sierraclubhi.bsky.social @sierraclubhi.bsky.social · 15/08/2026Vote on motion to DENY recommendation for a public auction to give a license to Mahi Pono: UNANIMOUS VOTE TO DENY THE PUBLIC AUCTION/WATER LICENSE. We win. 391
sierraclubhi.bsky.social @sierraclubhi.bsky.social · 15/08/2026Motion made to grant Mahi Ponoʻs contested case request for Mahi Pono over their right to have the BLNR hold a public auction so that they can bid on a water license: Young, Smith, Kanakaʻole -yes Yoon, Carpio, Ono -no MOTION to grant Mahi Pono a contested case FAILS! 150
sierraclubhi.bsky.social @sierraclubhi.bsky.social · 15/08/2026David Kimo Frankel: We do not believe Mahi Pono does not have a right to a contested case, but if it is granted, the Sierra Club will petition to intervene, and also demand a new EIS, given the significant impacts that have been revealed since the completion of A&B's EIS for a long-term license. 150
sierraclubhi.bsky.social @sierraclubhi.bsky.social · 15/08/2026Note: Hawaiian practitioners have been denied their contested case requests by the BLNR for decades, despite stream diversions' impacts on their constitutionally recognized Native Hawaiian traditional and customary rights. 021
sierraclubhi.bsky.social @sierraclubhi.bsky.social · 15/08/2026Calvert Chipchase, Mahi Pono attorney, files motion for contested case!! If the Board accepts, no vote will be taken. But...how do they have standing? You need to have been denied a right, to be entitled to a contested case... 331
sierraclubhi.bsky.social @sierraclubhi.bsky.social · 15/08/2026MOTION TO DENY, REJECT, OPPOSE ALL 3 RECOMMENDATIONS IN D-7 BY JAY CARPIO. Seconded by at-large member Kaiwinui Yoon 041
sierraclubhi.bsky.social @sierraclubhi.bsky.social · 15/08/2026MOTION BEING MADE BY MAUI BLNR REPRESENTATIVE JAY CARPIO! 000
sierraclubhi.bsky.social @sierraclubhi.bsky.social · 15/08/2026Kalena Shim: "Iʻm not here to ask for anything. Iʻm here to challenge you guys to do what is honorable, and to change the structural system. And to be the difference in the history of Hawaiʻi." 020
sierraclubhi.bsky.social @sierraclubhi.bsky.social · 15/08/2026Tiare Ribeaux: "If a water user did not contribute to cleaning the ʻauwai and repairing the system for the benefit of the community, their water could be withheld.Taking required giving back. Water carried reciprocity, not entitlement. Our kūpuna knew that receiving wai carried kuleana." 010
sierraclubhi.bsky.social @sierraclubhi.bsky.social · 15/08/2026Maui Tomorrow's Albert Perez, ILWU's Steve West, Lahaina Strong's Pāʻele Kiakona, and nā kupa o Maui say ʻaʻole to a water license for PSP Investments. 030
sierraclubhi.bsky.social @sierraclubhi.bsky.social · 15/08/2026Kanoelani Steward: "Rejecting D-7 is prioritizing the health and well-being of our ʻāina, which includes flowing fresh water in our streams, and an abundance of life in our ocean... our people and our community are a reflection of our ʻāina." 020
sierraclubhi.bsky.social @sierraclubhi.bsky.social · 15/08/2026Heidi: "Water is life. Water is more valuable than gold. Gold cannot keep a family alive, grow food, restore a stream, or sustain a community. But water can. Please do not give control of East Maui's water away for another generation." 020
sierraclubhi.bsky.social @sierraclubhi.bsky.social · 15/08/2026Healani Sonoda-Pale, Ka Lāhui Hawaiʻi: "This marks the 3rd anniversary of the Maui fires, where 100 people lost their lives. Lahaina showed us the consequences of generations of water diversions, climate change, and failures of government...And yet we are still fighting against diversion[s]." 050
sierraclubhi.bsky.social @sierraclubhi.bsky.social · 15/08/2026Jessie Kekiwi: "30 years is not a license. It is a generational disposition....Water belongs to Kāne, not to corporations, not to foreign investors, not to profit, not to us human beings. We just have to steward and share [it]." 020
