LAHAINA (HawaiiNewsNow) – Better, but not good enough.
That’s the message environmentalists have for state officials who have been working on a pollution control permit for Lahaina.
A small, but determined, group testified at the Lahaina Civic Center Wednesday morning. Hawaii Department of Health’s Clean Water Branch listened to their feedback about its revised permit proposal for the Lahaina Wastewater Reclamation Facility.
The facility treats sewage.
Every day, more than 11 million gallons of treated wastewater are pumped into injection wells and eventually into the ocean.
“We’re here to testify on a draft permit that the Department of Health put out to try and control the pollution going to the ocean at Kahekili Beach Park that has been killing the reef at Haenanui. This is a problem that has been going on literally for decades and we’re getting close to a decision point,” said Earthjustice attorney David Henkin.
Henkin successfully argued at the U.S. Supreme Court in 2019 that even though it’s treated, the ocean discharge kills coral reefs and harms marine life at Haenanui, also known as Kahekili Beach or Airport Beach, and a permit is necessary.
Six years later, the pollution is still occurring.
“It’s like the dead lands in Lion King,” said Earthjustice attorney Mahesh Cleveland. “You get to this almost line where it’s just all brownish grey turf algae. The coral is all dead. There’s like one or two fish swinging by and there’s literally bubbles of gas coming out through the reef, which are literally the gases that come through with the injectate from the treatment plant.”
Lahaina resident Heidi Beltz refuses to take her family there.
“I personally don’t want to deal with a sick kid after, and there’s many other beaches that have cleaner water that I feel more comfortable swimming in,” she said.
These water watchdogs hope state officials take their feedback and revise the permit again to protect the ocean even more.
“I think it’s really important for people to feel like their voices matter and that we’re not just talking to walls. So, really hope that they’re going to integrate the comments that we’ve taken time to provide today,” said Hanna Lilley, Surfrider Foundation Hawaii regional manager.
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