This Friday, November 14, 2025, the Board of Land and Natural Resources (BLNR) will consider Agenda Item D-10, where DLNR Land Division staff are seeking approval to begin a long-term (30year) lease of East Maui stream water to Pomona Farming LLC and PSP Investments (Mahi Pono). PSP/Mahi Pono are now sole owners of EMI - East Maui Irrigation.
This proposal goes against the will of Maui voters and the intent of the ʻAha Wai o Maui Hikina (East Maui Community Water Authority)—created to ensure community-based management of East Maui’s water resources, not foreign corporate control. Against our Mayor's wishes, BLNR is seeking to hold a contested case regarding the lease, which will eliminate communication, and collaboration between the STATE and the COUNTY officials to work together in the near future regarding EMI management under County control. A contested case hearing for this water license is unnecessary because the facts and issues surrounding East Maui’s stream diversions have already been extensively documented and litigated over decades. The impacts to stream flow, ecosystems, and Native Hawaiian rights are well-established, and further delay through another contested case only prolongs corporate control to East Maui resources and our overall watershed.
Instead of reopening settled issues, the Board should focus on enforcing existing orders, restoring stream flow, and supporting community-based management under the ʻAha Wai o Maui Hikina, as intended by Maui County voters.
Sample Testimony:
To: blnr.testimony@hawaii.gov
Subject: Testimony on Agenda Item D-10
Message (be sure to include a request to testify via Zoom, if you wish to testify verbally as well):
Dear Chair Chang and Members of the Land Board,
My name is [your name] and I urge you to NOT accept the staff recommendation to move forward with any process that contemplates giving Mahi Pono, a.k.a. PSP Investments, a long-term lease for East Maui's streams, for the following reasons:
1. This violates the wishes of Maui County voters. In the 2022 elections, Maui's voters established a community-based East Maui Community Water Authority to take over the long-term administration of East Maui streams. This Authority and its staff have been diligently preparing to accept this kuleana, with the full support of the county administration. DLNR staff should be assisting and working toward a set-aside of East Maui diversion infrastructure to the Authority - not spending time and resources on creating a path for a foreign entity to continue the corporate control of Maui's public trust resources.
2. This ignores pressing matters central to your mission. The Land Board is the primary agency tasked with upholding the public trust in our natural and cultural resources. Yet, there are still long-standing violations of the public trust in East Maui's streams that must be addressed, before any contemplation of leasing them to a private entity, including: the non-implementation of Water Commission stream restoration orders for streams that continue to be drained dry; the continued, decades-long loss of millions of gallons of water per day through unlined reservoirs that Mahi Pono/PSP Investments still refuses to line; and the need to hold a court-ordered contested case hearing to address the immediate impacts to watershed health, native species, and Hawaiian rights (among other pressing issues) of the upcoming 2026 revocable permit for Mahi Pono/PSP Investments' stream diversions. There should be no time or energy spent on trying to meet the desire of a foreign corporation to control East Maui's streams for the next 30 years, when so many mission-critical issues in these streams continue to remain unaddressed.
3. This perpetuates drought denial. As you likely know, over the last five years, East Maui and the rest of Hawaiʻi have been undergoing a drought that has worsened far, far more quickly than anticipated. There is no indication that conditions will stabilize in the near future. To contemplate a long term disposition of water when we have no idea how much water will be available in the next 5 years, much less 30, with a corporation whose farm plans are completely out of touch with this climate reality, is nonsensical, wasteful, and dangerous.
Please do not waste your limited staff and financial resources on a misguided attempt to appease a foreign corporation's interests over that of the public, Native Hawaiian communities, and all who have a stake in our islands' environmental integrity, democracy, and dignity. Please reject the staff proposal to move forward with the process for a long-term lease to PSP Investments/Mahi Pono, and please instead ask your staff to work with the East Maui Community Water Authority/ʻAha Wai o Maui Hikina, to facilitate their administration of East Maui's diversion infrastructure via a set-aside or similar disposition.
Mahalo nui,
[your name]
________________________________________
— Take Action for East Maui Streams
1. TESTIFY:
Submit written or verbal testimony before Thursday, November 13, 2025 to:
Email: blnr.testimony@hawaii.gov
Subject: Testimony on Agenda Item D-10
Ask the Board to reject the proposed 30-year lease of East Maui’s streams to PSP Investments/Mahi Pono and to support community-based management under the ʻAha Wai o Maui Hikina.
(Use the sample testimony provided above, and personalize it with your own manaʻo.)
2. SHOW UP:
Friday, November 14, 2025 – BLNR Meeting
Time: Check the agenda for the exact start time (typically 9:00 AM)
Location: Kalanimoku Building, Honolulu
Online Option: You may also testify via Zoom by requesting a link in your testimony email.
Your presence and voice make a difference. Stand for East Maui’s streams and the public trust.
3. SPREAD THE WORD:
Share this kahea with your ʻohana, friends, and community networks.
Post on social media and encourage others to submit testimony or attend.
Suggested tags: #MaiPoina #AlohaĀina #ProtectEastMauiStreams #PublicTrustNotPrivateProfit
4. DONATE OR SUPPORT:
Support grassroots community efforts such as the ʻAha Wai o Maui Hikina, Kipahulu ʻOhana, and other East Maui watershed protectors who are working to restore and protect Maui’s streams.
Every contribution helps sustain community-based water management, restoration, and advocacy.
It’s Time to End Corporate Control and Honor the ʻAha Wai o Maui Hikina
VISIT OUR WEBSITE FOR MORE INFO: