Hawaiʻi’s water future is in jeopardy—we need a loea on the Water Commission now
Governor Green’s continued inaction has left a critical seat on the Water Commission vacant, jeopardizing the future of Hawaiʻi's water resources. In response, a letter signed by 74 diverse organizations was delivered to Governor Green yesterday, urging him to immediately fill the Native Hawaiian water management expert, or loea, seat on the commission.
The loea (meaning “highly skilled practitioner”) seat is a legally mandated position essential for ensuring that the Commission upholds Hawaiian water rights and understands the importance of Hawaiian water management and perspectives to our ecosystems, cultural integrity, food security, and future generations. The seat has been vacant since June, despite the governor receiving a list of nominees – two of whom were highly respected Hawaiian leaders and true loea – back in February. He is now seeking to restart the nominations process from scratch, using a legally dubious and highly suspect excuse - meaning there may be months more to go before this vital position is filled, and potentially with an individual more politically palatable to the current administration.
Hawaiʻi's waters have long been impacted by corporate hoarding and waste, as well as military contamination. In recent years, we’ve witnessed the devastation caused by the failure to employ Hawaiian science and perspectives in the management of our water resources, including the tragic Maui fires and the poisoning of 93,000 people by the Red Hill fuel facility. The loea seat is critical to healing these harms and ensuring our precious wai is no longer treated as a commodity, but as a public trust to be protected for generations.
Join the widespread call urging Governor Green to fill the loea seat quickly, from the list provided him in February, with a qualified individual who has genuine expertise in Native Hawaiian water management. Proper water management is crucial to securing a resilient water future. Send him a message now using this form and then call his office at 808-586-0034.
Water Authority and BLNR Update
Mahalo nui again to everyone that took action and shared your voice for Maui’s water future last week. In case you missed it, late Thursday afternoon, Board of Land and Natural Resources’ Chair Dawn Chang pulled the Maui Hikina (East Maui) long-term water lease from the BLNR’s Friday agenda. This last-minute move was requested by Mayor Bissen as well as East Maui Water Water Authority members and countless members of the Maui and larger communities, who all raised concerns about the proposal to award over 85 million gallons of water per day for thirty years, to a Canadian corporation and a real estate investment trust – entities that have not demonstrated any real concern about the need to stop the waste of millions of gallons of water from their leaky, unlined reservoirs, or the need to expediently comply with the minimum stream flow requirements ordered by the Water Commission.
We hope this delay creates more space for meaningful discussion and fact-finding regarding any long-term lease, including the actual amount of water that is available, the amount that is needed for various purposes including watershed integrity and true food security, and whether a public entity with community representatives, namely the East Maui Community Water Authority, can better uphold the public trust and the interests of Maui residents in any long term water lease.
Speaking of the Authority, today also marks the first day for the East Maui Community Water Authority’s first-ever executive director, Gina Young. You may recognize Gina from her longtime support of the Sierra Club, her work in Shane Sinenci’s office, the Maui county planning department, the Kula Community Association, and her many other roles as a community leader and public servant. We are incredibly proud of Gina and look forward to this new era of water management on Maui.