The Maui News

The state Board of Land and Natural Resources will consider a request today from Maui County to utilize land under the state’s jurisdiction to dispose of debris from the Aug. 8 wildfires.

The meeting begins at 9:15 a.m. at the state Department of Land and Natural Resources Boardroom on Oahu. It is also on Zoom and livestreamed on YouTube.

The site suggested by the county Department of Environmental Management, Solid Waste Division, is next to the closed Olowalu Landfill, which is within 5 miles of the impact zone, a DLNR news release said Thursday.

Maui County’s current landfill in Central Maui is 25 miles away from Lahaina.

The DLNR Land Division currently controls the 19.4-acre property, which is a former cinder quarry. The division’s submittal to the BLNR proposes excavation and grading of the site to develop floor and slope grades suitable for the installation of a proposed liner system, according to a news release.

“Development of the Lahaina Wildfire Final Disposition Project site at Olowalu for wildfire debris and ancillary purposes is the most practical option for disposal of debris from West Maui,” the Land Division’s submittal says. “It will not only protect the environment through a prescriptively lined disposal area, but also protects human health during the recovery through reduced traffic incidents and minimum public exposure to debris versus the central Maui landfill.”

During a tour of the site on Monday, DLNR Maui Land Agent Daniel Ornellas echoed the county’s concerns about using the Central Maui landfill.

“You’d be running large dual-axle dump trucks along the Pali, right through Kahului and up into Oma’opio,” Ornellas said. “Regarding distance, the Olowalu proposed disposal site is a game changer.”

The BLNR will be asked to approve an immediate right-of-entry permit to the county, which would expire after one year, or after the setting aside of government lands by a governor’s executive order, whichever happens first. The chairperson of the land board would be authorized to continue the permit for additional one-year periods, if necessary.

The board is also being asked to approve and recommend to the governor the issuance of an executive order setting aside the land to the county.

Ornellas said a design report produced by a consultant calls for the reshaping of the existing grade in the pit to accept a base layer of drain rock, which would then be covered by an 80-millimeter liner.

“That liner would help prevent any percolation or leaching into groundwater and areas underneath the cinder pit,” Ornellas said.

Mayor Richard Bissen asked Gov. Josh Green in a Sept. 20 letter to approve the setting aside of land, along with a request that the governor’s emergency proclamation be extended to include development of the Olowalu facilities.

For information, visit dlnr.hawaii.gov/meetings/blnr-meetings-2023/.