There really isn't anything pretty about wastewater and now the debate over how it should be treated is getting ugly. The United States Environmental Protection Agency says Honolulu has been breaking the Clean Water Act by not treating the wastewater a second time before it’s released into the ocean.

Honolulu put in a request asking for permission not to clean wastewater a second time. The EPA denied that request, which was a decision The Sierra Club supports.

"They take the chunks out, it sounds kind of disgusting but it's really not a lot of treatment. We're putting into the ocean some fairly raw sewage, it's not raw because the chunks are removed but its pretty nasty stuff," said Jeff Mikulina, The Sierra Club Hawaii Chapter Director.

There are two places where the changes would have to be made, the Honouliuli and Sand Island treatment plants. Mayor Mufi Hannemann says to do that would cost $1.2 billion, a lot of which would come from higher fees.

The EPA says it hasn’t cost that much in other cities across America and it hasn’t seen the city’s documentation supporting the $1.2 billion claim. But the changes would take at least millions of dollars all for an added step opponents say is not necessary.

Vic Moreland, with the Hawaii Water Environment Association, says the ocean is able to treat the water itself and believes the wildlife and the public is not in danger.

“If you look from the public health perspective we have no history of epidemic or even small pockets of illness that can be attributed back to any of the outfalls that are on this island," said Moreland.

The bottom line, the EPA has to follow the law and its determined Honolulu is exceeding toxicity and ammonia standards and is not protecting the ocean habitat.

"How important is it we protect marine life? How important is it that we protect the waters? How important is it that we can handle situations where we don't have major releases? That we don't have these things which can affect the overall economy and I think that's important they have an infrastructure that will grow a healthy economy and a healthy life," said Wayne Nastri, U.S. EPA Regional Administrator, Pacific Southwest Region.

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