[ OUR OPINION ]
Current landfill site
may be best choiceCHOOSING a place for a landfill is a predictably contentious process and that it was when an advisory group abruptly cut from its list a location that would be, by far, the least expensive option and, by the panel's own ranking, the highest-rated site.
THE ISSUE
Waimanalo Gulch would cost the least for annual operations at $653,842 during a 20-year period.
Since the City Council is not bound by the group's recommendations in making the final selection, it should include Waimanalo Gulch -- where the current landfill sits -- in its deliberations. Not doing so would be illogical and unfair.
The Mayor's Advisory Committee on Landfill Siting has reviewed locations for a landfill because the permit for Waimanalo will expire in 2008. It began with a roster of 45 sites, and through a number of benchmarks, such as capacity and environmental effects, whittled the list down. Using a 31-point scale, the committee rated each; Waimanalo Gulch scored highest, costing considerably less than other locations.
The landfill has been a point of conflict for the community, which has grown up around it since its 1989 opening. Earlier this year, when the city sought state approval for the landfill's expansion, the administration promised that it would use Waimanalo for only five more years.
Although the promise has no legal weight, the community and Jeff Stone, developer of the nearby Ko Olina Resort, had a basis to believe the city. However, the developer, in demanding that the city "instruct the panel" that it could not place Waimanalo on the list, in threatening a lawsuit and in objecting not only to Waimanalo but to a nearby site as well, overstepped himself. As powerful an "economic engine" for Leeward Oahu as he views his financial interests, Stone has no standing to dictate public policy.
The rating process was kept objective by identifying each site by a number, a practical step to remove NIMBY influences, but when the sites' locations were unveiled -- four on the Leeward Coast and one in Kailua -- the committee, composed largely of Leeward representatives, were unsettled and politics kicked in.
Member Todd Apo, a vice president for Ko Olina, asked others on the panel -- outside a scheduled meeting -- to sign a petition to remove Waimanalo and endorse a Nanakuli parcel. This prompted a open-meetings law complaint from member Cynthia Thielen, a state representative from Kailua, who also has a big stake in the site selection.
The dissent culminated with the resignation of four members at the panel's final meeting when Waimanalo was deleted. Before he quit, Bruce Anderson, a former state health director, made a valid point, saying that cutting Waimanalo despite its 20-year capacity and lower costs, was irresponsible. He also questioned the logic of walking away from an already "despoiled" site and taking another to do the same.
The Council must make a decision by next June and no doubt the conflicts will roll on. Stay tuned.
