Will we allow foreign control of Maui’s largest publicly-owned water source?

The Problem

A Canadian pension fund, with an unethical global track record, wants to control the future use of Maui’s largest supply of public water.

Who is Mahi Pono / PSP?

The Problem

Public Sector Pension Investment Board (PSP), who owns Mahi Pono, is currently allowed to take 25 million gallons per day. They waste much of it. And they want even more – 85 million gallons per day – and they want it guaranteed for 30 years (that’s a generation and a half!).

With an uncertain climate future, we need a better solution, one with our public water decisions made here on Maui. As a community, we must stop PSP/Mahi Pono from securing a new 30-year water lease. Maui Water for Maui People!

Another Choice

Locals control of our public water sources.

Maui County oversees water leases, Community Advisory Board decides how water is used

Maui County (instead of the State) would oversee the lease process for our water. A Community Advisory Board – fairly representing water stakeholders in Maui – would make decisions about how our water is used.

Maui’s People Have Made their Choice

Locals control of our public water sources.
The newly formed,
**East Maui Water Authority** - Maui County oversees water leases, Community Advisory Board decides how water is used
Maui County (instead of the State) would oversee the lease process for our water. A Community Advisory Board – fairly representing water stakeholders in Maui – would make decisions about how our water is used.

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FAQs

Public Sector Pension manages the pension funds of the Canadian federal Public Service, the Canadian Forces, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and the Reserve Force. In late 2018, PSP Investments and a California-based agricultural company (Pomona Farming LLC) jointly bought 41,000 acres of Maui agricultural lands from the former plantation owners (A&B/HC&S). Their new venture has been named Mahi Pono. While that’s the local entity we know, Mahi Pono is fully owned and controlled by PSP and Pomona Farming LLC. Maui people should regard Mahi Pono as a foreign corporation, not a local company.
PSP Investments’s mandate is not to employ local people or support sustainable agriculture. Instead, the fund is legally bound to maximize returns on its investments. Read the full story on PSP/Mahi Pono.
PSP/Mahi Pono wants a 30-year-lease to secure water rights at a very cheap price for a very long time (a generation and a half!). Cheap water will increase the investment return for their pension holders and give them control over Maui’s largest public water source. This gives them an immense amount of power.
Based on Mahi Pono’s water consumption for the last 3 years, they want much more water than they need. We are not opposed to Mahi Pono getting the water they need for daily operations; however, we expect them to prove that need and maintain accountability over their resource consumption.
At the most core level, a 30-year-lease is bad because it gives a foreign corporation control of our largest public water source (East Maui streams), which is a violation of the Public Trust Doctrine (explained below). A 30-year-lease privatizes water that has been legally defined as a public resource.
Additionally, locals have been hindered in accessing their kuleana water rights for 150 years, an injustice of epic proportions. Lastly, as you’ve probably noticed, Hawai’i is getting dryer. In 10 of the last 15 years, we’ve seen less than average rainfall during the wet season. Now is not a time to give a foreign corporation 85 million gallons per day until 2052.
Read more about PSP’s suspicious activities in other countries and areas of business
Yes.
The Hawaiʻi Supreme Court described the public trust doctrine as “the right of the people to have the waters protected for their use [which] demands adequate provision for traditional and customary Hawaiian rights, wildlife, maintenance of ecological balance and scenic beauty, and the preservation and enhancement of the waters.”
The State Constitution further states “The State has an obligation to protect, control and regulate the use of Hawaii’s water resources for the benefit of its people.”
A 30-year-lease of this magnitude reverses the water hierarchy defined by the Public Trust Doctrine, which favors conservation, Native Hawaiian and traditional practices, and municipal water supply over commercial use.
Further, any applications to use public water have the burden to justify the proposed water use in light of the Trust purposes. Permit applicants must demonstrate their actual needs and the propriety of draining water from public streams to satisfy those needs. PSP/Mahi Pono has not satisfied this requirement, and has in fact wasted the majority of the public water they’ve been allocated over the last three years.
Currently the State Board of Land and Natural Resources evaluates prospective leases of public water resources. In theory they should be upholding the Public Trust Doctrine for us, though historically they have allowed commercial users to violate the Doctrine. In reality, the State doesn’t always have Maui’s best interests in mind, nor prioritize the Public Trust Doctrine. At the time of this writing, the State BLNR Board appears poised to grant a 30-year water lease to PSP/Mahi Pono. One of the reasons we are so concerned about the status quo of how our public water is managed.
Maui County controlling the water leases would immediately halt the 30-year-lease process and prevent foreign control of our largest public water source.
With a Community Advisory Board controlling how our water is actually used, PSP/Mahi Pono would have to apply only for what they need and pay fair prices (they currently pay far under market value). This would be a first step in maintaining what should be an equitable system with usage priority based on the Public Trust Doctrine.
Read more about how Maui water management may look in the future