Maui mayor wants Council to reconsider wastewater vote

Maui Mayor Michael Victorino says he is disappointed that a Council committee voted 5-3 Friday to end the county’s legal fight over its practice of pumping treated wastewater into the ground.

“My hope is that the County Council members take this opportunity before their final vote to truly consider the consequences of their actions,” which will make housing development much more expensive, Victorino said in a written statement released Sunday.

The Council’s Governance, Ethics and Transparency Committee voted to recommend halting Maui’s U.S. Supreme Court appeal of a ruling in favor of four environmental groups who sued over the county’s use of injection wells at its Lahaina Wastewater Reclamation Facility. The Council will take a final vote on the issue, but that vote has not yet been scheduled.

Studies by the University of Hawaii and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency show that wastewater from the injection wells seeps into the ocean, affecting near-shore ecology.