City forum doesn't ease concerns over landfill

By James Gonser
Advertiser Leeward Bureau

KAPOLEI — A city forum yesterday designed to answer questions about plans to expand the Waimanalo Gulch Landfill did little to satisfy residents' concerns about the project. Only a handful of residents took time off work to attend the midday meeting, and many said the city has not seriously considered their opinions.

Maeda Timson, chairwoman of the Makakilo /Kapolei/Honokai Hale Neighborhood Board, said the city decision-makers who could answer residents' repeated questions about alternate sites and new technology failed to attend.

"We asked for a meeting and gave you our questions, but you never got back to us," Timson told city environmental services employee Wilma Namumnart. "We asked for a formal presentation with the people able to make decisions."

Namumnart said this "open house" was planned to satisfy residents' requests and no other meetings are planned.

Wai'anae board chairwoman Cynthia Rezentes said everyone understands that some sort of landfill is needed. "But there is nothing new here today," she said. "No new information."

The city released a revised draft supplemental environmental impact statement on the project last month and is accepting public comment through Aug. 7. The city wants to expand the Kahe Valley landfill by 60.5 acres to provide space for O'ahu's rubbish though 2017. The landfill uses 86.5 acres at the 200-acre site and at its current size is expected to reach capacity in 2002.

Both the Wai'anae and Makakilo neighborhood boards opposed the project after hearing city presentations, saying not enough effort was put into either finding sites other than on the Leeward Coast or finding alternative technologies to recycle garbage rather then burying it.

According to the city's draft supplemental environmental impact statement, 42 alternate sites were looked at but rejected for various reasons. City consultant Herb Lee said alternative technologies are being looked into and will be used in the future, but the city needs somewhere to dump rubbish now.

City Councilman John DeSoto said city officials are stonewalling by not having key people such as Environmental Services acting director Tim Steinberger and refuse collection chief Frank Doyle attend public meetings. DeSoto said he believes the decision has already been made to expand the landfill.

"It's a done deal," DeSoto said. "Whoever is in charge of this process stinks."

Lee said although the expansion is the plan preferred by the city administration, it is not a "done deal."

"After the EIS is accepted it will go through a permitting process and it will be up to the decision-makers of that process if they want to approve it or not," Lee said.

Once the public comment period ends, the city will file its final EIS and apply for the appropriate government permits, some of which may require public hearings.

Lee said the people stationed at the five informational booths yesterday are the ones who prepared the supplemental EIS and are knowledgeable about the subjects and qualified to answer questions. Lee also said several meetings have been held at various times to allow people with day or night jobs an opportunity to attend.

Ko Olina resident Linda Porter said a landfill is inappropriate next to a resort community. She said a foul smell envelops the community when the wind blows off the mountains, and trash frequently flies past expensive homes and the Ihilani Resort into the ocean.

Porter suggested that any expansion be limited to one or two years until an alternate site can be found.

Health of the Land, a community group opposed to the expansion, said the original EIS released in 1984 states that Waimanalo Gulch is long and narrow with 8 percent to 18 percent slopes which "limits the useful area which can be used as a landfill."

The group believes the city is going back on its original assessment of the site and a secret deal was made to expand the landfill. The group cites as evidence a 1999 city document that extends the contract for landfill operator Waste Management of Hawai'i through the planned expansion until 2017.

Joseph Hernandez, operations manager for Waste Management, said it is true they do have the 15-year contract, but said it will be canceled if the expansion is not approved.