Most of us have tremendous personal aloha for Mayor Tavares, and respect for her accomplishments. However, the nominees for three vacant seats on the Water Board, Gerbig, Hoxie and Rebugio, would represent a tremendous step backward. As you know, for much of the last three years, the Water Board has focussed strongly on the Public Trust Doctrine and the return of the waters of Na Wai Eha and those of East Maui, among others.
According the published statements written by Mr. Gerbig, he doesn’t even seem to acknowledge that such a doctrine exists and has the force of law. Instead, he makes Isaac Moriwake, whom we all know to be a very decent and balanced man, seem an ill-intentioned opportunist, when in fact Gerbig is closely embedded with the economic embrace of commercial sugar and agri-business. He is a company man. And judging from the tone of his letter to the Maui News this last week, somewhat mean-spirited.
Then, we have John Hoxie, Vice President for Agriculture for HC&S. Clearly, the lesson of HC&S’ Meredith Ching’s appointment to the State Water Commission, which is still an embarrassment to our community, has had no effect on the Administration’s determination to return to the past–as when Hannibal Tavares appointed everyone he could find at HC&S to run County Departments.
It is an unremarkable fact that we as a County are in a potentially adversarial relation with HC&S relative to water rights throughout Maui County, as well as residual questions of ground water pollution, public health issues surrounding the growing and especially the burning of cane on numerous Maui County populations, and rights of way, among others.
And given the orchestrated presentations that greeted the State Water Commission at the Ha’iku Community Center a few months ago, it is nearly impossible to believe that Mr. Hoxie would be an impartial and fair-minded presence on the Water Board when it comes to the salient issues before the Board such as East Maui waters, Na Wai Eha, the proposed Wai’ale Treatment Plant, and others.
Mr. Rebugio is employed by the Ka’anapali Development Corporation, which wants to see extensive development on their lands throughout West Maui. It would be hard to see that he would always have the public interest at heart. And this in an area declared by the Water Resources Division of the DWS, to have no redundancy within the public water systems in West Maui. Maybe, in fact, we are already overreached, maybe we are out of water if all presently permitted projects are built out. Maybe, but the truth is, we really don’t know for sure. And if we’re not certain, then why are we building beyond our sustainable capacities? I’m sure that’s another question, but it needs to be part of this equation. Are these the persons you really want on the Water Board, if it is to succeed in its mission to be the community’s voice in helping protect our limited water resources.
Thank you for hearing me out. None of this is meant in any sense as an ad hominem attack on the character of any of these men, none of whom I know personally. Simply given their business affiliations and known views on water law and policy, these nominees should be turned down.