The EPA has informed the county Department of Environmental Management that it considers the Lahaina plant in violation of the Safe Drinking Water Act. Unless the County Council approves the estimated $4 million to clean up the water to R1, the County faces EPA fines and sanctions.
The Maui County Council declined to approve the budget item, maintaining that the State exemption of the water source that is being polluted means they don’t have to comply with the Clean Water Act. They claim the water is brackish and thus does not come under the Safe Drinking Water Act.
The Maui News article on this subject contains multiple inaccuracies.