Opinion ID: 2581050
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Campbell Estate failed to meet its threshold burden of establishing the absence of practicable alternatives.

Text: In Waiãhole I, this court vacated Campbell Estate's water use permit and held that, [i]n neglecting to address the practicability of using pumped ground water as an alternative to stream diversion, the Commission failed to establish an adequate basis for the allocations granted to Campbell Estate. Id. at 165, 9 P.3d at 477. On remand, the Water Commission found that Campbell Estate had no practicable alternatives and issued Campbell Estate a water use permit for 4.74 mgd. On appeal, the appellants argue that Campbell Estate failed to meet its burden of establishing that no practicable alternative sources of water existed. In its answering briefs, Campbell Estate does not assert that it met its burden. Instead, Campbell Estate merely proffers that the Water Commission adequately considered alternatives. We agree with the appellants. In the instant case, the Water Commission entered no FOFs or COLs as to whether Campbell Estate met its burden. Instead, the Water Commission found, based on the testimony of Bert Hatton (Hatton), a Campbell Estate witness, that until the Supreme Court issued its decision in August 2000, Campbell Estate was assured of Waiahole Ditch water, so they did not conduct a systematic study of alternative water sources. During the past 6 months, there have been some informal and very general discussions about possible scenarios if Ditch water were no longer available. D & O II at 93. Informal and very general discussions are insufficient to satisfy Campbell Estate's burden. The Water Commission's analysis should have ceased when Campbell Estate failed to meet its burden of establishing that no practicable alternative water sources existed. The Water Commission, however, considered scenarios developed by Belt Collins Hawaii for the original contested case hearings and concluded that these scenarios did not provide practicable alternative water sources because they were inapplicable to Campbell Estate and PMI. The Water Commission stated: The Belt Collins Hawaii scenario in which 1,665 acres of Campbell Estate lands below 520 feet elevation and PMI would be served by ground water at a base cost of $0.58+ per 1,000 gallons, assumed that the water would come from EP-15/16. Campbell Estate no longer has this well, which was transferred to the Board of Water Supply.... The two scenarios in which the rest of Campbell Estate lands would be provided with ground water used the WP-2 pumps and the WP-30 booster pumps, which are on sites that were owned by Oahu Sugar Co. and which Campbell Estate does not and has never owned. Thus, the scenarios developed by Belt Collins Hawaii do not provide practical alternative ground-water sources for either Campbell Estate or PMI, because the assumptions in those scenarios are not applicable. D & O II at 125-26. Basically, the Water Commission determined that, because the land was not owned by Campbell Estate and Campbell Estate transferred its water use permit, these scenarios were not practical. However, even assuming that the Water Commission properly considered these scenarios, these reasons alone do not render an alternative impracticable. The Water Commission itself conceded that these scenarios were limited because [t]hey did not include land and easement purchases, delivery to individual fields, taxes and return investments. D & O II at 125. Accordingly, inasmuch as the Water Commission entered no FOFs or COLs as to whether Campbell Estate satisfied its burden of establishing that no practicable alternatives existed, we remand the matter for further proceedings relating thereto. If the Water Commission enters findings that Campbell Estate satisfied its burden, the Water Commission must clearly articulate the alternatives presented by Campbell Estate and its analysis of those alternatives in determining whether each alternative is practicable, together with proper citations to the record.