Council members press DES on $30M land purchase and H‑POWER expansion plans

A line item that drew pointed questions on March 12 was DES’s land‑acquisition funding tied to solid‑waste planning. Director Roger Babcock told the committee the department has budgeted $30,000,000 in FY27 (with additional land funds in following years) for purchase of property adjacent to the Waimanalo Sanitary Landfill—identified in the hearing transcript as Makaiva Gulch—while additional appropriations ($31,000,000 this year and $10,000,000 next year) were shown for land adjacent to the H‑POWER facility where the demolished AES coal plant sits.

Babcock said the purchase of adjacent parcels is intended to create space for a recycling campus and to preserve options for a future H‑POWER expansion or material recovery facilities. He stressed that purchase of the land precedes—and does not guarantee—permits: any expansion or change in use would require environmental review, special use and air permits and approvals from the city planning commission and the state land use commission, and Babcock estimated those processes could take six to seven years before a facility could operate.

Several council members expressed concern. Vice chair Tupala said that residents had previously been told a new landfill would not be sited on the West Side and described the budgeting line as a surprise; she asked why the city was appropriating sizeable land‑purchase funds before permits were secured. “I think that’s crazy to put down that amount of money for the land and then let it sit and then hope that all of those permits come through,” a council member said, adding that the decision felt to some like a breach of prior expectations.

Babcock replied that the department had concluded, after a long siting process, that adjacent property is the only viable option and that purchasing land ahead of the permitting timeline is a common step to preserve options. He also outlined alternatives for construction and demolition (C&D) waste management—DES told members it has awarded a 20‑year contract for a new C&D processing facility and estimated roughly 50% recoverable material from C&D streams.

On H‑POWER operations, Babcock described two funding buckets: funds to purchase adjacent land and separate funds for refurbishing boilers and equipment. DES said $25,000,000 is budgeted for regular refurbishments to keep older boilers operating (Babcock contrasted refurbishment cost projections, which DES estimated at ~$250,000,000 for two older boilers, versus an approximate $1,000,000,000 cost to replace them outright). The department also identified planning and possible future public‑private partnerships to site new technologies on the former AES parcel rather than commit city construction funds to a new thermal facility.

No vote or formal decision on land purchases occurred in the hearing. Council members asked for follow-up details, including fair-market valuations, permitting timelines, environmental review scope and district outreach to affected communities.