Takeaways from water authority meeting & actions ahead of BLNR meeting

Mahalo nui to everyone who submitted comments and tuned into Wednesday’s East Maui Community Water Authority meeting. Over 100 pages of written comments were submitted, and the room was full, with almost 60 people watching online. Your involvement is making a difference!

Here are the key takeaways and action steps as we approach Friday’s Board of Land and Natural Resources (BLNR) meeting:

Key Takeaways:

1. Contested Case Hearing & Lease Vote: BLNR Chair Dawn Chang promised that there will be no vote on the East Maui water lease this Friday. This is huge and will give more time to consider the many, many issues that should inform any proposed decision over the long-term lease, via a fact-intensive contested case hearing.

2. Public vs. Corporate Management: There is a growing call to better uphold the public trust by ensuring that East Maui’s water is managed by a public agency, not foreign-controlled corporations like Mahi Pono/EMI. The East Maui Water Authority is committed to public service, unlike Mahi Pono/EMI, which prioritizes profit for foreign shareholders.

3. Local Accountability & Fair Water Rates: Many felt that a local water authority is more likely to maintain fair water rates, while corporations like Mahi Pono/EMI focus on maximizing profits for investors.

4. Fair Representation for Hawaiian Homes: The East Maui Water Authority guarantees a seat for the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands (DHHL), better ensuring that homesteaders and Hawaiian communities are fairly represented in decisions directly impacting the resource.

5. Waste Must Stop: The current East Maui ditch system is outdated and leaky. The water authority is motivated - and legally obligated - to uphold the public trust, such as by pursuing funding for upgrades and ensuring reservoirs are lined to prevent rampant waste and to make more water available for downstream communities, traditional and customary practitioners, Upcountry residents, and Central Maui agriculture. Meanwhile, Mahi Pono/A&B/EMI has refused to acknowledge the system’s leaks and need for improvements for decades.

6. Misinformation or misunderstanding? During her testimony, Chair Chang suggested that the lease must be fast-tracked to avoid having to issue a new or continued revocable permit, in order for Maui Hikina streams to be diverted after December 2024. This is not true - there is no way a lease would be able to authorize diversions by January 1, 2025, and a new or continued revocable permit will be necessary in any case to divert streams. In other words, this is not a valid excuse to move forward without key information and without providing the East Maui Water Authority a fair shake at obtaining a lease.

Next Steps:

1. Attend Friday’s BLNR Meeting:

• Date: Friday, September 27, 2024

• Time: 9:00 AM

• Location: DLNR Boardroom, Kalanimoku Bldg. Room 1151 (in-person) & via Zoom

• Virtual: Zoom and YouTube (to provide virtual verbal testimony, follow instructions on agenda; to watch live and not testify, watch on YouTube)

  We must show the community demand to uphold the public trust in East Maui’s water. Your presence—whether in person or virtually—will show strong community support for the public trust and the need to stop the hoarding, waste, and neglect of East Maui’s streams, watersheds, and estuaries that has persisted for far too long.

2. Submit Written Testimony:
   Can’t attend? Submit your written testimony supporting the proper protection and management of East Maui’s water. Sample testimony:

   “My name is _____ and I urge the Board not to move forward with any lease approval, especially for Alexander & Baldwin and Mahi Pono, until the decades-long issues regarding rampant water waste, Native Hawaiian water rights and traditional and customary practices, the needs of the Department of Hawaiian Homelands, and the long-neglected needs of East Maui’s streams, watersheds, estuaries, and communities are properly and finally recognized and addressed, through a fact-intensive contested case hearing process.”

   Send testimony to: blnr.testimony@hawaii.gov with “Item D-12” in the subject. If you can testify virtually, be sure to also request a Zoom link.

Why This Matters:

The future of East Maui’s water resources is at stake. Some streams still run dry today, despite the longstanding needs of East Maui’s watersheds and estuaries, subsistence communities, and cultural practitioners. Profit-driven corporations like Mahi Pono/A&B/EMI cannot simply be allowed to continue to control, hoard, and waste our water for another 30 years or more, without any accountability to our ʻāina, people, and the public trust.

Mahalo again for your continued support. Let’s work together to protect East Maui’s water for future generations. If you have questions or need help with testimony, please feel free to reach out.