeks from completion. It remains to be seen whether his explanations will be enough to satisfy City Council members at a joint hearing on the matter this morning.

Read Previous Editions of Inside Honolulu

Jan. 21, 2011: Waimanalo Gulch to stay closed until next week; Honolulu Mayor Peter Carlisle among mayors meeting with President Obama today.

Jan. 20, 2011: Mayor Peter Carlisle reports a positive meeting with congressional transit leader; City eyes Bellows, Waimanalo North for new landfill site.

Jan. 19, 2011: Advisory committee to meet on landfill site selection; Tom Berg is officially a City Council member; Sen. Dan Inouye reiterates his support for rail; Read the Record of Decision.

Jan. 18, 2011: City officials celebrate after FTA issues Record of Decision on rail; Sen. Dan Inouye wants an office at Honolulu Hale; City still working to clean up medical waste from landfill flood.

Jan. 14, 2011: Deputy prosecutor sworn in; City confronts myriad trash issues; Ikaika Anderson creating task force to consider sweeping overhaul to property tax structure; City workers hit the Furlough Friday halfway point.

Jan. 13, 2011: City opens emergency shelter on Leeward Coast; Heavy rains continue to hamper city business; City Council Chairman Nestor Garcia is in Washington, D.C., to discuss APEC.

Jan. 12, 2011: City Transportation hearing a one-sided affair; Council members concerned about camping fees; Customer Services director nominee Gail Haraguchi breezes through committee; Hawaii could get a preseason NFL game; Former Mayor Mufi Hannemann says air travel is key for economic recovery.

Jan. 11, 2011: First Zoning Committee of the new year gets updates on pending amendments to Honolulu’s Land Use Ordinance.

Jan. 10, 2011: Mayor Peter Carlisle gives kudos to Kauai; Committees move forward with two director nominations; Statewide fireworks ban unlikely; City officials worry about fireworks hoarders.

Jan. 7, 2011: City transportation director preps to take up IMG report in Transportation Committee meeting next week; Mayor Peter Carlisle stays quiet on illegal rental to President Barack Obama; Carlisle plans business trip to Hollywood, jokes about wanting a cameo in Hawaii 5-0.

Jan. 6, 2011: Emergency official cites threat of “huge mudslide” in Kaneohe highway closure; City eyes user fees, but in what form? Mayor tells Pacific Club crowd about inevitable cuts during “financial crisis,” calls city challenges “exciting.”

Jan. 5, 2011: Council vice chair to host hearing on IMG report; Rail division moves down permitting check list; A new year means a new website for Honolulu.

Jan. 4, 2011: Carlisle’s drinking buddies may be lonely this month; Honolulu’s first mayor inaugurated 102 years ago today; Tom Berg isn’t happy with his Council committee assignments.

Jan. 3, 2011: City Council to explore user fees as revenue generator; Nestor Garcia talks rail, APEC, city values in celebratory inaugural address.