BREAKING NEWS!

Posted 8/27/2024

FOM in Court on Wednesday

Aloha Friends,

Big day in Court Wednesday. Itʻs open to the public and we invite as many of you as can to attend and hear an important drainage argument for the south shore of Kauai. Bottom line, Pinkstonʻs Kiahuna Plantation Drive development at 5425 Pau A Laka has never filed and refused to file a true Master Drainage Plan as required by condition 26 of their development permit.

“26. Prior to building permit approval, the Applicant shall submit a master drainage plan for all lands mauka of Poipu Road rezoned under Moana Corporation Ordinance No. PM-37-79 for Planning Commission review and approval, including Kaneiolouma Heiau.”

After 26, all development of the former agricultural lands in Kiahuna Golf Village were to have drainage plans after 1978 because the County enacted an Ordinance that held “drainage after development could not exceed the parcels drainage prior to development”. Drainage had to be kept to pre-development conditions whether the developer had to build water features, retention ponds, detention basins etc. Why was this law enacted, because everything on our island as with most volcanic islands drains to the ocean threatening the health and safety of our marine life, reefs, waters in which we swim and in which our children play.
 
If you want to hear more about why we are in Court, you can listen to the following link (a bit over 10 minutes) contains the issues that will be discussed with the Court Wednesday at 1:00 pm. As many of you are aware, the Waiohi beach parking and Kaneiolouma flood and sometimes leaves the water is standing for 5 weeks as it did last April.

Voice Message
If you want to review the Court papers filed by our superb legal team, you can find them all in the following link:

Court Papers
 
You may attend the Hearing Wednesday, August 28, 2024 at 1:00 pm. It is open to the public and hear what Judge Watanabe does to protect our south shore beaches, its residents, marine life and reefs:

Honorable Kathleen Watanabe
5th Circuit Court of Kauai
3970 Kaana St #307
Lihue, HI 96766

On a more positive note, it is almost the end of August and we have almost met our $25,000 match. Thank you to all the generous GoFundMe donors and donors who have mailed in their donation. We are only $85 short of our goal. We could not do it without your support. On behalf of your the FOM Board of Directors.

Mahalo nui loa,

Bridget Hammerquist, President
Friends of Maha`ulepu, a 501(c)(3)
Kia`i Wai o Wai`ale`ale, Co-founder
PO Box 1654
Koloa, HI 96756
Donate
friendsofmahaulepu.org
[email protected]
(808) 742-1037 home
(808) 346-1973 cell

Posted 8/14/2024

Declining to face the music

Aloha,

1. Notice of Cancellation:

Just today, we received Notice that the Agribusiness Development Corporation Board’s meeting set for this Thursday at 9:30 am in the Beck’s Bldg at 718D Kaumualii Hwy in Kekaha has been cancelled. 

 
The cancelled meeting was to review and approve a plan to transfer the leases for the shrimp farm operation on Crown lands from Hawaii Department of Agriculture (HDOA) to Agribusiness Development Corporation (ADC). There are serious environmental issues with this operation that is operating on an expired NPDES permit. The shrimp farm, Kauai Shrimp, owned by Sunrise Capital, a subsidiary of a Dutch corporation, was a large producer of genetically modified shrimp larvae that were exported around the world,  in addition to the production of shrimp sold locally. The waters draining from the farm have been chronically polluted running into a ditch that also receives drainage from other ADC agricultural operations, seed farms etc. The polluted drainage has been tested and much data supported the two Surfrider lawsuits shared in our last email. For now the ADC Board has declined to hear the matter and we don’t know when or if it will be re-calendared. In an effort to keep the public informed, you might like to know that the Aloun Farms who recently took over the operation of the shrimp farm has previously been indicted for human trafficking, solicitation and acceptance of payment from foreign nationals to provide labor for their organic farm on Oahu was the subject of a Federal action reported on by Hawaii Free Press in the following link:

Human Trafficking: Did the US DoJ Purposefully lose the Aloun Farms Case?

In the article, Hawaii Free Press, states that two former Governors and groups supporting organic farming suggested that the organic food produced by Aloun Farms was of such value that “a little slavery should be overlooked”.

2. Almost There:

It’s nearly mid August and we are $5,000 short of our $25,000 match. On behalf of our Board, we sincerely appreciate and thank those who have so generously contributed to support our work as we strive to preserve the environment of Kauai.

3. Another Lawsuit is Filed:

FOM has a pending lawsuit against the developers  planning to construct a 350 room luxury resort on the site of the former Coco Palms. Our lawsuit is based on the developers failure to comply with the conditions of development, operating under expired permits issued in 2016 and 2017, which by their term were only valid for one year. There is also a problem with title, inadequate infrastructure, and a very outdated traffic study. FOM has been supportive of I Ola Wailuanui, a community based non-profit organization that formed to return the publicly owned State land coconut grove to it’s former natural state, recognizing the historic State and National Registered fish ponds, burial grounds together with other historic aspects of this area that was home to Hawaiian Royalty long before and prior to the site every being used for a hotel. The site has not been a hotel since its destruction by Hurricane Iniki in 1992. On July 26, 2024, I Ola Wailuanui filed another lawsuit against the developers and the Hawaii State…

Read More News!

Aloha!

Humpback whales are often seen breaching off the shores of Maha’ulepu during the winter months.

Friends of Maha’ulepu is comprised of a group of concerned citizens (local and beyond) who are contributing their time and talents to protect the natural beauty of this pristine coastal valley.

Maha’ulepu Beach is located on the South Shore of the Island of Kaua’i in the Hawaiian Islands, approximately 3 1/2 miles northeast of the town of Poi’pu.  Poi’pu is one of the major visitor destinations on the island due to it’s beautiful beaches, swimming, snorkeling and surfing, sea turtles, whales, monk seals, trade winds, palm trees, and spectacular sunsets. Learn more about Friends of Maha’ulepu and the work we are doing!


Maui wildfires timeline of failed communications