sierraclubhi.bsky.social @sierraclubhi.bsky.social · 15/08/2026Hunter Heaivilin, HFUU: "We are being asked to export island products and profits... as the cost of progress...[T]his license...perpetuate[s] the generational transfer of wai away from East Maui and...the next generation's wealth to pension funds in Canada." 010
sierraclubhi.bsky.social @sierraclubhi.bsky.social · 15/08/2026Steve West, ILWU: "I think it's interesting that weʻre on Zoom and youʻre not here. This is an issue that's facing this community. It's insulting that you're not here. It's insulting that this camera is facing up toward the ceiling instead the audience...Return this water to the people." 010
sierraclubhi.bsky.social @sierraclubhi.bsky.social · 15/08/2026James Infantino, PSA: "Over the last 26 years, dealing with PSP Investments, we have found them to be untrustworthy, unreliable, an opaque organization, and their only interest is their own financial welfare. Previous testimony today...just gave a sprinkling of some of the...shenanigans." 010
sierraclubhi.bsky.social @sierraclubhi.bsky.social · 15/08/2026Shay Chan Hodges, former county water supply chair: "PSP's investment in [Maui] has only one goal: to produce financial returns. PSP beneficiaries themselves have warned Hawaiʻi policymakers not to let PSP anywhere near this long term lease. It's record has been exposed in the media extensively." 000
sierraclubhi.bsky.social @sierraclubhi.bsky.social · 15/08/2026Aunty Kapua Keliikoa Kamai: "The thought of our people suffering, our people leaving, while we support a foreign nation should make us all sick... I ask you like many others, to not repeat history, to be the change that needs to occur, for our moʻopuna's moʻopuna's moʻopuna." 010
sierraclubhi.bsky.social @sierraclubhi.bsky.social · 15/08/2026Albert Perez, Maui Tomorrow: "I am concerned that people are assuming that PSP will be here for 30 years. When they came to Maui they had 8 years to show a profit. I truly doubt they have. Those 8 years will be up this December." 000
sierraclubhi.bsky.social @sierraclubhi.bsky.social · 15/08/2026Tara Apo: "You can see the will of Maui County voters. You can see that we do not want this. Youʻve seen this before... We have put so much time into voting for the East Maui Water Authority, they have put so much time into...getting to the point where they can take this on." 131
sierraclubhi.bsky.social @sierraclubhi.bsky.social · 15/08/2026Pāʻele Kiakona: "Familiarity is not the same as necessity...I refuse to accept that our survival depends on a foreign entity owning our water. A century of decisions like this ...put us in here in the first place, pulling land and water away from our people..." 010
sierraclubhi.bsky.social @sierraclubhi.bsky.social · 15/08/2026Ashley Obrey, NHLC (quoting the Envtʻl Court): "Nā Moku did not demand that BLNR relinquish its discretion...The choice BLNR actually faced was not between Nā Moku’s constitutional rights and water delivery—it was between those rights and an RP more favorable to Mahi Pono than the record supported." 010
sierraclubhi.bsky.social @sierraclubhi.bsky.social · 15/08/2026Kaliko Teruya: "How could someone ever put money over the one thing we and all living things need to survive?...Ever since Iʻve been aware of this desecration, itʻs pushed me to show up at these meetings and testify because I refuse to believe that us, the future of this ʻāina, donʻt have a voice." 020
sierraclubhi.bsky.social @sierraclubhi.bsky.social · 15/08/2026Moses Haia: "Who lost their abiilty to be sustainable? Who lost their access to water and... their ability to grow what was needed for the people? That was the original inhabitants of east Maui. When we talk about sustainability...we would have been more than able to feed our families." 031
