Lawsuits
Citizens Deliver Petitions Urging Maui County to Settle Lahaina Injection Well Case
For immediate release: Wednesday, August 28, 2019 Contact: Mahesh Cleveland, Earthjustice, (808) 599-2436 x6621 Citizens Deliver Petitions Urging Maui County to Settle Lahaina Injection Well Case Wailuku, Maui, HI — Today, Sierra Club and the Surfrider Foundation, with support from Hawai‘i Wildlife Fund and West Maui Preservation Association, delivered two petitions to Maui County Council Chair Kelly King. The petitions, signed by over 15,000 Sierra Club and Surfrider Foundation members nationwide, urges the Maui … Read more
Lahaina Injection Wells Frequently Asked Questions
What You Always Wanted To Know About The Lahaina Wastewater Injection Wells Case 1. The County Releases Wastewater Into The Ocean? After pressure from the community and from the EPA, the Lahaina Wastewater Reclamation Facility (LWRF) disinfects the wastewater with ultra-violet light to kill bacteria that are harmful to people. However, the resulting effluent is high in nitrogen, phosphorous and other chemicals that are harmful to the coral reef and to ocean life. 2. The … Read more
Former EPA officials back greens in Clean Water Act case
Maui County, Hawaii, wastewater treatment facilities at issue in Supreme Court litigation. Warren Gretz/NREL Ellen M. Gilmer, E&E News reporter Greenwire: Monday, July 22, 2019 States, tribes, scientists and former EPA leaders lent their support last week to environmentalists engaged in a high-stakes Supreme Court battle over federal water protections. In a series of amicus briefs submitted Friday, the supporters argued that the Clean Water Act’s permitting program applies to pollution that takes an indirect … Read more
Enviros Urge Justices To Uphold 9th Circ. Groundwater Ruling
By Juan Carlos Rodriguez Law360 (July 12, 2019, 10:52 PM EDT) — Green groups on Friday urged the U.S. Supreme Courtto uphold the Ninth Circuit’s holding that Clean Water Act permits may be required for pollution sources that discharge contaminants via groundwater. The Hawaii Wildlife Fund, Sierra Club, Surfrider Foundation and West Maui Preservation Association said Congress clearly intended the act to cover unpermitted pollution discharges that “actually and foreseeably” reach navigable surface waters. They said Maui County, … Read more
Stop pollution of Maui coral reefs
Honolulu Star-Advertiser, 2/27/2019 The Clean Water Act (CWA), which took shape during the early 1970s, bans the dumping of pollutants directly into surface waters, ranging from wetlands and rivers to oceans. Whether the federal law’s prohibition also should apply to indirect dumping that has the same effect is a matter expected to go before the nation’s highest court later this year. At the center of the debate is Maui’s Lahaina Wastewater Reclamation Facility, which injects … Read more