Director of Maui Environmental (mis)Management, Cheryl Okuma, stated
that she found an unnamed University of Hawai’i staff (staph?) member
who stated that staph cannot survive in salt water.

Thus, the fact that her department pours 4-5 million gallons of R2
(un-disinfected) wastewater into the ocean off Kahului with their
injection wells is just hunky dory.

After the 100′s of paddlers and surfers who’ve gotten MRSA
(antibiotic-resistant staph) have stopped laughing, let’s ask this
so-called staff member to go swimming off Kanaha with an open sore.  I
dare you.

Cheryl Okuma is probably a clever lawyer (she has to be clever at what
she does,  to enable the County to continue breaking the Clean Water
Act, give themselves illegal SMA exemptions, etc) but she doesn’t know
____ about water quality.  (Pardon my pun)

Call the Mayor.  Tell her to quit stalling.  Clean up the water.

Karen Chun
SaveKahuluiHarbor.com

P.S. Read more in Rob Parson’s excellent Maui Time Article

During budget hearings this Friday, which included $2,000,000 for injection wells and other wastewater funding, Councilmember Wayne Nishiki and Sol Kaho’ohalahala proposed conditions to the wastewater the funds.  Department of Environmental Management is required to come up with a plan and timeline to start treating the wastewater to R1 and re-using it in order to get their funding.  The County Council passed these conditions.

Thank you, Maui County Council!