Maui water board kills 'Iao agreement
By Christie Wilson
Neighbor Island Editor
WAILUKU, Maui — The Maui County Board of Water Supply yesterday disposed of a controversial draft agreement with four major landowners involving allocation of precious water resources from the '?ao Aquifer.
The proposed agreement negotiated by a three-member subcommittee had sparked a lawsuit by the citizens planning group Maui Tomorrow, which claimed the deal was the result of illegal secret negotiations. The group also charged that the water board was exceeding its authority by doling out portions of '?ao water.
In his last act as water board chairman, Elmer Cravalho yesterday asked that the agenda item be filed, in effect killing it without discussion. The board unanimously agreed.
Cravalho, a former state House speaker and mayor of Maui County, had earlier expressed reservations about the proposal, and after yesterday's meeting said that he felt it "did not provide for a level playing field."
"The proposal was not in the best interest of the county and not in the best interest of the general public," said Cravalho, who did not want to elaborate.
Board member Jonathan Starr said, "Everyone seemed happy to get it off our plate."
Starr was one of many critics who felt the agreement favored the interests of the four developers: Makena Resort, Wailea Development Co., Hawai'i Land and Farming Co. Inc. (formerly C. Brewer) and A&B Properties Inc.
The landowners are private partners in the Central Maui Source Joint Venture, which signed an agreement with the water board in 1975 that led to the development of Kihei, Wailea and Makena in arid South Maui.
The original agreement called for the partners to receive 19 million gallons a day from the '?ao Aquifer as their share for building wells and transmission lines.
After it was discovered that the aquifer's sustainable yield had been grossly overestimated, county water officials sought to revise the deal.
Those efforts continued unsuccessfully for 15 years, until the negotiating committee announced in March that it had struck a deal that would reserve 8.9 million gallons of water a day for the four private partners. In return, the landowners agreed to contribute up to $1.5 million interest-free to develop another well, with the Department of Water Supply matching that amount.
The Maui Tomorrow lawsuit said the proposal would give priority to the four developers over Hawaiian homesteaders, farmers and those who have been on a waiting list for water meters.
It was not clear yesterday whether the joint venture negotiations would resume.
"It is too early to try and determine what happens next," said newly named water board chairman Peter Rice.
It also was not clear if the lawsuit by Maui Tomorrow would be withdrawn in light of the demise of the draft agreement. Officials for the group were not available to comment yesterday.
