Op-Ed: HB1823 could make rebuilding infrastructure in post-wildfire Lahaina easier

Op-Ed: HB1823 could make rebuilding infrastructure in post-wildfire Lahaina easier
By: Jonathan Helton | policy analyst at the Grassroot Institute of Hawaiʻi

“Rebuilding Lahaina’s roads, water lines and sewer system in the wake of the Aug. 8, 2023, wildfires could soon be easier, thanks to a bill passed earlier this month by the state Legislature.

If approved by Gov. Josh Green, HB1823 will exempt federal, state and county infrastructure projects in Maui County from having to go through Special Management Area reviews as long as the projects are expected to have minimal negative effects on the environment.

This bill comes a year after the Legislature and Gov. Green enacted a law to exempt most residential and commercial reconstruction in Lahaina from SMA permits, which often take between six months and a year to receive.

That legislation codified the part of the governor’s emergency orders on Lahaina recovery that waived SMA rules for rebuilding projects.

State law already exempts other projects such as bike lanes, crosswalks and sidewalks and certain installation and maintenance work on underground utilities.

But neither the governor’s codified orders nor the previously existing exemptions apply to rebuilding Lahaina’s roadway and major utility lines or installing new infrastructure for the temporary housing projects outside of Lahaina.

As a result, at least one critical project has languished in county reviews.

In March, the Maui Department of Water Supply applied for permits to construct a new booster pump station at the Lahaina Civic Center as part of a water system upgrade to help move water to the Ka Laʻi Ola temporary housing project about a mile away.

Completed in September 2025, Ka Laʻi Ola consists of 450 homes providing shelter to about 1,500 local residents who were displaced by the 2023 fires.

Because the Civic Center lies within the SMA boundary, the Maui Planning Department has informed the Maui Water Supply Department that it needs SMA approval for the project.

And since the project is estimated to cost more than $750,000 — $1.3 million to be exact — the department would need to obtain an SMA use permit. These use permits require a more rigorous review than minor permits, which can be issued for jobs valued at less than $750,000.

Obtaining an SMA use permit also includes a public hearing and a vote by members of the Maui Planning Commission, whereas a minor permit does not.

The significance of these delays can be seen from other public infrastructure projects.

For example, it took eight months for an expansion project at the Kahului Airport to gain approval in April 2025 from the Maui Planning Commission. That was despite the fact that the state Department of Transportation had declared in 2023 that the project was exempt from the state’s environmental review law due to its alleged temporary minimal effects on the surrounding environment.

Under HB1823, infrastructure projects would be exempted from SMA reviews only if they have already been exempted from the state’s environmental review law or have been issued a “finding of no significant impact” under that statute.

Because most of the objectives of Hawaii’s SMA law relate to protecting the environment or mitigating negative effects to historic or scenic resources, the SMA law and the state’s environmental review law are duplicative in many instances.

It makes sense, therefore, to streamline the approval process by removing the need for an SMA for projects that have already cleared environmental review.

As such, HB1823 maintains a balance between protecting the environment and reducing approval delays, and its enactment by the governor would be a significant and welcome change critical to Lahaina’s full recovery.”

*****Views expressed in Op-Ed pieces are those of the author’s alone and do not reflect or represent the opinions, policies or positions of Maui Now.*****