West Maui reefs need your help

Mālama Monthly

Sep 7

Reading time: 2.75 minutes

The Department of Health, recognizing the great strains on the Maui community after the fires, has extended the comment period for the Lāhainā Wastewater Reclamation Facility permit until September 13, 2023 to give the community more time to provide input. The decision on the public hearing will likely be announced after that date.

West Maui’s reefs already face great threats from the potential toxic runoff from the aftermath of last month’s fires. This is a key opportunity to defend Maui’s coral reefs from additional threats. The Lāhainā Wastewater Reclamation Facility is up for a Clean Water Act permit and we need your help to make sure it is as strong as possible.

Take action for Maui’s reefs by September 13th:

Send an email to cleanwaterbranch@doh.hawaii.gov, with the subject line “Public Comments and Request for Public Hearing on Lahaina Wastewater Reclamation Facility Permit”
Include requests for:
- A public hearing on the proposed permit, stating:
  - Why regulating the Facility’s discharges is important for protecting ocean users and coral reefs along Kahekili Beach Park; and
  - Why you think a public hearing should be held, i.e., to inform the community and receive input on this precedent-setting permit.
- Stronger permit terms including:
  - Meaningful nutrient limits and treatment plans; without reducing the Facility’s nitrogen and phosphorus levels, Kahekili Beach Park will continue to suffer from excess algae and dead coral reefs;
  - Requirements to more quickly maximize water reuse, which would minimize or eliminate discharge to the ocean; and
  - Provisions to guarantee prompt public access to all permit documents.

How we got here:

In a major victory for ocean advocates, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 2020 that indirect discharges to the nation’s waters via groundwater are regulated by the Clean Water Act. That is why the Hawai‘i Department of Health (DOH) is now proposing a Clean Water Act permit, known as a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit, to monitor and limit pollution from Maui County’s Lahaina Wastewater Reclamation Facility. This facility uses injection wells and groundwater to dispose of millions of gallons of treated wastewater daily. The wastewater emerges through submarine springs just offshore of Kahekili Beach Park, a popular recreational area. This permit will be the first of its kind to regulate ocean pollution through underground injection wells, which are used throughout the islands for wastewater disposal. We need your help to ensure this precedent-setting permit is the best it can be.

The Good: Proposed NPDES permit contains some strong points, including requirements to:
- Test the Facility’s wastewater for toxicity;
- Monitor water quality at multiple locations as the wastewater travels from the Facility to the ocean;
- Regulate pollution at its source before the wastewater is injected underground; and
- Provisions to guarantee prompt public access to all permit documents.
The Bad: Proposed NPDES permit is MISSING some key points and must be strengthened to include:
- Strong pollution limits and treatment for nutrients, i.e., nitrogen and phosphorous, which the Facility discharges in amounts far exceeding state water quality standards, and which are known to kill coral reefs along Kahekili Beach Park;
- Requirements to more quickly maximize water reuse to minimize or eliminate discharge to the ocean; and
- Public access to reporting and other submissions required by the permit so the public can monitor permit compliance.
The Ugly: Public hearings are not the default
- DOH has discretion on whether to hold a public hearing on this permit. We need your help demonstrating that the public cares about this reef and the details of this unprecedented permit.
- Email cleanwaterbranch@doh.hawaii.gov ASAP to request a public meeting