Posted on: Monday, October 18, 2004
EDITORIAL
Landfill decision must include the neighbors
It is heartening that members of the City Council, including Chairman Donovan Dela Cruz and Public Works Chairman Rod Tam, are promising a preliminary decision as early as Nov. 17 on the location of O'ahu's new landfill.
If that happens, the final vote would occur on Dec. 1.
This is the kind of decision that is politically painful to make and easy to postpone. But it has to happen.
No matter what happens down the line with high-tech solutions, no matter how well we do with recycling and even if we decide to ship some of our refuse out of state, an ongoing landfill site will still be needed.
The day may come when that landfill is mostly a backup or emergency solution. But it will still be needed.
A rigorous technical analysis of the various proposals concluded that expansion of the existing Waimanalo Gulch site on the Leeward Coast makes the most sense.
The problem is, residents of the area have been promised that once the existing site is full, the city will find another site for its garbage. And a rather extensive resort and residential community has developed downwind of the Waimanalo site over the years.
Our view is that the council should step away from these political problems and go with the best technical advice, which leads to Waimanalo Gulch.
But the savings incurred by such a decision (at least $10 million, maybe more) should not be reaped by the city or even by the taxpayers in general. That money belongs to the residents who live, work and play around the Waimanalo Gulch site. The funds should be used for remediation and screening of the site, improvements and public amenities for the surrounding neighborhood.
Keeping the disposal site there adds substantial equity to all those neighborhoods where it will not be placed. The equity belongs to those who must host the landfill.
How to get involved: Contact City Council Public Works and Economic Development Committee Chairman Rod Tam at 523-4045 or rtam@honolulu.gov.
