Federal agents today raided a suspected illegal dumping site for hazardous waste in Nanakuli.

Agents from the Environmental Protection Agency's Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance, who served a multi-day search warrant on the lessee of the 10-acre property at 87-1161 Hakimo Road, are looking for 55-gallon drums containing chemical substances along with "large amounts of gasoline, hundreds of gallons of waste oil, hundreds of tires, a large number of thrown away car batteries — still containing acid — and used automobile anti-freeze liquid containing lead, said Ed Kubo, United States attorney for Hawai'i.

The hazardous waste products are believed to be buried in five holes on the property which Kubo described as "deeper than two excavators, which shows a calculated attempt to hide (the items)."

"It is alleged that companies would pay money to the lessee of the property to allow them to dump their waste into holes on the property," Kubo said. It was inconvenient for companies involved in dumping at the site to do it the right way since it meant bigger profits, Kubo added.

"This type of illegal dumping not only hurts our environment but it has the potential of harming innocent children and families living nearby," Kobo said.

He added, "These type of materials also have the potential of ... damaging our ocean, our fish population and our reefs. Finally, these materials also have the potential of seeping downward into our precious drinking water and possibly poisoning our people."

San Francisco-based Nick Torres, special agent in charge of the regional EPA Criminal Investigation Division, said the site poses no immediate public health threat.

EPA is investigating several other illegal dumping sites in West O'ahu as part of "Operation E Ola Pono 2008," a new federal initiative to enforce all EPA laws in Hawai'i. "Through this initiative, it is hoped that more people will be held accountable for their wrongful actions when it comes to abusing our air, our land, and our waters," Kubo said.

Federal authorities learned of the illegal dumping while investigating drug activity at the Hakimo property, a Zone 8 agriculture lot used for a hodgepodge of purposes that include animal storage and auto-body shops. Today's raid capped an investigation which began about 18 months ago.

Peter K. Teruya is listed as the owner of the property, which is leased to a woman believed to the girlfriend of a 62-year-old man arrested at the site today for being a felon in possession of a firearm.

The man, whose 19 criminal convictions include eight felonies for offenses such as second-degree forgery, criminal property damage and being offensively armed, was arrested with a 49-year-old man at the site.

Kubo said both men are facing federal firearm charges which carry a possible 10-year prison sentence.

Authorities are expected to continue digging for waste evidence on the property, possibly through Thursday.

Kubo said FBI, Drug Enforcement Administration, Immigration & Customs Enforcement, Coast Guard Investigative Services, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Investigative Service, and state Public Safety personnel are assisting the DEA.