Much ado has been made by the parties in the Na Wai `Eha contested case hearing over a study being conducted by the U.S. Geological Survey to help the Water Commission gather data needed to establish instream flow standards for … Continued
The contested case over the water flowing in Wailiku Water Company’s ditch system has raised an interesting question: When is an operator of an old sugar plantation ditch system considered a public utility? Under Hawai`i Revised Statutes, anyone who sells … Continued
Judging by arguments made in the contested case hearing over stream-related water sources in West Maui, the fate of the entire island is at stake. Oral arguments in the case begin this month on Maui, and environmental and Hawaiian groups, … Continued
Get out your score cards. Rancorous disputes over long-standing diversions of water from four Central Maui streams are coming to a head, and keeping track of the teams and their plays is becoming complicated. The diversions go back as far … Continued
Could It Happen Here? The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is considering buying out owners of 17,000 houses in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, one of the areas hardest hit by Hurricane Katrina. The Los Angeles Times reported last month that … Continued
Taro farmers in East Maui don’t need any more water right now to grow their crops, according to retired judge E. John McConnell, hearing officer for a contested case on East Maui water licenses. The contested case, which involves the … Continued
The Natural Energy Laboratory of Hawai`i Authority, built in the 1980s at Keahole Point, Kona, to be a center for deep seawater-related energy and aquaculture research, has always struggled to cover its costs. In recent years, the facility, which cost … Continued
“Our clients have been eminently patient… Our patience is wearing thin,” Earthjustice attorney Kapua Sproat told members of the state Commission on Water Resource Management at their January 11 meeting in Honolulu. It’s been 19 months since Sproat’s clients – … Continued
The controversy over surface water in central Maui has finally come to a head. On February 15, the state Commission on Water Resource Management authorized its chair, Peter Young, to appoint a mediator to help resolve an October 2004 waste … Continued
“It’s a baby step that should have been taken a long time ago,” Water Commissioner Lawrence Miike said about his agency’s renewed effort to document and verify all stream diversions in the state. In 2005, the Legislature gave the Commission … Continued