For Immediate Release: July 19, 2021
Press Release by:
Chair Alice L. Lee
Maui County Council
County continues to prioritize wastewater improvements as injection wells case proceeds through legal system
WAILUKU, Hawaiʻi—Maui County is making investments to make its wastewater system more efficient and environmentally friendly, and that effort will continue regardless of the outcome in any court case, Council Chair Alice L. Lee said today.
The longstanding case on injection wells in Lahaina, which is proceeding through the federal-court system, shouldn’t distract from the unified work of the council and Mayor Michael P. Victorino’s administration, she said.
“Ensuring that Maui County has the best possible wastewater system—benefitting residents, taxpayers and the environment—should be a unifying issue,” said Lee, who holds the council seat for the Wailuku-Waihee-Waikapu residency area. “The council and mayor have invested tens of millions of dollars in capital improvement projects for the Department of Environmental Management.
“We need to move forward with calm and determined collaboration.
“It’s far more efficient and productive for the council and mayor—who are responsible to Maui County residents—to make decisions on how best to provide wastewater services, and all services for that matter, in a manner that is both sensitive to our fragile ecology and fiscally responsible.
“Unity among the council and the mayor on this issue is vital, especially now given the ongoing challenges caused by COVID-19 and the Delta variant, the mounting conflicts triggered by an unprecedented surge of visitor arrivals and a number of other significant concerns.
“We need to keep working toward a common vision that benefits the entire community.”
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