Maui residents protest diversion of Maui water
WAILUKU, Maui (AP) — Maui residents are calling on land owner Alexander &Baldwin to disclose the impacts of the company’s proposed 30-year lease for water from island streams.
The company’s subsidiary, Hawaiian Commercial &Sugar Co., is seeking 115 million gallons of water per day for future diversified agriculture on about 30,000 acres of old sugar fields, according to a Feb. 8 environmental impact statement preparation notice. The sugar plantation ceased its operations in December.
More than 130 people attended a Wednesday meeting about the company’s application to the state Board of Land and Natural Resources. Many people testified against the proposed lease, saying the company’s history of diverting water from east Maui streams negatively impacted stream life, taro farming and other Native Hawaiian practices.
The company historically diverted 37 of the 39 identified streams in Nahiku, Keanae and Huelo but is in the process of abandoning five streams and is no longer diverting another waterway.
A consultant for the company gave a brief presentation on the lease proposal Wednesday, but no company officials were on hand during the meeting.
Bill could boost funding for rat lungworm battle
HONOLULU (AP) — Lawmakers are considering a measure that would allocate hundreds of thousands of dollars to fight rat lungworm disease, a condition in which parasitic worm larvae infect people’s brains.
The bill would provide an undetermined amount of funding to the University of Hawaii to spearhead research and prevention efforts to combat the potentially deadly disease.
UH researcher Sue Jarvi told lawmakers during a Wednesday briefing that it would cost between $350,000 and $400,000 to hire people to assist with her work on the disease.
There have been 58 cases of isle residents contracting the disease in the past decade, according to state Department of Health data. But health officials say that number is likely higher because the disease, which is carried by rats and transmitted by snails and slugs, is underreported.
Jarvi said people contact her team at least once a week to report that they might have contracted the disease.
And while a majority of recent rat lungworm cases have been reported in Puna, health officials are urging lawmakers to address the disease as a statewide problem.
“Clearly, outreach and education is what’s needed and it’s not just for the Big Island, it needs to be statewide,” Department of Health Director Virginia Pressler said. “This is probably going to be a growing issue and we aren’t going to be able to totally eradicate slugs or the rats.”
