TESTIMONY REALTING TO MINIMIZING COSTS AND HARM AND POTENTIAL CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION REFERRAL
To: Maui Police Department — Criminal Investigations Division
Re: Unauthorized Cessation of Effluent Disinfection at Kahului-Wailuku Wastewater Reclamation Facility (WWRF)
Possible Violations of State Law, Public Health Endangerment, and Failure to Notify Elected Officials
Date: April 14, 2026
I. SUMMARY OF ALLEGED CONDUCT
This referral concerns the unilateral decision by the Maui County Department of Environmental Management (DEM) director to cease chlorine disinfection of effluent at the Kahului-Wailuku Wastewater Reclamation Facility (WWRF) in or around 2018, without notifying elected members of the Maui County Council, without obtaining required regulatory approvals, and without public notice, resulting in years of pathogen-laden wastewater discharging into nearshore ocean waters used by the public for recreation.
II. RELEVANT FACTS
1. Disinfection ceased in 2018. The Kahului-Wailuku WWRF ceased chlorine disinfection of injection well effluent discharges in 2018. No UV disinfection was installed as a replacement. This decision was made administratively by DEM, not by the elected Maui County Council.
2. No disinfection since 2018. Disinfection of injection well discharges at Kahului-Wailuku WWRF has not been restored. Approximately 95% of the facility's effluent discharges as R-3 (untreated secondary effluent) into nearshore injection wells, with pathogens intact, flowing through groundwater and emerging at the ocean reef.
3. No NPDES permit. The Kahului-Wailuku WWRF does not hold a valid NPDES (National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System) permit for its injection well discharges to state waters, a requirement established by the U.S. Supreme Court's 2020 ruling in *County of Maui v. Hawaii Wildlife Fund*, which found that effluent traveling via groundwater to navigable waters constitutes a discharge requiring a Clean Water Act permit.
4. Elected officials not informed. The Maui County Council, the elected legislative representative of Kahului, Tasha Kama, with oversight authority over DEM, according to a recent UIPA response, was not notified of the cessation of disinfection in writing, nor was the previous Member Guzman. The Council was not given the opportunity to weigh in, allocate funds, or otherwise exercise its oversight role. It was not until community advocates raised the issue publicly that the Council became aware, ultimately passing Ordinance 5592 in January 2024 to mandate disinfection, years after the fact.
5. Public not notified. No public notice was issued. The communities of Kahului, Wailuku, and surrounding areas that recreate in affected nearshore waters were not informed that disinfection had ceased.
6. Documented public health harm. Research has linked non-disinfected wastewater injection well discharges in Maui to elevated rates of community-associated methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (CA-MRSA) skin infections in children, with Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander children disproportionately affected.
III. POTENTIALLY APPLICABLE LAWS
State:
- HRS § 342D-4 — Director of Health (and by extension DEM as the regulated operator) has a duty to prevent, control, and abate water pollution. Operating without disinfection and without DOH approval is a violation.
- HRS § 342D-9 — Enforcement provision: any person violating Chapter 342D, its rules, or permit conditions is subject to enforcement action, civil penalties, and potential criminal referral.
- HRS § 342D-50 — Prohibits discharge of wastewater in violation of standards or without a permit or variance issued by the director of health.
- HRS § 342D-57 / HAR § 11-62-10 — Required public participation and notice before material changes to wastewater operations.
- HAR § 11-62-26 — Mandates continuous disinfection as an operational requirement for wastewater treatment works.
- HRS Chapter 91 (Administrative Procedure Act) — Requires public notice and opportunity to be heard before significant regulatory or operational decisions affecting public health.
Federal:
- Clean Water Act, 33 U.S.C. § 1251 et seq. — Prohibits discharge of pollutants to navigable waters without an NPDES permit.
- 33 U.S.C. § 1319 — Criminal penalties for knowing violations of the Clean Water Act, including knowing discharge of pollutants without a permit.