sierraclubhi.bsky.social @sierraclubhi.bsky.social · 15/08/2026Elena Bryant, Earthjustice: "You are being asked to commit East Maui's waters for an entire generation before [fulfilling legal requirements]. This isnʻt just putting the cart before the horse, this is pushing the cart off the cliff and hoping the horse somehow catches up." 🔥🐎 052
sierraclubhi.bsky.social @sierraclubhi.bsky.social · 15/08/2026Councilmember Keani Rawlins: Large corporations use their political and economic muscle to try to strong arm our government... Mahi Pono is not going to negotiate if state keeps siding with them...And if Mahi Pono cuts off Central Maui as threatened thatʻs an emergency and government would step in. 131
sierraclubhi.bsky.social @sierraclubhi.bsky.social · 15/08/2026Jonathan Scheuer: "If you move forward here’s what will happen: eventually the Hawaiʻi supreme court will say you can’t fulfill your public trust duties and give a 30 year license [to Mahi Pono], so we will just find ourselves back here in 5 years asking what to do next." 032
sierraclubhi.bsky.social @sierraclubhi.bsky.social · 15/08/2026Carol Lee Kamekona: "Your decision today will affect our children for 7 generations...I look at the storm as a hōʻailona. The heavens are crying.. Heed the [Maui voters'] decision, discontinue this disrespectful act, deny a water lease to everyone else except the voters of Maui." 011
sierraclubhi.bsky.social @sierraclubhi.bsky.social · 15/08/2026Maui folks on Maui must talk to a camera, to ask people on Oʻahu to keep their water out of the hands of a Canadian corporation. But they show up to the fight nonetheless - and have fun, knowing they are on the right side of history. 041
sierraclubhi.bsky.social @sierraclubhi.bsky.social · 15/08/2026Kaualana Ing: "This is the board that did reject the Pōhakuloa EIS and prove that when the status quo is no longer serving the people, that there is an opportunity to take action..." 010
sierraclubhi.bsky.social @sierraclubhi.bsky.social · 15/08/2026Māhealani Wendt: "Please stand with the people and against corporate profit, for-profit motivations and political influence... I cannot - a lot of people out there we can't understand why this keeps coming up... Itʻs like Lazarus you know, coming up...over and over, no matter what the people say." 031
sierraclubhi.bsky.social @sierraclubhi.bsky.social · 15/08/2026Ed Wendt: "This ʻāina is not only precious because of our ʻohana's legacy. But because most of the Koʻolau moku is...crown lands, set aside for the sovereign and their people. They are still sacred trust lands." 031
sierraclubhi.bsky.social @sierraclubhi.bsky.social · 15/08/2026Rep. Mahina Poepoe: "If we don't have the tools, let's create them. I tried to create a tool through legislation. But you came and said a set aside to the county is already our practice...So...Do you not have the tools? Do you not want the tools? Or do you have them but not want to use them?" 031
sierraclubhi.bsky.social @sierraclubhi.bsky.social · 15/08/2026Ashley Wendt: "Sitting with [my grandpa Ed Wendt] in Wailuanui and hearing the stories of war, in combat and for the protection of our wai, has always reminded me of the importance of our connection to aloha ʻāina through water stewardship." 031
sierraclubhi.bsky.social @sierraclubhi.bsky.social · 15/08/2026Mavis Oliveira Medeiros: "You represent us, not a foreign entity. When [Land Division staff] said ʻwho's going to maintain the diversions?ʻ - we live there. The diversions hasn't had attention for many, many years. [Mahi Pono] only recently started caring for it, like in the past year." 021
sierraclubhi.bsky.social @sierraclubhi.bsky.social · 15/08/2026Jerome Kekiwi Jr., Nā Moku Aupuni o Koʻolau Hui: "Iʻm here to represent my kūpunas that couldnʻt make it today, that have passed on. We oppose agenda item D-7. ...EMI is under order to take out diversions, that never happen yet... I hope you can be courageous and brave, and side with the people." 021
