Staff proposes interim permits and tiered review to protect public‑trust uses as West Maui sustainable yield is reassessed

Deputy Director Kira Kamalhane presented a proposed process on April 28, 2025 for how the Commission on Water Resource Management might proceed with dozens of pending water‑use permit applications in the West Maui surface and groundwater management area. Staff proposed issuing interim permits for existing uses, using a phased, tiered review that would prioritize traditional and customary appurtenant (kuleana) rights and other constitutionally protected public‑trust purposes before addressing other existing and new commercial uses.

Kamalhane told the commission the proposed framework would allow the agency to move more quickly to regulate excessive uses while the longer technical work — including sustainable‑yield reevaluation and additional monitoring — proceeds. "I am proposing a potential framework to phase permits," she said, describing a four‑tier outline that would put appurtenant and traditional/customary uses first, municipal domestic needs and public‑trust restoration projects next, then other existing uses, and new uses last (with the handling of new housing flagged as a question to resolve).

Why it matters: Lahaina and adjacent West Maui aquifers have shown signs of stress in monitoring data, public testimony said, and many speakers urged the commission to act to prevent saltwater intrusion and further harm to streams, lo`i and marine…