Potential criminal statutes to review:
- HRS § 708-820 — Criminal property damage (potential application to public resources/coral reef ecosystem)
- HRS § 707-700 series — Reckless endangerment, if the decision-maker knew or should have known that ceasing disinfection posed a substantial risk of bodily injury to persons using nearshore waters
- HRS § 710-1077 — Official misconduct, if a public officer knowingly failed to perform a duty required by law or exceeded their authority in making the unilateral decision
IV. PERSONS / ENTITIES OF INTEREST
- The Maui County DEM Director(s) serving in 2018 when disinfection was ceased (currently incarcerated)
- Any DEM Deputy Director or Wastewater Reclamation Division chief who authorized or was aware of the cessation
- Any County official who was informed but failed to notify the sitting Council Member for Kahului, or the public
V. RECOMMENDED INVESTIGATIVE STEPS
1. Obtain DEM internal communications (emails, memos, work orders) from 2017–2019 relating to the decision to cease chlorine disinfection at Kahului WWRF.
2. Identify who specifically made the decision and who else within DEM, the County administration, or the State DOH was informed.
3. Determine whether the State DOH was notified of the cessation of disinfection, and if so, why no enforcement action was taken.
4. Obtain all water quality monitoring data from 2018 to present for Kahului-area nearshore waters (from DOH Clean Water Branch records).
5. Review any NPDES permit applications or correspondence between Maui County DEM and the EPA or DOH Clean Water Branch for the Kahului WWRF injection wells.
6. Interview current and former DEM Wastewater Reclamation Division staff.
7. Cross-reference hospital and public health data on CA-MRSA and other waterborne illness rates in the Kahului/Wailuku area from 2018 onward with Hawaii DOH epidemiology records.
8. Determine whether any Maui County Council member was informed and, if so, when.
VI. NOTE ON JURISDICTION
While regulatory enforcement typically falls to the Hawaii DOH and EPA, criminal violations of state law — including reckless endangerment and official misconduct — fall squarely within MPD's jurisdiction. The absence of an NPDES permit and the failure to comply with implicit mandatory disinfection standards in any NPDES permit properly obtained over a multi-year period, combined with documented public health impacts and the concealment of this decision from elected officials and the public, may rise to the level of criminal conduct warranting a formal investigation.
Infections may be at the root of a lot of crime, as symptoms associated with nervous system inflammation sometimes looks exactly like mental illness, and can drive addiction progression. Citizens suffering from this process, then being policed for the related symptoms, is not logically or internally-consistent.
*This referral is submitted for investigative consideration. All facts and citations should be independently verified through official records requests, interviews, and forensic review.*
TESTIMONY REALTING TO MINIMIZING COSTS AND HARM AND POTENTIAL CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION REFERRAL
To: Maui Police Department — Criminal Investigations Division
Re: Unauthorized Cessation of Effluent Disinfection at Kahului-Wailuku Wastewater Reclamation Facility (WWRF)
Possible Violations of State Law, Public Health Endangerment, and Failure to Notify Elected Officials
Date: April 14, 2026
I. SUMMARY OF ALLEGED CONDUCT
This referral concerns the unilateral decision by the Maui County Department of Environmental Management (DEM) director to cease chlorine disinfection of effluent at the Kahului-Wailuku Wastewater Reclamation Facility (WWRF) in or around 2018, without notifying elected members of the Maui County Council, without obtaining required regulatory approvals, and without public notice, resulting in years of pathogen-laden wastewater discharging into nearshore ocean waters used by the public for recreation.
II. RELEVANT FACTS
1. Disinfection ceased in 2018. The Kahului-Wailuku WWRF ceased chlorine disinfection of injection well effluent discharges in 2018. No UV disinfection was installed as a replacement. This decision was made administratively by DEM, not by the elected Maui County Council.
2. No disinfection since 2018. Disinfection of injection well discharges at Kahului-Wailuku WWRF has not been restored. Approximately 95% of the facility's effluent discharges as R-3 (untreated secondary effluent) into nearshore injection wells, with pathogens intact, flowing through groundwater and emerging at the ocean reef.
3. No NPDES permit. The Kahului-Wailuku WWRF does not hold a valid NPDES (National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System) permit for its injection well discharges to state waters, a requirement established by the U.S. Supreme Court's 2020 ruling in *County of Maui v. Hawaii Wildlife Fund*, which found that effluent traveling via groundwater to navigable waters constitutes a discharge requiring a Clean Water Act permit.
4. Elected officials not informed. The Maui County Council, the elected legislative representative of Kahului, Tasha Kama, with oversight authority over DEM, according to a recent UIPA response, was not notified of the cessation of disinfection in writing, nor was the previous Member Guzman. The Council was not given the opportunity to weigh in, allocate funds, or otherwise exercise its oversight role. It was not until community advocates raised the issue publicly that the Council became aware, ultimately passing Ordinance 5592 in January 2024 to mandate disinfection, years after the fact.
