The Honolulu City Council is hosting continued talks about where to put Oʻahu’s new landfill.
The Committee on Housing, Sustainability, Economy and Health is scheduled to hear a recently introduced resolution on Tuesday that would reaffirm a 2003 city policy against placing landfills above sources of drinking water.
Honolulu Board of Water Supply Manager and Chief Engineer Ernie Lau is also expected to brief the committee on issues around siting a landfill.
Mayor Rick Blangiardi's administration is moving along with a controversial plan to put a landfill above an aquifer in Wahiawā. The new landfill would replace the one at the Waimanalo Gulch — located on the Waiʻanae Coast — which is expected to reach capacity in 2032.
Some state lawmakers are worried about the landfill possibly contaminating the drinking water aquifer, and they could try to change state laws to stop the city from doing so.
Councilmember Matt Weyer, who co-authored the legislation with Councilmember Radiant Cordero, said he wants to bring the issue to the council in part to increase community engagement and the council’s involvement.
“We're here to assist as needed and participate in the conversation. We've been talking with our counterparts at the state Legislature about ways we can assist. I think that the pathway forward requires community engagement and discussion,” Weyer said.
But he also said BWS already rejected a Wahaiwā site in 2022, and argued that the city doesn’t even have legal authority to put the new landfill there.
“My understanding is that after the 2022 rejection, the administration didn't exercise the ability to appeal that decision," he said. "So I'm not too sure what the ultimate goal is. I definitely understand the challenges, and the decision that they have, but at this point, we're just asking that they follow the law and take this option off their table."