Clean Water Branch

NOTICE OF PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD AND PUBLIC HEARING ON

PROPOSED REVISED WATER POLLUTION CONTROL PERMIT FOR

LAHAINA WASTEWATER RECLAMATION FACILITY

NPDES PERMIT NO. HI 0021848

DOCKET NO. HI 0021848

PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD

Monday, April 21, 2025 – Wednesday, May 21, 2025

The State of Hawaii, Department of Health (DOH), Clean Water Branch (CWB) will hold a public hearing in Lahaina, Maui regarding the proposed revised National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit (Public Hearing Permit) for the Lahaina Wastewater Reclamation Facility (Facility).

Date:               Wednesday, May 21, 2025

Time:              10:00 a.m.

Location:        Lahaina Civic Center Main Hall

1840 Honoapiilani Highway

Lahaina, Maui, Hawaii 96761

Electronic copies of the Public Hearing Permit, fact sheet, and other information are also available online at https://health.hawaii.gov/cwb/clean-water-branch-home-page/public-notices-and-updates/.

The NPDES permit is a regulatory mechanism to control water pollution through the issuance of permits.  The purpose of issuing an NPDES permit is to implement federal NPDES regulations and State NPDES rules to help protect human health and the environment.  An NPDES permit imposes restrictions and requirements on discharges of pollutants from permitted sites/facilities.  Permittees (entities that have NPDES permit coverage) are legally obligated to comply with all requirements specified in the issued permit.

NPDES permits do not serve the purpose of authorizing or approving any activities and actions, including, but not limited to, wastewater reuse.  Issuance of an NPDES permit does not convey any other rights, authorizations, approvals, or any other ability not specified in the permit.

The Facility collects and treats municipal wastewater from a population of approximately 40,000 in the City of West Maui.  The Facility utilizes primary, secondary, and tertiary wastewater treatment.  For disposal, a portion of the effluent is reused for irrigation with the remaining volume being discharged to the four (4) underground injection wells at the Facility.  The effluent in the injection wells flows to seeps along the coastline to the southwest of the Facility at North Kaanapali Beach.  The ultimate receiving water is the Pacific Ocean, which is designated as a Class A, Dry Marine Open Coastal Water, under Hawaii Administrative Rules, Section 11-54-3(c)(2).  It is the objective for Class A waters to protect their use for recreational purposes and aesthetic enjoyment.  Any other use shall be permitted as long as it is compatible with the protection and propagation of fish, shellfish, and wildlife, and with recreation in and on these waters.

The DOH-CWB tentatively recommends to the Director of Health (Director) to issue the Public Hearing Permit, revised from the proposed permit presented at the public hearing held on October 1, 2024.  The Public Hearing Permit is the result of significant public comments and testimony regarding more stringent effluent limitations and submission of many project plans among other topics.

The DOH-CWB invites written and oral testimony at the public hearing concerning the Public Hearing Permit to discharge tertiary treated wastewater from the Facility to the Facility’s underground injection wells, subject to certain effluent limitations and special conditions.  An NPDES permit would be issued to the County of Maui, Department of Environmental Management, 200 South High Street, Wailuku, Hawaii, 96793.

The County of Maui’s Department of Environmental Management published a Notice of Clean Water Branch Recommendations for Lahaina Wastewater Reclamation Facility; NPDES Permit No. HI 0021848; Docket No. HI 0021848; on June 30, 2023, in The Maui News.  The Director of Health received a significant number of requests for a public hearing.  On October 1, 2024, a public hearing was held to receive testimony on the proposed permit.

The DOH is holding a public hearing in accordance with Hawaii Revised Statutes Chapters 91 and 342D and HAR Section 11-55-13 due to significant public interest generated by the previous public comment period and public hearing.  The DOH invites written and oral testimony at the public hearing concerning the Public Hearing Permit.

Persons who wish to testify are asked to review the Public Hearing Permit and fact sheet prior to providing testimony and are required to submit a written copy of their testimony.  Oral testimony may be subject to a time limit.  Written statements will be accepted at the public hearing; by email at cleanwaterbranch@doh.hawaii.gov; hand-delivered to 2827 Waimano Home Road, Room 225, Pearl City, Hawaii 96782, or the DOH Maui District Health Office at 54 High Street, Room 300, Wailuku, Hawaii 96793 until 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday, May 21, 2025; or by mail at P.O. Box 3378, Honolulu, Hawaii  96801‑3378, postmarked by May 21, 2025.  The documents are also available for public inspection, Monday through Friday (excluding holidays) from 7:45 a.m. until 4:15 p.m., at the DOH offices listed above.  Copies may be bought.

All commentors shall include their name, address, and email address in their written testimony.  All commentors who believe any condition of the Public Hearing Permit is inappropriate or that the DOH-CWB’s tentative recommendation to issue the Public Hearing Permit is inappropriate, must raise all reasonably ascertainable issues from the implementing Federal NPDES regulations and provide the corresponding citations from Title 40 of the Code of Federal Regulations.

For more information or if you have special needs due to disability, please contact Mr. Reef Migita, Supervisor of the CWB Engineering Section at 808‑586‑4309 or at the above email or physical address at least seven (7) days before the public hearing date.  For those who use a TTY/TDD, please call through Sprint Relay Hawaii, at 1-711 or 1-877-447-5991.  The DOH-CWB will try to provide the requested arrangements but cannot guarantee all arrangements can be accommodated by the hearing deadline.

If the DOH-CWB believes, after considering all timely written testimony and oral testimony, that no substantive changes to the conditions of the Public Hearing Permit are necessary or warranted, then DOH-CWB may recommend to the Director that the Public Hearing Permit be issued.

Please notify anyone you know who would be interested in this matter.