Kaua'i wants to raise height of Kekaha Landfill

By Jan TenBruggencate
Advertiser Kaua'i Bureau

LIHU'E, Kaua'i —The county hopes to make the Kekaha Landfill 25 feet higher than its permitted 60-foot elevation to provide time to develop alternatives for handling the island's municipal waste.

County solid waste coordinator Troy Tanigawa said the expansion should give the island five more years of use from the landfill.

The county has applied for a Health Department permit for the expansion, but has not received it. Tanigawa said the county has been assured by the Health Department that the permit will be issued once the county meets application requirements.

Meanwhile, the existing landfill has reached its design capacity. Tanigawa said the county was required under the last permit to place a 5-foot layer of soil over the top of the mound of trash. Since an expansion approval is anticipated, the county plans to use that 5-foot thickness for trash instead of soil, he said.

County Councilman Mel Rapozo criticized the county for its slow progress in getting the expansion permit.

The county's argument for the expansion is that it needs the time to find a location and get approval for a new landfill.

Two major efforts under the administration of former Mayor Maryanne Kusaka have failed. One sought ways to reduce the flow of material into the landfill, and it resulted in a range of proposals, including a major composting effort, a plasma-arc facility and a municipal solid waste-fired power plant similar to O'ahu's HPOWER.

But the county chose none of the alternatives. An effort to establish a new landfill on former cane land mauka of Hanama'ulu also was abandoned after community opposition.

No community on the island has volunteered to host a new landfill, and Kekaha residents have said they've done their part.

Reach Jan TenBruggencate at jant@honoluluadvertiser.com or (808) 245-3074.