Nature club opposes water
panel appointee

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By Rosemarie Bernardo
rbernardo@starbulletin.com

Members of the Sierra Club are requesting that the state Senate not confirm an Alexander & Baldwin Inc. official appointed to the Water Resource Management Commission.

In a written statement, Jeff Mikulina, director of the Hawaii chapter of the Sierra Club, said the commission already has "several representatives of business, agribusiness and ranching -- all big water users of this state. No one represents the environment or the public at large."

The Sierra Club sent a letter to state senators yesterday asking them not to confirm Meredith Ching, vice president of Alexander & Baldwin Inc.

"There is plenty of reason to cast suspicion on Meredith Ching's impartiality," Mikulina wrote. "She is vice president of Alexander & Baldwin Inc. A&B is the biggest water user in the state -- the type of entity that is the Water Commission's job to oversee and regulate. A&B takes 160 million gallons of water a day from the East Maui watershed area. She has publicly opposed efforts to restore water to streams -- despite the Supreme Court's mandate."

However, Ching said: "I've never made those statements. ... I make fair decisions based on the facts." Ching is a trustee of the Nature Conservancy of Hawaii and board member of the Hawaii Nature Center.

"I understand the need to preserve our environment. I do something about it," she said.

If her appointment is confirmed by the Senate, Ching said she would recuse herself from any Water Commission meeting directly relating to Alexander & Baldwin. Ching also said she would ask the attorney general for advice if any issue "remotely related" to the company she works for is discussed during a meeting.

"I would err on the side of being cautious," she said.