Alexander & Baldwin / East Maui Irrigation have been breaking the law, in collusion with and full support of the state Board and Staff of the Department of Land & Natural Resources. When Na Moku Aupuni o Ko`olau Hui challenged issuance of a 30-year lease in 2001, Judge Eden Hifo ruled in 2005 that no lease could issue without an EIS. A&B/EMI dodged this requirement by, with the DLNR state attorney’s assistance, creating make-believe revocable year-to-year permits that were illegal. These permits were also challenged by Na Moku. When Judge Nishimura unequivocally declared these permits invalid in 2015, A&B got the legislature to pass, and Governor Ige signed in 2016, House Bill 2501 which created “holdover permit”, a further subterfuge, annually renewable for three years. So after all these years, A&B is starting the EIS process, which begins with a scoping process. We reject A&B's attempt to take our valuable water. Please stop the issuance of this 30 year lease and restore our precious water resources to East Maui streams. Please sign & share the petition to let DLNR know that you oppose decades of skirting the law, a great hardship upon kalo farming, traditional gatherers and fishermen, their families and communities, by issuing of a 30-year lease to A&B/EMI. In addition, we need our friends and supporters to show up at two meetings scheduled for the EIS scoping process. We need to let the EIS consultant know that the scope of this EIS must include a fair identification of the CULTURAL (not just strictly environmental) impacts. The very definition of "Effects" or "impacts" include and aesthetic or cultural ones, so by law, the document must identify the effects/impacts of diversion on East Maui communities whose residents are pursuing cultural practices like taro growing, farming, fishing, gathering. Although the scoping is preliminary to the formal preparation of the EIS, any testimony describing personal hardship and other negative impacts because of the diversions would be very important now and throughout the formal EIS process. The EIS scoping meetings are being held: Wednesday, February 22, from 5:00 – 7:00 p.m. at the Maui Electric Company Community Meeting Room, 210 Kamehameha Avenue; Thursday, February 23, from 5:00 – 7:00 p.m. at the Ha`ikū Community Center, 2830 Hana Highway, (Hana Highway & Pilialoha Street). please visit - eolaikawai.weebly.com for more info!