The city is one permit away from extending the life of the Waimanalo Gulch landfill by 18 months after a state commission agreed to let the city operate the facility until Nov. 1, 2009.

Mayor Mufi Hannemann said he would use the time to implement alternatives aimed at significantly reducing the amount of trash headed for Waimanalo Gulch.

The city had applied for a two-year extension to its special use permit, but the state Land Use Commission voted 6-2 to allow the landfill to remain open until November 2009 and asked the city to report on alternative waste management practices every six months.

The permit to operate the 107.5-acre facility is due to expire in May, and Hannemann said the city will again seek to extend the life of the landfill and its size by 92 acres when the approved extension ends.

The city will begin shipping more than 100,000 tons of trash to the Mainland in 2009 and hopes to have a third H-Power boiler running by 2011, Hannemann said.

The commission "realized that there is no immediate alternative for disposing of our island's 'opala at this point in time. If you shut us down, where do we go? My administration has made progress (with alternatives) but these things don't happen overnight," said Hannemann, speaking in his office yesterday.

The city now must receive an amendment to its existing permit from the state Department of Health before the 18-month extension is complete. The DOH process may extend past the May 1 deadline but the department will make an administrative exception to allow the landfill to continue to function.

The commission approved the expansion despite arguments from state Senate President Colleen Hanabusa, D-21st (Nanakuli, Makaha), and the Ko Olina Community association, who argued the city has not acted in good faith for more than a decade and that the commission did not have the legal standing to approve the extension.

After the decision yesterday, Hanabusa said she was pleased with the 18-month permit and interpreted the commission's actions as favorable toward her goal of eventually shutting down the landfill.

"What's really evident by this extension is that this committee won't allow a (geographic) extension," Hanabusa said. "This gives them (the city) 18 months and a very strong reporting requirement."

Several Leeward Coast residents and the City Council member who represents the area said no one there wants a landfill.

"They don't want a landfill anywhere on the Wai'anae Coast, and if given a choice would rather have it at the existing area at Waimanalo Gulch," state Rep. Karen Awana, R-44th (Honokai Hale, Nanakuli, Lualualei). "It's set further back, compared to when it first opened. Now that they've expanded further towards the back, it's become less bothersome for the residents. I'd just like to reiterate on behalf of the community that we do not want that landfill going any farther than Waimanalo Gulch, where it is now."

City Councilman Todd K. Apo, District 1 (Wai'anae, 'Ewa), said he would like to see Honolulu move toward plans implemented by San Francisco and New York City, both of which ship trash to other states and do not maintain landfills in their jurisdiction.

"In the ideal world, we would like to have seen the landfill closed, but understanding the realities of where we are, the land use commission made it clear the city has 18 months to get its act together," Apo said.

Several state commission members expressed hope that the approval would spur the city administration, City Council and the people of O'ahu to work toward reducing waste production while increasing recycling and waste-to-energy conversion.

Many said it is difficult to weigh the wants of the Leeward Coast community with the public safety and health of the island.

"Time for talking and thinking about what we're going to do (to reduce waste) are over. We're going to find out if the city government has the political will," said commissioner Reuben S.F. Wong, who voted in favor of the extension.

Reach Peter Boylan at pboylan@honoluluadvertiser.com.