BIG WIN! A&B must limit East Maui diversions again

Good news! In a hearing on Tuesday, Judge Crabtree reduced the amount of water A&B is permitted to take from East Maui streams from 25 million gallons a day to 20 million gallons. Thank you to everyone that tuned in to the hearing.

In rendering his decision on A&B’s and BLNRʻs motion to continue the diversion of East Maui’s streams while a contested case hearing on their 2021 and 2022 revocable permits remain pending, Judge Crabtree noted the “absolutely undisputed data on the record on this motion that for the last nine months at least no more than 19 mgd needed to be taken out of the streams."  This cap will be in place until June 15, 2022 or until the Board of Land and Natural Resources makes a decision in our contested case regarding A&B’s 2021 revocable permits, whichever comes first. 

This data-based reduction in permitted water diversion is a BIG DEAL! For years, we have advocated before the Board of Land and Natural Resources to require diverters to provide accurate and timely data of exactly how much water they use and what the water is used for. And this is why—so sound data-based decisions can be made to stop the needless waste of public trust waters, to ultimately return much needed water to native stream ecosystems and downstream users. 

While 5 million gallons of water a day might seem not seem like much as Judge Crabtree noted,  it absolutely adds up—5 million gallons a day over the next 45 days means 225 million gallons of water that could have potentially been diverted must remain in East Maui’s streams for the ecosystem and users that need it most.

Relatedly, we are anticipating a decision from the Board of Land and Natural Resources in our contested case in the next few weeks. More on that later, for now we celebrate! 

On the West Maui Water Designation front, over 40 people provided verbal testimony at the meeting on Tuesday in Lahaina and dozens of written testimony were submitted in support of the designation. Mahalo nui to all of the water protectors who wrote and showed up to testify in support of water management area designation.  Tuesday’s meeting was not a decision making meeting so stay tuned for updates and more opportunities to show your support. You can learn more about this designation process here.