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Lawmakers, beneficiaries and farmers urge OHA to favor public, community control of East Maui water
Summary
State lawmakers, homestead beneficiaries, kalo farmers and environmental advocates urged the board to prioritize public stewardship and community‑led management of East Maui water, citing cultural practices, restoration needs and concerns about foreign pension‑fund backing of private operators.
Multiple public testifiers — including state Rep. Mahina Poipoi, homestead leaders and East Maui residents — urged OHA to back a public, community‑led future for East Maui water and to oppose long‑term private control. Representative Mahina Poipoi told trustees she had submitted written testimony and urged OHA to “support the Ahavai o Maui HIKINA East Maui Water Authority and the county of Maui” as a way to return critical resource stewardship to public hands.
Community speakers described years of stream dewatering, the cultural and subsistence harm to kalo farmers and concerns about Mahi Pono’s ownership structure (backed, they said, by Canada’s Public Sector Pension Investment Board). Germaine Myers, an OHA beneficiary, urged keeping infrastructure in “local public ownership and management,” saying public authorities are accountable through open meetings and public records.
