Kaua'i County eyes site near Hanama'ulu for new landfill

By Jan TenBruggencate
Advertiser KauaÎi Bureau

LIHU'E, Kaua'i — The county's top selection for a new landfill site has been rejected by the landowners, who recommended a new location at the base of the Kalepa mountain range.

The county had reviewed seven potential landfill sites as part of its search for a successor to the aging Kekaha Landfill, and it settled on a Kipu site owned by Grove Farm Co.

While the landowner was initially willing to consider the option, it has recently concluded it has other uses for the land, said county solid waste coordinator Troy Tanigawa.

That was also the case with the other six selected sites.

"None of the landowners of these sites were receptive to having a landfill on their property," Mayor Maryanne Kusaka told the County Council.

Grove Farm owner AOL Time Warner chairman Steve Case recently bought most of the holdings of Amfac's Lihu'e Plantation, and Grove Farm has suggested the county use an abandoned Lihu'e Plantation cane field site along the western base of the Kalepa range.

It is about a mile southeast of one of the county's six sites, the Ma'alo site, which lies between Ma'alo Road and the Kalepa range.

County Engineer Cesar Portugal said the site appears to meet environmental requirements.

Tanigawa said considerable study must still be done before the county can commit to the site, but the administration has asked the Council for authority to negotiate with Grove Farm to buy the land. A public hearing on the proposal will be scheduled.

The site is less than a mile from the community of Hanama'ulu. The county has issued a notice to members of the community, seeking their participation in the upcoming hearings.