New Landfill Site

The County is currently in the process of selecting a site for a new Subtitle D Municipal Solid Waste Landfill (Landfill).  Based on the limited capacity remaining in the current landfill, capacity at the new Landfill should be available by the Calendar Year 2013.  Because of the time needed (minimum 5 years) to complete complex tasks relating to the planning, construction and permitting of landfills, it is necessary that the siting process take place at this time.

While a technical evaluation of potential landfill sites was completed in March 2001, the County’s internal deliberations and also input from external sources have indicated a need for additional public participation in the selection of a site for the new Landfill.  As a result, several months ago, Mayor Baptiste selected a community based advisory committee composed of individuals that represent various geographic areas of Kaua‘i to serve as a representative sampling of island-wide community interests. The advisory committee was called, “The Mayor’s Advisory Committee on Landfill Siting” (MACLS).  The County hired a consultant, RM Towill, to facilitate the MACLS with the objective to identify and recommend a site for Kauai’s next Landfill.

To fulfill this objective, the County and its consultants have commenced a process that will:

• Educate and inform the MACLS about the siting process, and allow for deliberation, ranking and selection of a recommended landfill site or sites.
• Provide the Committee with information on the requirements for the establishment of a new Landfill including EPA; Department of Health, State of Hawai‘i; and Department of Public Works, County of Kaua‘i, requirements.
• Document the deliberations and actions of the MACLS.
• Compile the information in a Final Report of the MACLS.

The byproduct of this process will be the Final Report from the MACLS and a recommendation, from the County’s Executive Branch (Mayor’s Administration) to the County’s Legislative Branch (County Council), of a site for the new Landfill.

In order to provide for transparency of the process and share technical information and deliberations of the committee with the General Pubic, Meeting Agendas, Meeting Minutes, and technical documents considered by the MACLS are posted on this web page.  If you have further questions or comments about the landfill site selection process, please call Troy Tanigawa of the Division of Solid Waste Management at 241-4838.