Waianae Homeowner's Dream To Farm Dumped On

HONOLULU -- Imagine buying your dream home and discovering it sits atop an illegal landfill. That's exactly what happened to a Wai`anae family who's hope to farm the land is now in doubt because of the contamination.

The federal EPA is investigating this case. It may sound like just another case of illegal dumping on the leeward side.

Winston Naone thought his three and a half acre lot with a new house and great view was ready to farm when he paid nearly $900,000 for it last year. Then, he scraped the surface and found something.

"It's been covered over slightly, only a couple of inches. But that's all it took was just a couple inches of digging," Naone said.

Most of the lot is riddled with buried concrete chunks, old tires, car and truck parts. Someone's illegal dumping ground for material that should have gone into a legal landfill.

"I don't think it was by accident. It was purposely done," Naone said.

The dumping and covering up is apparent along a stream bed where debris is so thick it poses a flood hazard.

"There's clearly hazardous material here. We dug this out of the ground. There is asphalt which is made from petroleum everywhere and who knows what else is under this huge pile," Naone said.

Naone is suing the man who sold him the land, a trucking company owner named David Souza who still owns the property next door.

Souza's attorney said that if there was an illegal dump on the Naone land it pre-dates Souza's ownership and he was not aware of it when he sold it.

Regardless of where the rubbish came from, there was no question Naone is stuck with it now.

"It looks like a dream. Right now it looks more like a nightmare," Naone said.

Naone hopes he can keep the property if he can find the person responsible to clean it up.