The Environmental Court on Friday, June 16, reduced the amount of water Alexander & Baldwin and East Maui Irrigation Company, a subsidiary, are allowed to divert from East Maui streams.

What You Need To Know

  • "Temporary" permits formerly allowed A&B to divert 40.49 million gallons of water per day, but the court's ruling reduces the amount to 31.5 million gallons of water per day

  • Friday’s decision was the latest ruling in a series of court cases brought by the Sierra Club of Hawaii against the Board of Land and Natural Resources for issuing “temporary” permits that allow A&B to divert water

  • Sierra Club Director Wayne Tanaka said in a news release that Friday’s ruling is a “victory for the streams, and a vindication of both the law and the facts”

A&B is now allowed to divert 31.5 million gallons of water per day. Previously, temporary permits issued by the Board of Land and Natural Resources allowed A&B to divert 40.49 million gallons of water per day.

Since the late 1800s, A&B has diverted billions of gallons of East Maui’s waters for sugar plantations, which were all shut down as of 2016. However, the water continues to be used by other agricultural ventures. In 1986, A&B’s long-term lease to divert water expired, and since then, BLNR has allowed A&B to use state land to divert water with short-term permits that have been continuously renewed. 

Friday’s decision was just the latest ruling in a series of court cases brought by the Sierra Club of Hawaii against the Board of Land and Natural Resources for continuously issuing “temporary” permits that allow A&B to divert water from a dozen East Maui streams, according to a news release from the Sierra Club. 

In 2021, the Environmental Court reduced the amount of water allowed to be diverted by A&B from 45 to 25 million gallons of water per day. A year later, the Environmental Court further reduced the amount of water allowed to be diverted by A&B to 20 million gallons per day. However, the BLNR issued temporary permits for 2023 that increased the amount of water that A&B could divert to more than 40 million gallons per day.

Sierra Club of Hawaii Director Wayne Tanaka said in a news release that Friday’s ruling is a “victory for the streams, and a vindication of both the law and the facts.” 

The court’s decision on Friday said the amount of water diverted under the BLNR’s 2023 permits exceeds the amount of water reportedly needed for diversified agriculture and other ventures by 15 million gallons per day. As a result of this, the Environmental Court Judge Jeffrey P. Crabtree lowered the amount of water permitted to be diverted and said the parties could return to court if additional evidence suggested a need for further modifications. 

The 31.5 million gallons of water per day now permitted is still higher than the estimated 25.27 million gallons of water per day estimated to be needed, while allowing for more water to stay in East Maui and provide for the region’s watersheds, estuaries and community members, according to the Sierra Club. 

“This ruling will help us to strike a better balance in the sharing and protection of east Maui’s streams, at least for the near future,” said Tanaka. 

He said he also hoped that with new leadership at the Board of Land and Natural Resources, which recently appointed Chairperson Dawn Chang, after Suzanne Case left the office, that this might be the end of “the rampant waste and corporate monopolization of water.”

Michelle Broder Van Dyke covers the Hawaiian Islands for Spectrum News Hawaii. Email her at michelle.brodervandyke@charter.com.