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Treated wastewater should be used to irrigate golf course and resorts, not pumped into the ground where it flows into the ocean and damages coral reefs, fish and other aquatic life, according to Maui residents opposed to a new wastewater discharge permit.

The residents turned out at a hearing last week on the draft , issued by the state Department of Health, that would allow a Lahaina wastewater reclamation plant to keep injecting treated wastewater into the ground. The water travels about a half mile through porous volcanic rock before entering the ocean.

Opponents of the new permit include many ocean users, cultural practitioners, farmers and landscapers.

The discharge – anywhere from 3 million to 5 million gallons per day – contains nitrogen and phosphorus levels known to damage corals, particularly those off Kahekili Beach Park, a popular snorkeling spot makai of the plant.

The need for a permit originated in that led to a U.S. Supreme Court decision that was a victory for environmental groups.

For years, Maui County claimed it didn’t need a , which regulates pollution allowed to enter waters of the United States. Its attorneys said the discharges went into groundwater, which is not federally regulated, instead of flowing into surface water via a “point source,” like a pipe. The latter would have fallen under the Clean Water Act, requiring a discharge elimination permit.

The , ,  and  sued in 2012.

In a 6-3 , the Supreme Court in 2020 sided with Earthjustice, which filed the case on behalf of the environmental groups. The justices found that Maui’s injection well discharges did violate the Clean Water Act and the plant must get the federal permit, which the state health department has authority to write.

The health department’s draft permit contains provisions such as requiring extensive water quality testing. It bars “mixing zones,” regulatory loopholes that allow pollution to exceed water quality standards until the pollutants are diluted enough to fall within regulatory limits.

Despite those safeguards, Earthjustice attorneys and residents who spoke at the hearing say the levels of nutrients allowed under the draft permit are too high and the permit just continues the status quo.

“It doesn’t meet the goals of the Clean Water Act,” said Maui resident Robin Knox, an environmental scientist. “We know these levels are detrimental to the coral reef.”

State Sen. Angus McKelvey, who represents West Maui, said the treated wastewater acts as fertilizer, overstimulating seaweed growth and creating harmful algal blooms. The acidic wastewater also corrodes the reef, according to scientists.

The permit as written is “taking us further down the path that we’ve been so trying so hard to get us off of,” West Maui resident Kaipo Kekona said at the hearing.

Three Department of Health employees at the hearing spoke very little and declined to answer questions afterward.

The department is evaluating written comments and oral testimony provided at the hearing. It may decide to issue the final permit as is or make revisions, according to an emailed statement.

“If it is revised, the public may have the opportunity to review and provide comments,” the DOH email said.

Many Maui residents who testified said instead of injecting wastewater into the ocean via the ground, the discharge elimination permit permit should stop the practice entirely, or at least phase it out. They said the treated wastewater should irrigate agricultural lands, golf courses, resort landscaping and future green spaces in Lahaina.

McKelvey said the treated water could also be used at Mokuula and Mokuhinia, the former seat of the Hawaiian Kingdom buried beneath a ball field. There’s talk of excavating it and bringing the historic island and fish pond back to life, a notion supported by Gov. Josh Green, Maui Mayor Richard Bissen, cultural leaders and others.

McKelvey and those who spoke at the hearing said the permit should be written to accelerate expanded use of recycled wastewater, also known as R1.

“You can use this permit to incentivize the county,” he said.

By phasing out injection wells, the permit could spur investment in the plumbing to bring R1 water to large-scale water consumers, some of whom use potable water for landscaping and irrigation, McKelvey said.

Shane Agawa, director of the Department of Environmental Management, said the county supports expanding the use of R1 water. Three projects underway in the resort district of Kaanapali will bring more of it to various hotels and golf facilities.

Two or three other long-range projects are also being mapped out. When the new infrastructure is fully built, 72% of West Maui’s treated wastewater will be used on land and not injected into the ground, Agawa said. He expects the county to reach that goal by 2028.

Ultimately, the county would like to bring R1 water to shopping centers, businesses, county parks and elsewhere, he said. R1 is not permitted for residential use.

“We have a plan to keep expanding our R1 infrastructure. Every year we have millions in the (capital improvement project) budget,” Agawa said.

Given the scarcity of fresh water due to drought, climate change, and increasing demand, Council member Tom Cook said that everyone he’s talked to supports building out R1 uses and retiring the injection wells. Cook’s Water and Infrastructure Committee is scheduled on Thursday take up a he drafted on that calls on the Bissen administration to prioritize R1 infrastructure investments in the next budget cycle and beyond.

Agawa said he fully supports the resolution and had a hand in drafting it.

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.