The state Board of Land and Natural Resources has denied a contested case hearing over a 30-year water license for real estate company Alexander & Baldwin — a win for those who want to stop stream water diversion in East Maui.
The Department of Land and Natural Resources recommended the contested case hearing, but its board on Friday voted 4-2 to deny it.
Most of the testimony opposed the hearing, with some arguing that it undermined public engagement. Opponents also said allowing a contested case would be a move toward allowing too much stream water to be diverted away from the community.
“I really also appreciated some of the comments about the importance of making public engagement easy and accessible to everybody, and I do share concerns that moving this under a contested case process would undermine that,” said land board member Aimee Barnes, who voted to deny the contested case hearing.
For over 150 years, water from East Maui streams has been diverted through water licenses issued by the BLNR.
More recently, the East Maui Irrigation Company, which is owned by A&B and agricultural venture Mahi Pono, has been able to divert that water through temporary, revocable permits.
The 30-year license under consideration would allow EMI to divert more than 85 million gallons of water per day from East Maui streams. EMI said it would use nearly 66 million gallons per day on 20,600 acres of land used for diversified agriculture.
The DLNR has been considering the long-term water license, requested by EMI, for some time — though Maui County Mayor Richard Bissen has asked the department to delay the process.
In September the land board was scheduled to consider a contested case hearing on the water license, but decided against it following a request by Bissen.
He said in a letter that he wanted the County of Maui and the other involved parties to explore long-term opportunities to “come up with a working compromise rather than an expensive, lengthy contested case proceeding.”
He asked the board to hold off again on Friday, however, it proceeded anyway.
DLNR Chair Dawn Chang advocated for a contested case hearing, saying it would allow for more open discussion between stream users on what’s already been a long-debated issue over water rights on Maui.
“I believe the contested case hearing is a constructive vehicle to ensure that all the voices are being heard in a constructive way, that information is being shared both ways,” Chang said.
