Maui Mayor Michael
Victorino announced Friday that he plans to forge ahead with the county’s injection well appeal to the U.S.
Supreme Court despite the County Council’s vote to discontinue the case.
In a letter posted on the front page of the county website, Victorino said he hopes to achieve clarity about the case from the high court.
“There are strong opinions on both sides of this important issue,” the mayor wrote. “But leadership is not about making easy popular decisions. I believe the best interests of our residents, our visitors and the environment will be best served by having this case settled by the Supreme Court.”
The court is scheduled to hear arguments in the case Nov. 6.
County Council Chairwoman Kelly King said she was disappointed but not surprised by Victorino’s decision.
“He’s trying to exercise authority I don’t think he has,” King said.
The Council late Friday afternoon continued its regular meeting until Oct. 29. Included in the unfinished agenda is a proposal to hire outside counsel with the goal of getting a ruling from a judge clarifying the question of authority over the case.
The Council in September voted 5-4 to settle the case linked to the wells that inject millions of gallons of treated wastewater into the ground near Kahekili Beach Park in West Maui.
But county attorneys said that their reading of the law indicates that both the Council and the mayor need to sign off on the settlement.
Victorino, who previously favored going to the Supreme Court, said he would consult experts, regulators and government officials before deciding whether to proceed.
In his letter Friday, Victorino said his decision to continue with the appeal was not taken lightly.
“We should not risk the staggering costs of retrofitting treatment plants, jeopardizing our recycled water program or exposing our taxpayers or residents to costly legal battles over a new interpretation of regulations for wastewater disposal,” he said.
“This issue must be clarified once and for all, not re-litigated endlessly at county taxpayers’ expense,” the mayor wrote.
“With the high court’s clarity on this issue, the county can manage our operations and resources with certainty under the law, for the benefit of all of Maui County’s residents and our treasured environment.”
Four community groups, including Hawaii Wildlife Fund, filed a complaint with the federal District Court in 2012, alleging that Maui County was violating the Clean Water Act for its injection well discharges of wastewater.
An Environmental Protection Agency-funded study in 2011 used tracer dye to link the Lahaina sewage to near-shore waters off Kahekili Beach. And a 2017 U.S. Geological Survey study concluded that discharge from the plant was affecting the coral reefs.
The District Court agreed, and its decision was unanimously upheld by the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals.
The county appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court in a legal battle that has turned into a national test case over the scope of the federal Clean Water Act.
At issue is whether the federal law requires a permit when pollutants originate from a point source but end up in navigable waters via a nonpoint source such as groundwater.
Governmental and private interests have taken sides in the case across the country, generally with blue states, conservation organizations and liberal-leaning groups lining up behind the community groups and the Trump administration, government, industry and and red states backing Maui County.
Over the years the Council has approved some $4 million in legal fees fighting the case.
