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The possibility of placing Oʻahu’s new landfill near his North Shore district does not sit well with Rep. Sean Quinlan.

He’s worried that the proposed site in Wahiawā could leak hazardous substances into nearby wells and aquifers.

At a legislative briefing at the State Capitol on Tuesday, Quinlan received confirmation from the director of Honolulu’s Department of Environmental Services that metals and chemicals would remain in the leachate produced in the disposal of solid waste.

Those chemicals, Quinlan pointed out, can include “forever chemicals” that do not break down and can cause infertility and cancer. 

Quinlan asked Roger Babcock, the environmental services director, whether he could “guarantee 100%” that the lining for the new landfill would be impermeable forever.

“No, we cannot guarantee that,” Babcock said.

Quinlan then turned to Ernie Lau, manager and chief engineer of the Honolulu Board of Water Supply, to ask, “Are we once again rolling the dice with our fresh water?”

Lau, who helped lead the fight to close the Red Hill underground storage tanks after thousands of gallons of jet fuel contaminated the drinking water of area families, said yes.

The decision to place the Navy fuel tanks over an aquifer was made more than 80 years ago, Lau said, and he compared that decision to the decision faced regarding Wahiawā today.

“And so the question that I have is, are we 80 years from now or 100 years from now (going to) find out that that wasn’t a good decision?” Lau said.

The exchange encapsulated the dilemma facing not only the City and County of Honolulu but the entire state, because there is a landfill in each of the four island counties and few places to build a new one.

That led to state lawmakers on Tuesday probing Lau, Babcock and other officials on whether it’s possible to find another site for Oʻahu.

There are two options, but each entails its own set of challenges.

One is to extend operations at the Waimānalo Gulch Sanitary Landfill on the Waiʻanae Coast, which is set to reach capacity in 2032. The permit for the landfill specifies that no new material can be dumped there past March 2028. Mayor Rick Blangiardi has also vowed that the West Side of Oʻahu will not continue to be burdened with the island’s trash.

The second option is to have the Legislature amend a 2020 state law known as Act 73 to reduce the half-mile buffer zone around neighborhoods, schools and hospitals. Act 73 also prohibits landfills from being located on conservation lands.

Both options face opposition at the Legislature. Samantha DeCorte, the new senator representing Ko ‘Olina, Nānākuli, Mā‘ili, Wai‘anae, Mākaha, Mākua, told Babcock she fears that the city will ultimately decide to extend Waimānalo Gulch.

And Kurt Fevella, the senator from ‘Ewa Beach, Ocean Pointe, ‘Ewa by Gentry, Iroquois Point and portions of ‘Ewa Villages, said that amending Act 73 could result in a potential landfill in his district.

Fevella said he would not vote to change the law.

“This is because, again, we (don’t) want to put a burden in somebody else’s community in having a landfill,” he said. “I won’t support it in anybody’s community. … Going forward, you guys got to come up with a better plan.”

The Current Landfill Hasn’t Leaked — Yet

The Wahiawā plan has been several years in the making.

On Dec. 10, the city announced that an area northwest of Wahiawā was the favored location for the new landfill. It is on agricultural land to the west of Kamehameha Highway and north of Paʻalaʻa Uka Pūpūkea Road.

The site is located over an aquifer, but the city proposes designing, constructing and operating the facility adhering to strict state and federal guidelines that officials say prioritize public health and safety.

Babcock told legislators that the Waimānalo Gulch site had never leaked through its liner in its 35 years of operation. The Wahiawā site, he said, would have a double liner to ensure leachate does not percolate down into the aquifer.

But Lau countered that the EPA has reported all landfills eventually leak into the environment. He also said that Wahiawā receives much more rainfall than Waimānalo Gulch, suggesting it may be a great risk for leakage.

The Board of Water Supply has to approve the Wahiawā landfill site, and Lau has long made clear that he opposes it. The city has the option to appeal to the BWS Board of Directors.

Even if the Wahiawā site is approved it will take several years to process the necessary paperwork to develop it. There are a number of permits that have to be obtained, particularly with the state Department of Health. An environmental impact study must also be conducted, which would entail another round of public input.

Dole Food Co. would also have to agree to sell 150 acres of its agricultural land in Wahiawā, something it said it opposed .

On Tuesday, Babcock acknowledged that Dole said the sale would impact the company’s operations.

“But at the same time, they did say that they have other land that they have for sale,” he said. “So that would indicate, I think, a pretty good indication that they’re interested in talking with us and working through and trying to find a solution.”

Dole Food Co. did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Other lands on Oʻahu that are off-limits for a landfill include areas near airports and coastlines vulnerable to tsunamis.

About 400 tons of ash burned at the city’s waste-to-energy facility, H-Power, is dumped into the landfill every day. And 10,000 gallons of leachate per day are also generated.

“There’s clearly a lot of potential for a lot of impact, just based on this volume,” said Rep. Nicole Lowen, chair of the House Committee on Energy and Environmental Protection. “And as the Board of Water Supply mentioned, we have to think way into the future.”

Mike Formby, the city managing director, acknowledged there are potential sites outside of the Board of Water Supply’s No Pass Zone where installation of waste disposal facilities are prohibited due to the threat of contaminating groundwater.

But he said there is no other preferred site identified, and all would require amending Act 73.