As Lahaina moves from the shock of fiery devastation to cleanup and restoration, one must take into account not just the physical damage, but the intangible ones: the massive and sudden loss of life; the destruction of priceless Native Hawaiian historical and cultural artifacts; the scope and complexity of the environmental threats; the mental and financial strain on a community. All of this must be taken into account when making recovery plans.
One of the first big projects involves the disposal of the ash and upper topsoil from Lahaina. In any other context, this would seem like a simple matter: Just take it to the dump. But in the context of Lahaina, it’s more complicated.
First, the ash might contain the remains of some of the fire’s victims. Respect must be shown, and dumping them with the regular garbage does the opposite.
Second, the debris may contain contaminants such as lead, arsenic and asbestos, posing a hazard, wherever it ends up.
Third, the Maui Central Landfill, the island’s main disposal site, is 25 miles from Lahaina and has limited capacity. The Lahaina debris, delivered by a parade of large trucks clogging the roads, could shorten the landfill’s useful life.
The proposed solution is imperfect and will require more vetting. But under the circumstances, it makes sense.
On Oct. 27, the state Board of Land and Natural Resources recommended that Maui County be given permission to place the fire debris from Lahaina on 19 acres of state land in Olowalu.
The board approved an immediate right-of-entry permit to the county, and recommended that Gov. Josh Green issue an executive order setting aside the land. Removing Lahaina’s debris is a multistep process, including wrapping it in plastic like a burrito (or a laulau) until the landfill is ready in about six to eight months.
The Olowalu site is the county’s preferred alternative, and for good reason. It is just five miles from Lahaina, closer to surviving family members and the still-grieving community. The debris would be the only thing deposited there. It’s been suggested that once completed, the debris could be covered and turned into a memorial site, perhaps a grassy mound. That’s a good thought — turning a sad duty into something with meaningful, lasting value for a community that has lost so much.
The biggest problem may be environmental. The county would use the Olowalu site for a 12.3-acre landfill within a former cinder quarry. It would be about 1,000 feet mauka of Honoapiilani Highway. It also would be near a 939-acre reef that contains a stunning diversity of coral, harbors the largest known population of manta rays in the U.S. and is a primary source of coral larvae for the reefs of Lanai, Molokai and West Maui, according to Scott Crawford of The Nature Conservancy.
“We are concerned that adding a landfill near the ocean filled with ash and debris from the fire at Lahaina could add an additional stressor that could eventually have seriously detrimental impacts on this vital reef ecosystem,” he said.
The concerns are legitimate; after all, it’s happened before, on Oahu. In late 2010 and early 2011, heavy rains overwhelmed safety systems at the Waimanalo Gulch Landfill in Kapolei, sending pollutants onto nearby beaches.
But Shayne Agawa, director of Maui County’s Department of Environmental Management, said there’s no reason to worry. He promised “the Cadillac of disposal sites” with two layers of impermeable liners and “redundant mitigation measures and monitoring for years to come.”
Fair enough. And the wishes of Maui residents and their representatives should be given some deference, as community input is sought.
This project should advance and be handled as all recovery efforts in Lahaina should — with utmost care and sensitivity.
