City and state lawmakers joined local conservation and farming advocates Tuesday to oppose the city’s plan to put Oʻahu’s next landfill in Wahiawā.
The Honolulu City Council, the state Legislature, the Honolulu Board of Water Supply, the Hawaiʻi Farm Bureau and the Sierra Club were all represented in a news conference calling for a different site.
" I understand that the city is in an impossible situation. But that doesn't mean that it's justifiable or right to propose siting a landfill above an aquifer," said Rep. Sean Quinlan, the House majority leader.
"When we talk about what goes into a landfill, there's been a conversation these days about forever chemicals, PFAS. They stay in the ʻāina, they stay in the wai forever. They have huge effects on human health, reproductive health. And it's unconscionable for us to consider allowing these chemicals to leak into our drinking water supply," he continued.
Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi's administration has said that it chose Wahiawā in part because there are no other locations on the island to put a new landfill.
The city had until the end of 2024 to select the new location as the state Land Use Commission ordered Waimanalo Gulch to close by 2028. The West Oʻahu landfill has been in operation since 1989.
But there’s been significant opposition from the public since the city announced the location in December. Opponents say it would create a situation similar to that involving the Red Hill fuel storage tanks, which are also above an aquifer.
In 2021, the tanks leaked jet fuel into the aquifer and contaminated a source of water being used by thousands of people.
State lawmakers have introduced measures including House Bill 969 to ban landfills in those areas, and have shown interest in expanding where the city can place them.
