More than nine months after its formation, the Mayor’s Advisory Committee on Landfill Site Selection continues to look at alternatives rather than select from sites that have been proposed in the past.

The committee has asked a consultant to broaden his search for alternative sites for a landfill on Oahu.

Meanwhile, Honolulu Mayor Peter Carlisle’s administration is seeking to postpone a state deadline of July 31, 2012, to shut down the dumping of solid waste at the Waimanalo Gulch Sanitary Landfill on the Waianae Coast.

In 2003 a committee picked several alternative sites, including Maili, Makaiwa Gulch, Nanakuli and Ameron Quarry at Campbell Industrial Park in Ewa.

The committee Tuesday heard a consultant describe two alternative sites near the Hawaiian Electric Co. at Kahe Point.

One of the sites, near a critical habitat, belongs to Hawaiian Electric, and the other to Campbell Estate near its proposed Makaiwa Hills residential subdivision.

BRIAN TAKEDA, a consultant with R.M. Towill Corp., described the two locations as "nonsites" because it is unlikely they would be developed as landfills.

Takeda said he limited his search to sites 100 acres or more in size and in locations away from areas that might contaminate drinking and agricultural water.

He said he also excluded state and federal lands because of past difficulties in the city being allowed to use the lands for this purpose.

The committee asked Takeda to broaden his search to include areas on Oahu that had 90 acres or more and also include state lands.

Committee member Tesha Malama, an Ewa Beach resident, said she felt the committee might have a problem selecting the landfill site if it was limited to 100 acres or more.

"I don’t think the 100-acres criteria is a criteria that can hold up," she said.

City Refuse Division official Steven Serikaku said the administration was hoping to have a recommended site by Jan. 15.

But Serikaku stressed that he wanted the committee to have the time to make a good decision.

In 2009 the city was allowed by the Land Use Commission to extend its use of the landfill for an additional three years, despite opposition by some Waianae residents.

In January, beaches from Kahe Point to Ko Olina were closed after major storm runoff at the landfill entered the ocean. Medical waste including syringes was found on the beaches at Ko Olina.