Earthjustice, an environmental law firm, filed a complaint with the commission against Wailuku Agribusiness Co. Inc. (formerly Wailuku Sugar Co.) and Hawaiian Commercial & Sugar Co., accusing the firms of diverting water from the Central Maui streams known collectively as Na Wai 'Eha Waihe'e, North & South Waiehu, 'Iao, and Waikapu.

The complaint by Earthjustice was filed on behalf of two Maui community groups, Hui o Na Wai 'Eha and Maui Tomorrow.

Both companies denied the allegations, saying the water continues to be fully utilized for sugar and other crops.

"In fact, Wailuku Ag along with HC&S do not have enough water for their agricultural activities. Whatever water that is being diverted is being fully utilized," said Wailuku Ag president Avery Chumbley.

He called the Earthjustice complaint a "backdoor attempt" to pursue the group's anti-urbanization agenda. "If that's their concern, they should address those issues through the appropriate agencies," Chumbley said.

"We are using no more or no less water than we've always used. Just because we're no longer cultivating sugar doesn't mean the water is not being used," he said.

The complaint, which includes photographs that Earthjustice says depict examples of the dumping, accuses the companies of draining the streams dry. The complaint also states the companies have vastly reduced the acreage in cultivation and switched to crops requiring far less water than sugar.

HC&S Plantation General Manager Stephen Holaday said in a statement yesterday that the company uses water "efficiently and effectively because it is a scarce resource and we are water-short.

"We put to good use the water available to us from the West Maui Ditch System," Holaday said. "Our respect for this important resource is continuously demonstrated."

A water commission spokesperson declined to comment because the document had not been reviewed yet.

"We're extremely disappointed that decades after the end of the plantation era, the plantations still believe they need not answer to the community," Earthjustice attorney Kapua Sproat said. "The idea that Wailuku Ag and HC&S cannot only commit such waste, but refuse to disclose it, in a time where Maui faces a water crisis and public streams run bone-dry, is an outrage."

Holaday, however, said that since 1989, when reporting was first required, "HC&S has submitted the required information to, and complied with the requirements of the state Water Commission to support our continued use of surface water from the West Maui Ditch System."