HILO, Hawaii -- The Hawaii County Environmental Management Commission is satisfied there's nothing improper about the administration's continued renting of a bulldozer it sold as surplus six years ago.

The county sold the 1991 Caterpillar D8 for $52,083 in 2003, as part of a trade-in for a new bulldozer. It has since spent more than $427,025 renting it back.

A recent contract with the 'dozer's owner, C&H Ishii General Contractors, will carry the county through June 30 for another $12,725 a month.

The county Department of Public Works bought the 'dozer new for $276,020.

The county is responsible for providing the operator and all required maintenance and repair. It's not known how much repairs and maintenance on the 18-year-old 'dozer have cost county taxpayers over the years.

A comparable machine bought new costs $550,000 and a used 'dozer of the kind leased by the county runs $125,000 to $150,000.

The commission in September had asked county Environmental Management Director Lono Tyson for justification of the county's actions following a West Hawaii Today investigative report earlier this year. The nine-member commission is appointed by the mayor and confirmed by the County Council to direct policy for the administration and advise the council.

"If you delve into it, it makes sense," Commission Vice Chairman Steve Pavao said Wednesday.

Tyson's report indicates the county Department of Public Works had disposed of the equipment by trading it in to Pacific Machinery for a new 'dozer more suited to road work.

The county Department of Environmental Management then executed "emergency procurement" no-bid contracts with Ishii from March 2005 through December 2006 to temporarily replace bulldozers that were out for repairs.

Ben Ishii, an engineer in the Department of Public Works, is a first cousin to C&H Ishii President Howard Ishii. He told West Hawaii Today on Wednesday that he has no involvement with the company.

"We're related but I don't have anything to do with his company," Ben Ishii said.

When the project was finally put out for bid, Ishii was the sole bidder until this year, when Pacific Machinery, now known as Hawthorne Pacific Machinery Inc., put in a bid of $16,225 a month for the lease.

Tyson claims renting the bulldozer has saved the county $7.1 million a year by helping keep the Hilo landfill open and avoiding trucking garbage across the island to West Hawaii. He said the 'dozer is specially designed for landfill work, with a hardened undercarriage, closed cab and air-filtration system.

"Based on the results of my review, it is apparent that no wrongdoing or mismanagement of county resources occurred in regards to the rental of the 'dozer," Tyson said in his report. "Despite heavy criticism by the media and some members of the public, the 'dozer rental has been essential to extending the life of the South Hilo Sanitary Landfill that, in fact, has saved the county millions of dollars a year and has delayed the long-hauling of waste to the county's West Hawaii Sanitary Landfill in Puuanahulu."

The county owns four 'dozers -- two at each landfill. The county also owns and rents landfill compactors and excavators and has recently purchased a new compactor.

The equipment is often down for repairs because of heavy use on harsh landfill terrain and because the equipment has to wait in line behind civil defense, fire and police vehicles at the Public Works maintenance and repair facility, Tyson said.

But Tyson was unable to explain how repairing a bulldozer the county owns differs from repairing one the county rents, as the contract specifies that the county will repair and maintain the rental equipment.

Hilo contractor Buddy Azevedo, contacted for his opinion based on his 62 years of bulldozer experience, disputed Tyson's contention that the Ishii 'dozer was specially designed for landfill work. Azevedo's experience includes working on the Alaska pipeline project, the Marshall Islands and roads and harbor excavations around the state.

The "hardened undercarriage" is known by 'dozer operators as a "belly guard," and all bulldozers have them, he said. Closed cabs and air-filtration systems are also common on bulldozers and some consider them luxury items, he said.

"This is a normal 'dozer," Azevedo said. "This is just one big cover-up, that's all."