Posted on: Friday, May 25, 2001

Maui grower asks for guarantee on water for sugar

By Timothy Hurley
Advertiser Maui County Bureau

WAILUKU, Maui — Hawai'i's largest sugar grower is asking the state for guarantees that would allow it to take billions of gallons of water annually from East Maui streams over a 30-year period, a move the company says will help it avoid the fate of so many other large agricultural concerns in the Islands.

But environmentalists and Native Hawaiians are opposing the long-term deal, saying it would keep the state from considering a more equitable distribution of water as suggested by the state Supreme Court in its Waiahole Ditch decision.

"Many East Maui residents feel their economic opportunities are limited because they are deprived of their rights to adequate water from local streams," said Lucienne de Naie, a leader of the Sierra Club on Maui.

The state Board of Land and Natural Resources is scheduled to take up the permit request by Hawaiian Commercial & Sugar Co. and its sister firm, East Maui Irrigation Co., in a meeting today at the ILWU Hall in Wailuku.

HC&S officials said yesterday they are asking for long-term leases on 33,000 acres because the present one-year leases don't provide enough stability to attract the investment necessary to create a healthier company.

Stephen Holaday, HC&S general manager, said long-term leases would not only put the company in a better position to survive — keeping 37,000 acres of land green with sugar cane and nearly 1,000 workers employed — but would provide money for its efforts to find a way to end cane burning.

"We need a long-term commitment to our water resource,'' Holaday said. "If we come up short on this, it could impact our long-term viability."

Cane burning has become a controversy in recent years as development on Maui has stretched closer to sugar lands.

Opponents are expected to testify today that the 30-year leases are unfair to many, especially Native Hawaiians who are unable to get enough water to grow taro.

In addition, foes say, a 30-year lease would lock up the water rights for too long, preventing a different distribution plan as suggested by the Hawai'i Supreme Court in O'ahu's Waiahole Ditch dispute. Those issues are still be considered by the state Commission on Water Resource Management.

In its Waiahole decision last year, the court asked for new flow standards and strongly urged water commissioners to consider the preservation and protection of natural resources and the interests of traditional users.

Garret Hew, manager of East Maui Irrigation, said the Waiahole issues aren't applicable in the Maui case because of the nature of the ditch and its various sources of water, including underground springs. In East Maui, EMI's ditches collect surface water only — about 60 billion gallons a year — and not groundwater, as in the case of Waiahole.

In any case, he said, HC&S doesn't control all of the stream water, as many have claimed. He said the company takes only 15 percent while respecting kuleana rights. Of the total water intake, about 5 percent is sold to the Maui County Board of Water Supply. The balance flows to the HC&S plantation, where it accounts for 50 percent of the plantation's total water use.

At today's meeting, the company will ask for an additional set of one-year leases to allow time for preparation an environmental impact statement allowing it to bid on the 30-year leases next year.