The state Board of Land and Natural Resources has given the go-ahead to use the 53-acre Olowalu landfill to store fire debris from the August wildfires on Maui.
Maui County requested to use the landfill, which it argued would provide logistical benefits for debris cleanup.
On Friday the land board approved that request.
The primary benefit stems from the landfill's location 5 miles south of Lāhainā. That’s far closer to Lāhainā than the county’s primary landfill, the Central Maui Landfill, located about 25 miles away.
Mark Cardwell, debris subject matter expert with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, told the land board that cleanup crews are being methodical about debris removal, but ultimately the goal is to quickly remove it from the town.
“The goal is to get it done and get the residents back home as soon as possible,” he said.
The county has also argued that the site has environmental benefits. Officials said thousands of truckloads of debris from Lāhainā will need to be shipped to a landfill, and closer proximity to the site could reduce the spread of ash — which contains toxins like arsenic, asbestos and lead.
Debris could also contain human remains, and the county said the site could serve as a memorial.
Shayne Agawa, the county’s director of environmental management, said two impermeable liners will be used to store the debris. Additionally, the landfill will be closed and monitored by the county for 30 years for any leaks into the environment.
“We’re overly designing this to above standard,” he told the board. “There’s going to be redundant mitigation measures and monitoring for years to come.”
Still, it has raised concerns about possible environmental impacts.
The site is off of Honoapiʻilani Highway, near the coastline and an important coral reef.
At a recent Board of Land and Natural Resources meeting, state aquatic biologist Russell Sparks asked if anything could be done if toxins leaked into the environment.
“It's in the groundwater. It is moving, we're less than 400 yards … to the coastline. I appreciate that that's the right place to be looking for it, but once you detect the failure that has allowed it into the groundwater, I'm curious what can be or will be done at that point?” he said.
“Because that's really the issue: Once you've closed off this landfill and buried everything, I mean, are there feasible ways to address it if it's seeping into the coastline?” Sparks asked.
Scott Crawford, director of the Maui Marine Program for The Nature Conservancy, wanted to make sure that any long-term effects are taken into account.
“I hope we are thinking in generational time frames,” he said. “I hope that we are thinking in terms of 100 or 200 years or more, when our great, great grandchildren are using this area."
"We are concerned that adding a landfill near the ocean filled with toxic remains from the fire at Lāhainā could add an additional stressor that could eventually have seriously detrimental impacts on this vital reef ecosystem.”
