Residents call for urgency in Haleakala cleanup effort | News, Sports, Jobs

The Maui Space Surveillance Complex where a fuel spill of an estimated 700 gallons occurred in late January is shown on Feb. 22. The Maui News / MATTHEW THAYER photos

The U.S. Space Force should have results in “the coming weeks” showing the scope of contamination, including how deep diesel fuel penetrated into the ground atop Haleakala following a fuel leak in January at the Maui Space Surveillance Complex.

The results of core samples, which involved small soil borings, will determine how the area is remediated without substantially more ground disturbance, said Phillip Wagenbach, 15th Space Surveillance Squadron Commander in the U.S. Space Force.

Wagenbach gave an update on response efforts at the Maui County Council’s Efficiency Solutions and Circular Systems Committee meeting Thursday morning, as some residents called for more urgency in cleaning up the summit.

On Jan. 29, an estimated 700 gallons of diesel fuel spilled onto a concrete pad and into the surrounding soil at the Maui Space Surveillance Complex after a pump for an on-site backup generator failed to shut off due to a mechanical issue.

The complex is host to small, medium and large aperture tracking objects, and includes the Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope, the most powerful solar telescope in the world and a flashpoint for many Native Hawaiians who deem Haleakala as sacred and telescope construction as desecration.

The container holding the generator where fuel leaked in late January is shown at the Maui Space Surveillance Complex at the summit of Haleakala on Feb. 22.

Authorities have said that a power surge during a lightning storm was the likely cause of the mechanical issues.

Site maintenance personnel discovered the problem the next morning on Jan. 30 and immediately deactivated the transfer pump, the U.S. Space Forces Indo-Pacific said at the time.

Phase 1 of the initial environmental response began Feb. 27 after a work plan was approved by the state Department of Health. Approximately 30-35 cubic yards of soil were excavated and placed in 41 “super sacks,” which were then placed in two on-site containment areas, Wagenbach said Thursday.

Field screening from the sidewalls and floor of the excavation areas indicate petroleum-contaminated soil is still present on-site, requiring further investigation in Phase 2, according to Wagenbach.

After a Phase 2 work plan was approved, site work was done by contractor GSI Pacific between June 19 and July 17. It involved collecting 52 samples from eight soil borings, with a maximum sample depth of 80 feet, Wagenbach said. They also collected four samples in the sacks staged in Phase 1.

An archaeological expert was on-site while core samples were taken. Analytical data is currently being evaluated to identify remediation options to be implemented as part of Phase 3, Wagenbach said.

At a community meeting in April, Wagenbach said it could take about a year before long-term treatment begins on the contaminated soil and cinder from the spill.

Torie Hoopii, a member of Kako’o Haleakala, a Native Hawaiian advocacy group which has spent years protesting the construction of telescopes atop Haleakala, testified Thursday that remediation efforts were not coming soon enough, echoing another testifier in saying it has been 186 days since the spill occurred.

“Where is the urgency in this whole matter?” she asked.

Hoopii referenced the “back and forth” between government agencies that could stall remediation and asked for things to be streamlined.

Hoopii said she was part of a group that was allowed to visit the spill site shortly after.

“The smell of the fuel on our wahi kapu, of our sacred mauna, was one of the things that broke my heart. All I could do was actually cry … cry for our aina,” Hoopii said.

Testifier Noelani Ahia said there’s a reason why so many kanaka “put their bodies on the line and face police force” to demonstrate against the telescopes on top the mountain.

“It’s not for no reason, it’s because accidents can happen and there are certain spaces especially on our mauna that are so sacred,” Ahia said.

“I understand the reason why we are told we need these types of things — astronomy, Space Force, protection, all the things we’ve been told. I really do understand,” she added. “But I also understand what it is like to be kanaka maoli and see something that is so special and irreplaceable be harmed, be damaged, be desecrated.”

Wagenbach said that a start date for the long-term remediation efforts will be determined by the methods chosen for the project and contract development. This could include thermal treatment, bio-remediation or other treatment methods to be determined.

On Thursday, the council committee also received a presentation regarding the state Department of Health’s report in June that trace levels of a herbicide was found in the Haleakala water system, whose water comes from catchment.

The results came from routine sampling, according to the DOH, which said the water was still safe to drink.

The DOH on Thursday clarified that the system only services facilities and housing within Haleakala National Park and not places in Kula, which had been reported in an earlier department news release.

Work is ongoing to identify a source for the herbicide, including notifying the state Department of Agriculture, which will look into any pesticide activity near the site.

* Staff Writer Melissa Tanji can be reached at mtanji@mauinews.com.

The Maui Space Surveillance Complex where a fuel spill of an estimated 700 gallons occurred in late January is shown on Feb. 22. The Maui News / MATTHEW THAYER photos The container holding the generator where fuel leaked in late January is shown at the Maui Space Surveillance Complex at the summit of Haleakala on Feb. 22.

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