Neighbors mad
that landfill
may open againMaalaea residents cited foul odors
By Gary T. Kubota
but a county official urges approval
Star-BulletinMAALAEA, Maui -- Terry Pridemore was looking forward to a retirement in a healthy environment after moving to Maui from a mining area in Montana about 3 years ago.
But Pridemore, 61, fears her retirement dream may go up in noxious smoke if a construction dump site renews operation upwind from her Maalaea condominium and a smoldering fire starts there again, as it did last year.
"The smell was periodic, everyday," recalled Pridemore, president of the Maalaea Community Association. "It came in waves and it was almost overpowering."
A public meeting on a proposal to issue a new permit for the landfill is scheduled for Tuesday before the Maui Planning Commission.
The meeting starts at 1:30 p.m. in the Planning Department conference room in Wailuku.
Landfill operator Richard "Chick" DeCoite was unavailable for comment.
Hearings officer Joel August has recommended issuing the permit with a number of conditions, including elimination of green waste from the site. A smoldering tree brought into the landfill is suspected as being the cause of a fire that, according to residents, began burning in late January 1998.
State health officials say air-quality tests taken on March 19-20 last year indicated the odor posed no health hazard. The county ordered DeCoite to cease operations last April.
Residents point out that DeCoite was operating with a permit that expired on Sept. 30, 1997.
In his report to the commission, August recommends DeCoite hire a spotter to inspect all waste material as it is deposited in a pit., and create individual cells for materials, so fires won't spread.
