Community group continues efforts to keep South Maui waters clean. Funds to pump Ma‘alaea Harbor boats may run out in April.Close your eyes and visualize Maui’s crowning glory—the Pacific Ocean. Picture yourself as you swim, paddle, snorkel or surf in its crystal blue waters, enveloped in a warm blanket of saltwater, tickled by fins of passing fish—surrounded by sewage. While it may be difficult to imagine—or stomach—some of Ma‘alaea’s commercial boaters have been sending the contents of their “heads,” or sewage holding tanks, into ocean waters for more than a decade.
With more than 1,000,000 visitors boarding the vessels docked at Ma‘alaea Harbor each year, the quantity of human waste is staggering, taking into account that these boats often sail twice a day, and tend to increase tours during peak travel seasons.
One bright morning in 2002, Kihei resident Mike Moran rode his bicycle to his favorite South Maui beach, looking forward to a relaxing swim. As he streaked through the choppy surf, he noticed something odd floating in the water. Thinking to himself, “It couldn’t be,” he swam over for a closer look, and discovered it was exactly what he had feared—human waste. Disgusted, Moran returned to shore and hurried home to make some phone calls. He was surprised to hear that some of Ma‘alaea’s commercial boaters had been dumping waste into ocean waters for some time—and nothing had been done to stop it. In fact, he said, no law regulated the offshore dumping of sewage, and “No one even seemed to know about it.”
While the Pacific Whale Foundation uses a privately commissioned pump-out truck for its watercraft, there is no on-shore system in place for other harbor users to properly discharge sewage. In light of this discovery, an outraged Moran joined forces with the environmental advocacy group appropriately named “Pump Don’t Dump” (PDD).
In a series of conversations with county officials, Moran was assured that the offshore dumping had been a regular occurrence for years, and there had “never been a problem with it.” He was told that the state was responsible for Maui’s harbors, and, due to budget restrictions, the county could not afford to create or enforce a mandatory on-shore pumping station at Ma‘alaea Harbor. But with the help of County Councilwoman Michelle Anderson, Mayor Alan Arakawa announced in 2005 that he would use a supplemental budget appropriation to establish the “Ma‘alaea Harbor Sewage Pump-Out Program.” With more than $150,000 granted by the Office of Economic Development, the Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR), the Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary, the Hawai‘i Tourism Authority and Tri-Isle RC&D, the county set up a fund to pay invoiced pump-out services for Ma‘alea’s commercial boaters.
Boat owners were notified and encouraged to participate in the county program; however, it was up to them whether or not to use the on-shore services. According to Moran, it was a struggle to convince some owners to participate; while some were happy to comply, others were stubborn and non-responsive. Operators of older vessels argued that it was too costly to install proper pump-out equipment, and others refused to go along with the program, stating that they “Weren’t doing anything illegal.”
While it took some convincing, 23 of the 24 commercial vessels with slips at Ma‘alaea Harbor eventually agreed to pump, not dump—but, said Moran, there was no way to tell if they were true to their word.
But in 2007, PDD discovered the golden opportunity that it had been waiting for: because Maui County possesses the greatest portion of the Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary—approximately 1,043 square miles—PDD directed its attention to the federal agencies that govern sanctuary waters. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) officials assured PDD members that as long as the Hawai‘i Legislature and Gov. Linda Lingle submitted a formal request, the agency could mandate a “no discharge zone” within sanctuary boundaries. After months of testimony, both the state Senate and House of Representatives unanimously passed a concurrent resolution (HCR58) requesting all branches of the federal government to prohibit dumping of vessel sewage in the vicinity of the sanctuary.
But before they could uncork their victory champagne, PDD members received word that the governor’s office had bypassed the resolution, sending it back to sanctuary administrators, who lacked the funds necessary to make any of the changes outlined in the original resolution.
All is not lost, said Moran, who hopes that Mayor Charmaine Tavares and the Maui County Council will continue to endorse the Ma‘alaea Harbor Sewage Pump-Out Program in the 2008 budget.
“This is Maui’s dirty little secret,” he said. “I’m not about to give up.” He said the pump-out program currently has enough funds to service the harbor until April of this year, and if it is renewed annually, it will alleviate the dumping of sewage until a permanent pumping system is installed.
While Lahaina Harbor has two permanent sewage pumps available to commercial boaters, Ma‘alaea Harbor is not equipped for a permanent fixture, as there is no sewage treatment plant in the area. Moran said plans are in the works to install an arterial pump-out system for the harbor, but the project could take up to five years to complete.
Until the 2008 budget is announced, Moran will keep his fingers crossed. And what will he do if the Pump-Out Program is not renewed for 2008? Moran said he and PDD will pressure commercial boaters to continue using the pump-out service trucks. But most of all, he will keep holding onto the hope that they will take the initiative to “do the right thing.”
For more information, visit www.pumpdontdump.com, or email pumpdontdump@aol.com.