LIHU‘E — The county is saying it’s a quarry. Waioli Corporation is saying it’s rock removal. The county ruled the rock-crushing had to stop, but the removal was allowed to continue. On Aug. 23, county Planning Director Michael Dahilig sent
LIHU‘E — The county is saying it’s a quarry. Waioli Corporation is saying it’s rock removal. The county ruled the rock-crushing had to stop, but the removal was allowed to continue.
On Aug. 23, county Planning Director Michael Dahilig sent a zoning compliance notice to landowner Waioli Corporation, telling them to cease and desist industrial work at Lepe‘uli and relocate to an appropriate land use district.
“During our inspection, there was evidence of quarrying, thus a violation notice was sent to Waioli Corporation,” Dahilig said on Monday.
But on Nov. 7 Robert Schleck, chair of Waioli Corporation, said there was no quarry operation going on at Lepe‘uli; it was “rock removal.”
In the past the land was used for sugar plantation, and there were many rocks spread throughout the fields, he said. Those rocks were picked up and placed on piles. The land now is used for cattle grazing, and removing the piles frees pasture, according to Schleck.
The rocks taken were used to restore two of the island’s reservoirs, he said.
Schleck, however, said on Nov. 7 he did not know about the status of the “rock removal,” and that the person to quote would be Dahilig.
According to Dahilig it was a quarry, and Wai‘oli was told to stop. But the corporation was also allowed to remove already crushed rocks as part of an agreement.
The Aug. 23 notice from the department states that on July 27 it inspected Lepe‘uli and found industrial mineral processing (quarry operations and/or rock crushing) for sales and exporting purposes was being conducted without proper permits, and that such use is generally not permitted within agriculture districts.
The department directed Wai‘oli to submit plans and applications along with filings fees for review if use would be retained, to stop operations and relocate to an industrial zone, and restore the area within the agriculture district to pre-existing use conditions.
The notice also warned Wai‘oli that failure to contact the department in writing within 15 calendar days upon receipt of the letter to provide an acceptable compliance plan would provide the department with no alternative but to issue a notice of violation and pursue litigation.
On Monday, Dahilig said Wai‘oli, as part of its remediation plan, did not propose applying for permits.
“What we did agree for them to do is remove any already quarried rock off the property,” he said. “We did not allow them to do any further rock crushing or quarrying.”
