08/15/2026
BLNR nixes long-term East Maui water license for Mahi Pono
Allison Schaefers
By Allison Schaefers
Today
The state Board of Land and Natural Resources on Friday blocked a proposed path toward a 30-year East Maui water license for Mahi Pono and voted to authorize the chair to secure a hearings officer for a court-ordered contested case hearing over the company’s stream diversion permits.
The decisions came after nearly eight hours of testimony during a meeting that ran from 9 a.m. to shortly after 5 p.m. and drew speakers ranging from children and kupuna, and included kalo farmers, Native Hawaiians, East Maui residents and elected officials.
Maui Mayor Richard Bissen, Office of Hawaiian Affairs Chair Kaiali‘i Kahele, Rep. Mahina Poepoe (D-Molokai, Lanai, Hana, Paia, Haiku) and state Sen. Brenton Awa (R-Kaneohe, Laie, Mokuleia), who is running for Hawaii’s 2nd Congressional District seat, testified against the proposal. At issue was whether the state should pursue a long-term arrangement that could allow Mahi Pono to continue diverting East Maui stream water for decades.
Jonathan Scheuer, vice chair of the East Maui Regional Community Board, called the outcome “a huge victory that keeps this desire by 64% of Maui’s voters to manage the system. It keeps it alive.”
The vote marks the latest chapter in a decades-long battle over East Maui stream diversions and the former plantation-era irrigation system. Mahi Pono, backed by Canadian pension fund PSP Investments, became sole owner of East Maui Irrigation Co. last year after Alexander &Baldwin transferred its remaining interest. The company acquired the other half in 2018 as part of its purchase of 41,000 acres of former sugar plantation land in Central Maui.
The fight has spawned years of litigation over balancing agricultural needs, Native Hawaiian rights and environmental protections. In December, the Land Board approved a permit allowing Mahi Pono to divert 35.22 million gallons per day through 2026. In July, Senior Environmental Court Judge Lisa Cataldo reduced that amount to 31.5 million gallons per day pending a contested case hearing and final board decision.
Cataldo found the board violated the public trust doctrine when it approved the permit and violated the Sierra Club of Hawai‘i’s due process rights by denying the group a contested case hearing.
Against that backdrop, the board on Friday denied staff recommendations to auction a state water license, issue a direct water license to Maui County and authorize negotiations over operation and maintenance of the East Maui Irrigation System. However, the board approved delegating authority to its chairperson to appoint a hearing officer and issue procedural orders for a court-ordered contested case hearing over the East Maui water diversion permit. The Sierra Club and other opponents argued the staff recommendations could ultimately allow Mahi Pono to divert up to 88 million gallons of water a day under a 30-year arrangement.
After hours of testimony and discussion, Maui board member James “Jay” Carpio moved to reject the recommendations.
“Since March to now, I took this on and every day I spent time on it,” Carpio said. “So I see the 150 years of reckoning.”
He said one of the lessons that stood out most during his review of the issue was the role Native Hawaiians played in constructing the system’s early ditch network.
“The greatest thing that stood out for me was the 7,000 Kanaka (Hawaiians) and Pake (Chinese) that built the first 17 miles of this ditch and four-fifths of that was Kanaka,” Carpio said. “They didn’t have the hydraulics, they didn’t have the machines, the trucks and everything that we have today. They busted butt back then and they did it within two years because they believed in the kingdom back in that time.”
Carpio also noted that he had hoped representatives from PSP Investments would attend the meeting and testify before the board considered long-term decisions on East Maui water.
“I was really hoping to see somebody from PSP over here today. I think that would have been huge,” he said.
He then moved to “deny, reject and oppose” the recommendations and requested that any future meetings on the issue be held on Maui. The board ultimately approved his motion after considering two contested case requests.
One request came from a taro farmer who later withdrew it. Another, filed by Mahi Pono attorney Calvert Chipchase, failed on a tie vote. Chipchase did not immediately return a call from the Honolulu Star-Advertiser.
Scheuer said Mahi Pono may have grounds to appeal but will have to consider the overwhelming opposition voiced during the hearing.
“One of the things they will have to weigh is that, you know, 95% of eight hours of testimony were people who were vigorously opposed to this happening,” Scheuer said.
Written testimony was mixed. Support for Mahi Pono came from the Chamber of Commerce Hawai‘i and from James Kunane Tokioka of the state Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism, who wrote that the long-term license “advances several of the department’s core statutory missions at once” and provides certainty that is foundational to economic development priorities beyond agriculture.
Denise Hayashi Yamaguchi, executive director of the Hawai’i Agricultural Foundation, and Keith Hayashi, superintendent of the Department of Education, also submitted written testimony supporting a long-term license for Mahi Pono.
“Locally grown food is essential to the health and well-being of our public school students, and that work begins with ensuring farmers have a reliable, long-term water supply,” Haysashi said.
Sharon Hurd, chairperson of the Hawaii Department of Agriculture &Biosecurity, testified during the hearing that “we welcome all farmers who will increase food production for the state,” and noted challenges after the recent Kona-low storms.
However, nearly all oral speakers who appeared before the board favored public control of East Maui water.
Elena Bryant, an attorney for Earthjustice, said it was “legally indefensible and frankly alarming” that DLNR “would consider committing East Maui‘s waters for an entire generation” before conducting the review that Cataldo‘s ruling had required.
“This isn‘t just putting the cart before the horse, it‘s sending the cart off a cliff and hoping the horse somehow catches up.”
Bissen urged the board to reject Agenda Item D-7, arguing East Maui water should remain under public stewardship. He noted that 64% of Maui voters approved the creation of the East Maui Water Authority in 2022.
“This is a public trust resource,” Bissen said. “The recommendation before you today moves us away from that path, contradicts the will of our community and moves us toward a structure that could determine the management and allocation of this resource for the next 30 years.”
Bissen also told board members Maui County formally requested a state set-aside in April covering its interest in the East Maui Irrigation System and East Maui surface water resources.
“I’m deeply disappointed that the option of a set-aside to the county has been summarily denied without the benefit of a full and fair hearing,” he said.
After the hearing, Bissen emphasized that the county’s position was not anti-agriculture.
“We are not opposed to Mahi Pono,” he told the Star-Advertiser. “We are in alignment with food security, with using ag lands for agricultural, and not having it be fallow.
“We’ve seen what happened in Lahaina when you leave lands unchecked, so we want these lands to be productive. We want there to be produce and agriculture on our island. We want them to be successful,” he said. “We think we can do that and also provide water to our Upcountry residents and to taro farmers. We can do that. We are capable of operating the system.”
The state Board of Land and Natural Resources on Friday blocked a proposed path toward a 30-year East Maui water license for Mahi Pono and voted to authorize the chair to secure a hearings officer for a court-ordered contested case hearing over the company’s stream diversion permits.
