Attached you will find continuing evidence that the Ma’alaea Small Boat Harbor WWTP and Ma’alaea Triangle WWTP, supporting many of the so-called “ecotourism” operations in South Maui continually do not have all proper wastewater treatment and disposal permits, and were not talking about NPDES here.
The Harbor managers DOBOR supporting such operations as Pacific Whale Foundation and Maui Nui Marine Resource Council never even bothered applying for any permits of any kind when they decided to build new facilities way back in 2012.
And it’s not just paperwork. These systems are poorly designed, with gigantic gaps between what’s happening and the public’s expectation, such as the Ma’alaea Triangle WWTP having accepted animal waste from the Maui Ocean Center without DOH UIC approval for many years, but the disinfection method being used (chlorine) not really covering many pathogens common in aquaria, and the treatment plant serving whale tour operations having no treatment or disposal permits of any kind for nearly 15 years while the operator is importing sludge from a municipal plant and tickets are being sold as though visitors are… helping?!?
The Ma’alaea condos have operated without significant UIC effluent monitoring since at least 2007, and the Kihei WWRF has had no disinfection for many millions of gallons per day of effluent for decades entering Cove Park via injection wells and groundwater systems, while DOH officials state in the press that it *is* disinfected.
Any S. Maui plan that does not center keeping residents and marine life safe, even from the same operations claiming to celebrate and protect them, is incomplete and doesn’t do justice to… life itself.
We need less six-figure executive salaries benefitting financially from these gaps, and even small accountability for even one of the 30+ injection wells operating all “Willy, Nilly, Frilly and Silly” in South Maui.
I used to call wastewater compliance in Maui as “No adult in the room” or “The Wild West,” but with the cancer disclosed from one of our very own local STR testifiers being used as a rationale to invite more tourists into the dangerous waters by to permanently codify long noncompliant STR’s with new hotel zoning, it’s beginning to feel a lot more like “Mad Max” around these parts.
I have a plan to solve all this, but the Mayor will not accept my requests for a meeting, even though he gave his word to me and everyone at the Haiku community center panel — roll the tapes!
Learn more today at FlushAware.com
Mahalo,
Travis Liggett, MS
Travis.Liggett@gmail.com
+1 (808) 291-9934
Dear Council members,
As a dedicated resident of Kihei for the last 20 years, I strongly urge you to consider the following recommendations as you consider the plan for Kihei’s future development.
Please do not add more commercial developments and keep the priority on residential. Kihei needs workforce housing, not shop fronts, and given that so much of our commercial space is sitting vacant, let’s not contribute to urban sprawl. Residents CONTINUALLY have asked for more focus on building neighborhoods, not commercial space. Keep Piilani Promenade residential.
Do not allow any building to happen within 150 feet of Piilani Highway. Nobody wants to live within 50 feet of a busy highway. It isn’t just a concern for noise, but for safety. We can see the impact up-country where the buffer is small and cars wind up in people’s yards and living rooms.
Keep gulches away from homes and businesses. Protect gulches and critical drainage corridors. We have seen the results of bad planning for years with the perpetual damage caused by flooding. Gulches need space and the nearby ground needs to be left undisturbed to help absorb excess rainfall and protect endangered animal habitats.
Aloha Esteemed Chair and Members,
Attached you will find continuing evidence that the Ma’alaea Small Boat Harbor WWTP and Ma’alaea Triangle WWTP, supporting many of the so-called “ecotourism” operations in South Maui continually do not have all proper wastewater treatment and disposal permits, and were not talking about NPDES here.
The Harbor managers DOBOR supporting such operations as Pacific Whale Foundation and Maui Nui Marine Resource Council never even bothered applying for any permits of any kind when they decided to build new facilities way back in 2012.
And it’s not just paperwork. These systems are poorly designed, with gigantic gaps between what’s happening and the public’s expectation, such as the Ma’alaea Triangle WWTP having accepted animal waste from the Maui Ocean Center without DOH UIC approval for many years, but the disinfection method being used (chlorine) not really covering many pathogens common in aquaria, and the treatment plant serving whale tour operations having no treatment or disposal permits of any kind for nearly 15 years while the operator is importing sludge from a municipal plant and tickets are being sold as though visitors are… helping?!?
The Ma’alaea condos have operated without significant UIC effluent monitoring since at least 2007, and the Kihei WWRF has had no disinfection for many millions of gallons per day of effluent for decades entering Cove Park via injection wells and groundwater systems, while DOH officials state in the press that it *is* disinfected.
Any S. Maui plan that does not center keeping residents and marine life safe, even from the same operations claiming to celebrate and protect them, is incomplete and doesn’t do justice to… life itself.
We need less six-figure executive salaries benefitting financially from these gaps, and even small accountability for even one of the 30+ injection wells operating all “Willy, Nilly, Frilly and Silly” in South Maui.
I used to call wastewater compliance in Maui as “No adult in the room” or “The Wild West,” but with the cancer disclosed from one of our very own local STR testifiers being used as a rationale to invite more tourists into the dangerous waters by to permanently codify long noncompliant STR’s with new hotel zoning, it’s beginning to feel a lot more like “Mad Max” around these parts.
I have a plan to solve all this, but the Mayor will not accept my requests for a meeting, even though he gave his word to me and everyone at the Haiku community center panel — roll the tapes!
Learn more today at FlushAware.com
Mahalo,
Travis Liggett, MS
Travis.Liggett@gmail.com
+1 (808) 291-9934
Dear Council members,
As a dedicated resident of Kihei for the last 20 years, I strongly urge you to consider the following recommendations as you consider the plan for Kihei’s future development.
Please do not add more commercial developments and keep the priority on residential. Kihei needs workforce housing, not shop fronts, and given that so much of our commercial space is sitting vacant, let’s not contribute to urban sprawl. Residents CONTINUALLY have asked for more focus on building neighborhoods, not commercial space. Keep Piilani Promenade residential.
Do not allow any building to happen within 150 feet of Piilani Highway. Nobody wants to live within 50 feet of a busy highway. It isn’t just a concern for noise, but for safety. We can see the impact up-country where the buffer is small and cars wind up in people’s yards and living rooms.
Keep gulches away from homes and businesses. Protect gulches and critical drainage corridors. We have seen the results of bad planning for years with the perpetual damage caused by flooding. Gulches need space and the nearby ground needs to be left undisturbed to help absorb excess rainfall and protect endangered animal habitats.