5. Public not notified. No public notice was issued. The communities of Kahului, Wailuku, and surrounding areas that recreate in affected nearshore waters were not informed that disinfection had ceased.
6. Documented public health harm. Research has linked non-disinfected wastewater injection well discharges in Maui to elevated rates of community-associated methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (CA-MRSA) skin infections in children, with Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander children disproportionately affected.
III. POTENTIALLY APPLICABLE LAWS
State:
- HRS § 342D-4 — Director of Health (and by extension DEM as the regulated operator) has a duty to prevent, control, and abate water pollution. Operating without disinfection and without DOH approval is a violation.
- HRS § 342D-9 — Enforcement provision: any person violating Chapter 342D, its rules, or permit conditions is subject to enforcement action, civil penalties, and potential criminal referral.
- HRS § 342D-50 — Prohibits discharge of wastewater in violation of standards or without a permit or variance issued by the director of health.
- HRS § 342D-57 / HAR § 11-62-10 — Required public participation and notice before material changes to wastewater operations.
- HAR § 11-62-26 — Mandates continuous disinfection as an operational requirement for wastewater treatment works.
- HRS Chapter 91 (Administrative Procedure Act) — Requires public notice and opportunity to be heard before significant regulatory or operational decisions affecting public health.
Federal:
- Clean Water Act, 33 U.S.C. § 1251 et seq. — Prohibits discharge of pollutants to navigable waters without an NPDES permit.
- 33 U.S.C. § 1319 — Criminal penalties for knowing violations of the Clean Water Act, including knowing discharge of pollutants without a permit.
Potential criminal statutes to review:
- HRS § 708-820 — Criminal property damage (potential application to public resources/coral reef ecosystem)
- HRS § 707-700 series — Reckless endangerment, if the decision-maker knew or should have known that ceasing disinfection posed a substantial risk of bodily injury to persons using nearshore waters
- HRS § 710-1077 — Official misconduct, if a public officer knowingly failed to perform a duty required by law or exceeded their authority in making the unilateral decision
IV. PERSONS / ENTITIES OF INTEREST
- The Maui County DEM Director(s) serving in 2018 when disinfection was ceased (currently incarcerated)
- Any DEM Deputy Director or Wastewater Reclamation Division chief who authorized or was aware of the cessation
- Any County official who was informed but failed to notify the sitting Council Member for Kahului, or the public
V. RECOMMENDED INVESTIGATIVE STEPS
1. Obtain DEM internal communications (emails, memos, work orders) from 2017–2019 relating to the decision to cease chlorine disinfection at Kahului WWRF.
2. Identify who specifically made the decision and who else within DEM, the County administration, or the State DOH was informed.
3. Determine whether the State DOH was notified of the cessation of disinfection, and if so, why no enforcement action was taken.
4. Obtain all water quality monitoring data from 2018 to present for Kahului-area nearshore waters (from DOH Clean Water Branch records).
5. Review any NPDES permit applications or correspondence between Maui County DEM and the EPA or DOH Clean Water Branch for the Kahului WWRF injection wells.
6. Interview current and former DEM Wastewater Reclamation Division staff.
7. Cross-reference hospital and public health data on CA-MRSA and other waterborne illness rates in the Kahului/Wailuku area from 2018 onward with Hawaii DOH epidemiology records.
8. Determine whether any Maui County Council member was informed and, if so, when.
VI. NOTE ON JURISDICTION
While regulatory enforcement typically falls to the Hawaii DOH and EPA, criminal violations of state law — including reckless endangerment and official misconduct — fall squarely within MPD's jurisdiction. The absence of an NPDES permit and the failure to comply with implicit mandatory disinfection standards in any NPDES permit properly obtained over a multi-year period, combined with documented public health impacts and the concealment of this decision from elected officials and the public, may rise to the level of criminal conduct warranting a formal investigation.
Infections may be at the root of a lot of crime, as symptoms associated with nervous system inflammation sometimes looks exactly like mental illness, and can drive addiction progression. Citizens suffering from this process, then being policed for the related symptoms, is not logically or internally-consistent.
*This referral is submitted for investigative consideration. All facts and citations should be independently verified through official records requests, interviews, and forensic review.*