Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 25, Number 8, 1 August 2008 — Moloka'i services [ARTICLE]

Moloka'i services

On Iuly 21, the state Department of Heahh issued an order requiring Moloka'i Properties Ltd. and its subsidiaries to continue water and sewer operations on Moloka'i for at least the next 90 days, while requiring Maui County to assess the situation and be prepared to assume the role of providing the services. The next day, Maui County asked to have orders issued by the Hawai'i Department of Heahh rescinded and the case dismissed. Maui County Deputy Corporation Counsel lane Lovell said that the department's orders are flawed, and that the state has no legal authority to require a county to bail out a private utility. As of press time, no decision had been made, and a eonhnuanee of the hearing was scheduled for Iuly 30. Moloka'i Properties, whieh owns about one-third of the land on Moloka'i, announced in March that it would shut down its Moloka'i Ranch and resort operations and lay off more than 120 employees. Later, the company said it could no longer financially sustain the island's utilities past August.

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