Opinion ID: 2581050
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: PMI met its threshold burden of establishing the absence of practicable alternatives.

Text: In Waiãhole I, this court vacated PMI's water use permit and held that the Water Commission's granting of PMI's requested allocation without any reasoned discussion of the practicability of using ground water stands at odds with the Commission's own analysis and decision concerning nonagricultural uses. [14] Waiãhole I, 94 Hawai'i at 171, 9 P.3d at 483. On remand, the Water Commission found that PMI had no practicable alternatives and issued PMI a water use permit for .75 mgd. On appeal, the appellants collectively argue that PMI failed to meet its burden of demonstrating the absence of practicable mitigating measures. The Windward Parties separately argue that PMI made no serious attempt to prove that it could not afford to use an alternative water source. [15] The appellants further argue that the record lacks any evidence that the BWS standard of 160 ppm exists, and if it does exist, the standard does not make an alternative impracticable because such a standard would be contrary to HRS § 174C-4(b) (1993). These arguments are without merit. First, PMI met its burden of establishing the absence of practicable alternative water sources. [16] In its FOFs, the Water Commission found that PMI considered three ground-water alternatives. [17] PMI concluded that these alternatives were not practicable based on the chloride levels of alternatives one and three, the sustainable yield of alternative two, costs of desalinating, construction, and operation, and the availability of leases and easements. Agreeing with PMI, the Water Commission concluded that PMI's property [was] subject to the Board of Water Supply's standard for irrigation water applied over drinking water aquifers which is 160 ppm. The Water Commission further concluded that PMI considered three ground-water alternatives. Ewa Caprock water has chlorides in the 900 to 1,100 ppm range. Desalinating the water to below 200 ppm would cost $6,000,000, with operating costs of $3.00 per 1,000 gallons, exclusive of land and easement acquisitions. An on-site basal well in the Ewa-Kunia aquifer would have 1998 construction costs estimated at $900,000 and operating costs of $0.18 per 1,000 gallons and is economically feasible, but the property has deed restrictions prohibiting an on-site well and there is little likelihood of obtaining an allocation for a basal well in the Ewa-Kunia aquifer. A basal well in the Waipahu-Waiawa aquifer, using EP-5,6, owned by Campbell Estate would not be acceptable because of the chloride content of 180 ppm vs. the standard of 160 ppm. Other factors affecting this alternative are available pumping capacity, a long-term pumping agreement, the ease of obtaining an allocation in the Waipahu-Waiawa aquifer, and the ease and cost of obtaining an easement from the Farrington Highway delivery point, under the H-1 Freeway to the golf course property. These factors make the alternative of using Waipahu-Waiawa water not practicable for use by PMI. There is essentially no balance remaining in the Ewa-Kunia Water Management Area.... D & O II at 126. Based on the foregoing, PMI adduced sufficient evidence, in the form of written and oral testimony, to meet its burden of establishing the absence of practicable alternatives. Moreover, the Water Commission analyzed each alternative and explained why they were impracticable. Thus, to the extent that the Water Commission's decision compromises instream values, the Water Commission did so with a level of openness, diligence, and foresight commensurate with the high priority these rights command under the laws of our state. Waiãhole I, 94 Hawai'i at 143, 9 P.3d at 455. Next, contrary to the Windward Parties' argument, PMI's failure to proffer evidence regarding its financial condition does not affect whether it met its burden of proof, inasmuch as it conceded that two of the three alternatives were economically feasible. [18] PMI found, however, one alternative not economically feasible at $3.00 per 1,000 gallons, which appears to be higher than the county rate schedules of 60 cents to $2.47 per 1,000 gallons as cited in Waiãhole I. Id. at 165, 9 P.3d at 477. Regardless of PMI's financial situation, the Water Commission is not obliged to ensure that any particular user enjoy a subsidy or guaranteed access to less expensive water sources when alternatives are available and public values are at stake. Id. As such, in the instant case, PMI's ability to afford $3. 00 per 1,000 gallons, alone, would not render the alternative practicable, just as PMI's inability to afford $3.00 per 1,000 gallons, alone, would not render the alternative impracticable. The Water Commission found that an alternative source is practicable if it is available and capable of being utilized after taking into consideration cost, existing technology, and logistics in light of the overall water planning process. D & O II at 124-25. Thus, the Water Commission, according to its own standard, must determine whether the alternative is available and capable of being utilized after considering cost, technology, and logistics. Based on its D & O II, the Water Commission did as much. Finally, the record supports a 160 ppm limit for irrigating fields over drinking water aquifers. Reference to a 160 ppm limitation appears in Hatton's written testimony, which the Water Commission apparently found credible. See Amfac, 74 Haw. at 117, 839 P.2d at 28 (noting that an appellate court will not pass upon issues dependent upon credibility of witnesses and the weight of the evidence, this is the province of the trial judge). The Water Commission then applied this 160 ppm limitation to determine whether PMI's alternatives were practicable. Because the record supports the Water Commission's finding that the 160 ppm limit applied to PMI's property, the Water Commission did not err by using this limit as a factor in determining whether an alternative source of water is practicable. Moreover, such a limit, as applied in the instant case by the Water Commission, is not contrary to HRS § 174C-4(b), which provides in relevant part that [n]o state or county government agency may enforce any statute, rule or order affecting the waters of the State controlled under the provisions of this chapter, whether enacted or promulgated before or after July 1, 1987, inconsistent with the provisions of this chapter. HRS § 174C-4(b) (1993). The Windward Parties contend that this statute gives the Commission, rather than the BWS, the authority to decide how and where water is used. In the instant case, the Water Commission, and not BWS, applied the 160 ppm limitation of chloride in water used to irrigate fields over drinking aquifers as a factor in determining whether practicable alternative sources existed for PMI. As such, HRS § 174C-4(b) was not violated. In sum, PMI met its threshold burden of establishing the absence of practicable alternative water sources, HRS § 174C-4(b) was not violated, and the Water Commission, at first glance, appears to have clearly addressed PMI's alternatives. The Water Commission's analysis, however, later falters.