sierraclubhi.bsky.social @sierraclubhi.bsky.social · 15/08/2026Uncle Bobby Pahia: "We wanted to collaborate and manage the water system cooperatively [with Mahi Pono]. We all wanted to manage the water system for the welfare of Maui Pono, for the welfare of the residents of Maui. But they never like that deal...They like Maui residents... to be their customer." 021
sierraclubhi.bsky.social @sierraclubhi.bsky.social · 15/08/2026Kawaipono Kekiwi: "I am 11 years old...My first footsteps were made in a dried up loʻi at 3 years old. I saw the water return but the issues arenʻt pau. Today I ask that you don't turn your backs against my kūpuna so that my ʻohana and I can continue to live like our ancestors once did." 021
sierraclubhi.bsky.social @sierraclubhi.bsky.social · 15/08/2026Caitlin: "Donʻt let fear or scarcity pressure you into putting Hawaiian lands in haole hands." 021
sierraclubhi.bsky.social @sierraclubhi.bsky.social · 15/08/2026Kaipo Hanakahi: "Your own submittal says...that a private commercial applicant bears the burden of justifying its use...Before committing these waters for 30 years, answer this: How can an ʻunidentifiedʻ future bidder satisfy a burden of proof today, when the land in Keʻanae is completely dry?" 021
sierraclubhi.bsky.social @sierraclubhi.bsky.social · 15/08/2026Jenesus Kahaialiʻi: "He wai ke ola. Our water feeds our ʻāina, our lāhui, our farmers, our cultural practices, our future...Agriculture does not require handing over control of the water to a corporate entity...30 years. 88 million gallons daily....Reject agenda item D-7, I beg of you guys." 022
sierraclubhi.bsky.social @sierraclubhi.bsky.social · 15/08/2026Hina Kneubuhl: “I do not trust Mahi Pono, I trust Nā Moku O Maui Hikina….[Mahi Pono is] owned by a Canadian pension fund who [] made billions off of investing on hyper scaled data centers that guzzle water and take lands. That is who you are feeding back into with the lands and waters of Maui.” 032
sierraclubhi.bsky.social @sierraclubhi.bsky.social · 15/08/2026FAQ: Can the Board of Land and Natural Resources really give Mahi Pono 88 million gallons of water daily (mgd) from East Maui streams for decades? A: Not legally. The harm that would result from giving 88 mgd to Mahi Pono would violate the public trust. See In re Waiāhole, 94 Hawai‘i 97 (2000). 010
sierraclubhi.bsky.social @sierraclubhi.bsky.social · 15/08/2026Kamalani Pahukoa: "My ʻohana, generational descendants, are currently hauling water to bathe and flush toilets when we live 80 feet from Waipio stream. It's bone dry.... The illegality going on with this board is just beyond belief and accountability needs to happen today." 021
sierraclubhi.bsky.social @sierraclubhi.bsky.social · 14/08/202610 minute break! Be back soon - In the meantime, check out the FAQs and "Did You Know" facts below! 000
sierraclubhi.bsky.social @sierraclubhi.bsky.social · 14/08/2026FAQ: How much water is available from East Maui streams if CWRM's stream flow restoration orders are fulfilled? A: Half of the time, only 56 mgd of water from east Maui streams will be available. Thirty percent of the time, only 26 mgd is going to be available. This is far, far less than 88 mgd... 011
sierraclubhi.bsky.social @sierraclubhi.bsky.social · 14/08/2026OHA Chair Kai Kahele: "7 years ago as [Senate Water and Land Committee Chair] I went to East Maui. I walked the streams, I met with the residents and kalo farmers, I listened to families who fought for generations to restore water and protect the... practices that depend on it." 011
sierraclubhi.bsky.social @sierraclubhi.bsky.social · 14/08/2026ʻOhana Kekiwi speaking up for their wai, their culture, their kūpuna, and their future! 020
sierraclubhi.bsky.social @sierraclubhi.bsky.social · 14/08/2026Arianna Kekiwi: "Iʻm a proud descendant of Sarah and Henry Kaʻauamo... Water is just not a commercial commodity. To me it's life, it's culture, and our future....At 16 years old, a 30 year lease would dictate how East Maui water is used until Iʻm 46." 020
