Land Board OKs renewal of permits allowing diversion of Maui streams

Honolulu Star-Advertiser | Timothy Hurley | Published November 14, 2020

The Board of Land and Natural Resources on Friday approved the continued diversion of billions of gallons of water from East Maui streams over the objections of environmentalists and Native Hawaiians.

The controversial one-year permits allow Alexander &Baldwin Inc. and subsidiary East Maui Irrigation to take as much as 45 million gallons a day from the northeastern slopes of Haleakala for agricultural and domestic purposes in Central and Upcountry Maui.

“I’m extremely disappointed but not surprised,” said Marti Townsend, executive director of the Sierra Club of Hawaii. “The Board of Land and Natural Resources have been bending over backwards to allow the diverters to do what they want for decades.”

A&B, one of the original Big Five companies, has been diverting water from the mountainous terrain of windward East Maui for more than 150 years. Originally used to fuel sugar production, the water largely now goes to Mahi Pono LLC, the company that acquired 41,000 acres of A&B’s Central Maui sugar plantation in 2016 and is working to transform the land for diversified agriculture.

But a consequence of the diversion is that streams in East Maui have run dry, which interferes with taro farming and native aquatic species. For decades Native Hawaiians, taro farms and environmentalists have been battling in court to restore the streams.

Meanwhile, the Land Board for years has issued short-term “holdover” revocable permits for the water diversions, allowing the company to avoid the more rigorous review required of a long-term lease. But representatives of A&B assured the board Friday that they are drawing closer to completing the environmental impact statement needed for the lease.

The Sierra Club is suing the BLNR over the stream water diversion issue, and a trial in the case recently wrapped up in 1st Circuit Court. A ruling has yet to be issued.

On Thursday the Sierra Club asked Judge Jeffrey Crabtree to order BLNR to delay its decision on the revocable permits by no more than one month, but the judge denied the motion.

On Friday the club’s attorney, David Kimo Frankel, urged the board to require A&B to cut back on the vast amount of water wasted in the old system. He said the company should be required to line its reservoirs to prevent leakage and to use groundwater when feasible.

Frankel also suggested that a cap be placed on the amount of water allowed to be taken. Instead of 45 million gallons per day, the maximum amount should be closer to the actual amount used — about 25 million gallons per day on average.

“To take from East Maui streams and have it wasted is criminal. You’re doing incredible damage to the streams, to the value of the streams, whether it’s biological or recreational,” he said.

Frankel said the company also should be required to remove old pipes and trash that has accumulated around the system and to remove the invasive species allowed to proliferate because of the diversions.

Lucienne de Naie of the Haiku Community Association said hundreds of people live along dewatered streams, including plenty of Native Hawaiians who have kuleana rights to the water.

“But these streams don’t flow,” she said.

Also testifying against the permits were representatives from the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Maui Tomorrow Foundation and Na Moku Aupuni o Ko‘olau Hui, the group of East Maui Native Hawaiians that has been fighting against the water diversions in court for more than a decade.

On the other side, representatives of the Hawaii Farm Bureau and the Maui County Farm Bureau said the water diverted from East Maui gives life to important agriculture concerns both Upcountry and in Central Maui.

Maui County Board of Water Supply attorney Caleb Rowe told the board that the East Maui water supports 35,000 Upcountry residents, farms and businesses, especially in times of drought. He said there is no guarantee it will be available if the permits are not granted.

Quoting a 2007 BLNR contested case decision, Rowe said cutting off this supply of water to Maui County would “result in a public health crisis and economic catastrophe.”

The board approved the permit renewals unanimously, with Samuel “Ohu” Gon III declining to participate in the matter because of A&B’s relationship with his employer, The Nature Conservancy.

In board discussion, member Chris Yuen of Hawaii County said he didn’t agree with requiring the lining of reservoirs to prevent seepage losses. He said requiring expensive infrastructure on a short-term lease is inappropriate.