The city is taking its fight to extend the life of O'ahu's only municipal landfill to the courts.

City attorneys last week filed an appeal with the 1st Circuit Court asking that the state Land Use Commission's decision to extend and expand the landfill for only three years be reconsidered.

The city had asked for a 15-year extension, and has continued to argue that it won't be able to have an alternative landfill ready for at least seven years.

Attorneys for the city are making the appeal in court after the LUC voted 9-0 two weeks ago to reject the same request.

The commission voted in August to grant an extension and expansion plan for the landfill through a special use permit. But the permit requires that the landfill in Leeward O'ahu shut down to all materials except ash and ash residue by July 1, 2012, far less time than what was being sought by the city Department of Environmental Services.

Under a previous extension, the landfill was supposed to shut down by Nov. 1 this year.

The permit approved in August also calls for the city to hold public hearings every three months to provide updates on what it is doing to meet requirements. The city has also raised objections about that requirement.

H-POWER A FACTOR

The commission's decision to limit the extension until 2012 "is not supported by the reliable, probative, and substantial evidence," city attorneys said in court documents.

The LUC, in its decision, reasoned that H-Power, the city's waste-to-energy facility, will be expanded by 2012 to the point that it will be able to handle the bulk of O'ahu's municipal waste. Commissioners also noted that the city recently began a contract that would pay a private hauler to ship municipal solid waste to the Mainland.

But city attorneys say H-Power won't be able to fully process at capacity when it is undergoing routine maintenance or unanticipated closures. Additionally, "there will always be (solid waste) that cannot be combusted, recycled, reused or shipped," according to court documents filed by the city.

City attorneys also argue that the commission acted beyond its authority in issuing only a three-year expansion.

Attorney and state Sen. Colleen Hanabusa, who is representing the Ko Olina Community Association in the case, also is appealing the decision to Circuit Court.

Hanabusa, in her documents, said the city's Department of Environmental Services failed to meet its burden of proof for any extension.

Neither appeal has been assigned a court date or judge.

Opponents continually pointed out that former Mayor Jeremy Harris promised in 2003 that the landfill would be shut down by 2008.

City officials have insisted that they have been progressing with a comprehensive waste disposal plan to reduce the amount going to the landfill. They've also pointed out that the city expects to have curbside recycling available islandwide by next year and has provided funding for a third boiler at H-Power.

The boiler would increase the amount of O'ahu's trash being converted into sellable energy from 600,000 tons a year to 900,000 tons.