������Ƶ

The decisions Jordan Molina faces as Maui County’s public works director are already tough. Sea levels are rising as the planet continues to warm from people burning fossil fuels, forcing questions about relocating roads instead of just maintaining them — and the hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars that entails.

But as he recently explained to Maui’s Cost of Government Commission, his job is further complicated by the layers of bureaucracy he has to navigate in applying federal, state and county rules to a proposed project.

Molina described the approach as basically a work in progress with many moving parts and multiple agencies involved.

“We’re just scratching the surface in terms of confronting these issues,” Molina told the commission last week.

Some roads will no doubt need to be abandoned eventually, like sections of South Kihei Road that routinely flood during storms, he said. But abandoning roads also means cutting off public services like water, sewer and telecommunication lines that run underneath the blacktop.

The timing and logistics of such decisions are constantly evolving as the county taps into emerging scientific research, gathers community input and seeks direction from government agencies with overlapping jurisdiction over what happens in shoreline areas.

“We know that ultimately, based on the projections, things will be underwater. But when exactly we pull the trigger on that is still unknown,” Molina said.

A University of Hawaii found the value of all structures and land projected to be flooded by a 3.2-foot rise in sea level could total over $19 billion, not counting the compounding effect on the economy.

Many of Maui’s road embankments are being undermined by rising seas, coastal erosion, storm surges and king tides. Besides South Kihei Road, well-known trouble spots on the island include parts of Honoapiilani and Hana highways, Molina said.

Lower Honoapiilani in Kahana near Kaopala Beach is in such bad shape there’s talk of allowing it to fail and having the road stop at two dead ends. If so, the county would have to reroute utilities, an expensive prospect. The road might ultimately be rerouted, but that would also entail moving the underground utilities.  

Front Street in Lahaina also fits into the category of a problem roadway. Molina’s crews are fixing sea walls, wave deflectors and railings on the historic street, devastated by the country’s worst wildfire in more than a century on Aug. 8, 2023.

The Front Street repairs are happening against the backdrop of a wider discussion at the county level about where and how to rebuild the famous street that was populated by art galleries, open-air restaurants, shave ice shops, gift stores and more before the fire.

Should Front Street revert to the way it was pre-fire given that it’s forecast to be underwater by the end of the century? Should it be moved back and out of harm’s way now? Or can it be built in such a way to coexist with inundation?

At public meetings at the Lahaina Civic Center and elsewhere, planning department officials have said the future of Front Street and other coastal properties is under consideration and they welcome property owners to meet with them and discuss what’s possible in Lahaina’s rebuilding process.

Maui County recently adopted new that took effect Sunday. The updated rules say, among other things, that new buildings cannot be constructed in what is predicted to be the inundation zone: the places expected to be covered by several feet of ocean water by 2100. Property owners can seek exemptions and those requests would be reviewed by the volunteer Maui Planning Commission, which has authority to make decisions about development in shoreline and Special Management Areas.

The state Department of Land and Natural Resources also has much authority over what can happen in shoreline areas including maintaining public access, protecting marine resources and managing dunes, submerged lands, beaches and rocky shorelines.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers plays a role in coastal areas as well when it comes to habitat protection and restoration, beach nourishment, harbors, flood control and coastal storm damage reduction.

All those layers of government, each enforcing different rules and sometimes with different objectives and timelines, can make it difficult for Maui public works staff to move forward, Molina said.

“Really, the challenge for us at this point is clarity from the permitting agencies on what kind of mitigations are allowed,” he said. “We struggle in terms of getting that clarity on how best to move forward in some of these projects and how best to protect our roads.”

member Steven Knapp asked Molina if there’s much or any coordination among the agencies in a way that would make planning easier and more efficient.

“They are not (coordinated) and I don’t know if they could be because these are all separate provisions of law that these separate agencies administer so what Army Corps looks like is per their rules and it’s not necessarily what the Planning Commission is looking at despite the fact that they are all touching the same project,” Molina said.

Commission Chair Evan Dust asked if legislation to create a unified permitting process among the agencies would be helpful.

Molina said he wasn’t sure.

“I wouldn’t be the best person to speak to as far as how those agencies could better align. That might be a worthwhile conversation for you folks to have with them,” the director said.

The Army Corps tends to be less problematic to deal with because the federal agency is used to permitting structures in the water like harbors and other marine infrastructure, Molina said.

Although they have a rigorous permitting process, the Corps is used to dealing with structures in the ocean.

But getting DLNR or the Planning Commission to approve coastal road repairs or related projects can be a lengthy and fraught process, in his experience.

“Certain projects may be dead on arrival,” Molina said.

Michael Cain, administrator of DLNR’s Office of Conservation and Coastal Lands, pushed back on that notion in an email.

While state law generally prohibits new seawalls and revetments because they destroy beaches, the Board of Land and Natural Resources has approved shoreline hardening when it is necessary to protect critical public infrastructure and safety as long as other alternatives have been exhausted or ruled out, Cain said.

The alternatives he’s referring to include hybrid reef-breakwaters, beach nourishment or relocation, a form of managed retreat.

By way of example, Cain said the board last winter approved a project by the Hawaii Department of Transportation to install a revetment to protect Kamehameha Highway in Kaaawa on Oahu.

“This project had widespread public support,” Cain wrote.

The permit was granted with the condition that DOT must use best-management practices and mitigation measures. It took a lot of coordination among parties, he noted.

“The Office of Conservation and Coastal Lands coordinated with the local community, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and the State Office of Planning and Sustainable Development in developing the mitigation measures,” Cain said.

Maui Cost of Government Commission member Deborah Moore said in interview that while she’s still learning about government processes for handling coastal erosion management, it appears there’s significant room for improvement.

Some of the questions she’d like answered include: Is there a point person who is trying to coordinate this? What’s the best form of government to streamline this? Who’s in charge?

Given how rapidly coastal erosion is happening on Maui, where is facing long-term erosion threats, time is of the essence, Moore said.

“We can’t afford to wait until the future,” she said.

The commission is considering opening an investigation into the matter and will discuss it further at its next meeting in September.

Civil Beat’s coverage of Maui County is supported in part by a grant from the Nuestro Futuro Foundation.

Civil Beat’s coverage of environmental issues on Maui is supported by grants from the Center for Disaster Philanthropy and the Hawaii Wildfires Recovery Fund, the Knight Foundation and the Doris Duke Foundation.  

Civil Beat’s coverage of climate change is supported by The Healy Foundation, Marisla Fund of the Hawaii Community Foundation and the Frost Family Foundation.