After two days of high drama which drew nearly 100 testifiers and resulted in marathon meetings of Maui County Council’s Government, Ethics and Transparency Committee, councilmembers voted 5-3 (one excused) to settle a lawsuit brought against the county by Hawaii Wildlife Fund, Sierra Club Maui, Surfrider Foundation, and West Maui Preservation Association. The case, which […]
County of Maui V. Hawaii Wildlife Fund: The lawsuit against Maui County being watched around the country
In 2014, residents of Anderson County, South Carolina, discovered that energy company Kinder Morgan’s underground Plantation Pipe Line had ruptured, spilling hundreds of thousands of gallons of gasoline into groundwater and soil. Much of the fuel made its way into parts of the Savannah River, but concerned citizens and environmental advocacy groups like Savannah Riverkeeper […]
Quizunderstood: What do you know about last week’s wastewater overflow?
1. The Hawai‘i State Teachers Association released its 2018 endorsements last week. According to The Maui News, however, the union did not take a position on which significant race? A. Governor B. Lieutenant governor C. 11th State House District (South Maui) D. 9th State House District (Kahului, Puunene, Old Sand Hills and Maui Lani) E. […]
Quizunderstood: What do you know about upcoming work on the Maui Veterans Cemetery?
1. On Sept. 20, County of Maui officials said that about 62,500 gallons of wastewater spilled into the ocean off Kahului Beach Road in Wailuku. Back in August, there was another sewage spill, this time into Kahului Harbor. How large was that August spill? A. 48,000 gallons B. 58,000 gallons C. 68,000 gallons D. 78,000 […]
UPDATED: Maui Nui Marine Resource Council hosting all-day workshop on Kihei water quality
Sorry for the last-minute notice (shows what happens when I don’t check my messages over the weekend) but TODAY (May 2, 2016), the Maui Nui Marine Resource Council is putting on an all-day workshop on Kihei water quality over at the Humpback Whale Sanctuary. According to organizers, the workshop is a follow-up to MauiTime‘s Mar. 16 story […]
The County of Maui is already in hot water over sewage in the ocean off West Maui, but a new study says that the Kihei coast is far worse
The County of Maui’s violation of the Clean Water Act by discharging millions of gallons of wastewater into injection wells in West Maui is widely known. The judge’s ruling came in 2014, two years after environmental organizations filed suit, alleging that the injection wells were significantly harming coral reefs in the Lahaina area–most notably, at […]
Making sense of the arguments for and against the County of Maui’s proposed waste-to-energy facility
Sometime around 2017, assuming current projections hold true, Maui will get its very own waste-to-energy facility, courtesy of California-based Anaergia Services. Such a plant would convert raw garbage into various fuel products, which we could either use here or sell elsewhere. The lure of such a facility is that it would both take a lot […]
Federal Court Rules County Of Maui Violating Clean Water Act At Lahaina Wastewater Facility
We’ve known for a year now that the County of Maui’s Lahaina Wastewater Reclamation Facility (LWRF) has been damaging precious coral reefs just off Kahekili Beach (“Airport Beach”) in Ka’anapali. It comes from the practice of injecting three to five million gallons of wastewater into the ground each day. In July 2013, the University of Hawaii released a […]
Maui County Wastewater Report Now Online
Worried about the possibility of a sewage or wastewater spill near you? Could the pond near your house be the site of a recent and unpublicized poop spill? Let the County of Maui ease your mind with its latest EPA/Department of Health Wastewater Report, now available online. The County of Maui EPA/Department of Health Wastewater […]
EPA Says Lahaina Wastewater Facility Is Clean
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has published a press release after an interim evaluation of the Lahaina Wastewater Reclamation Facility and assures everyone that there is no poop in our waters. Well, at least none that’s their fault. The level of harmful bacteria is “low or non-existent, and well within the range considered safe for […]
Readers Respond On Kihei Sewage
SEWER TALK As always your paper takes on and illuminates problems here on Maui that Joe [Bradley, Publisher] over at The Maui News seems to favor ignoring (“Big Waste,” July 26, 2012). One of the most frustrating things in life is to see a solution to a major problem and not being able to get […]
Mayor Presents Draft 2012 Budget To Council
“This is not a budget of fluff and extravagance but one of necessity,” Mayor Arakawa announced as he presented his plan for the 2012 fiscal year to the County Council last week. Arakawa said he got the draft budget to the Council a week early in an effort to “help them in their decision-making process.” […]