Upcountry Maui fire victims await change as cesspool restrictions block rebuilding

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – Upcountry Maui residents who lost their homes in wildfires last August are experiencing a rebuilding roadblock.
About two dozen homes and structures burned, but reconstruction has been slow because of cesspool laws and setback restrictions.
Mark Ross lost his dream retirement home on Aug. 8, 2023.
He’s had the plans to rebuild since November, and an independent engineer signed off on those plans earlier this year. But his lot on Haleakala Highway in Kula remains empty. All that’s left is the concrete driveway.
Ironically that’s what the state Department of Health told him he needed to tear up to properly install a waste system.
Ross was told he needed to upgrade to a septic tank, despite the original cesspool being still viable and in good working order, according to his engineer.
State law requires 7,400 cesspools in upcountry Maui to be converted to septic tanks by 2050.
Ross said he couldn’t afford the $50,000 it would cost to convert, so he wants to rebuild the home as is for now.
Changes in setback rules mean he no longer has enough room to do that.
His property is wedged between a gulch, the highway and neighborhood street.
“I asked if there’s any way that they can be granted some special consideration,” said John Astilla, a wastewater specialist and conservationist.
Astilla pointed out that the driveway and cesspool are the only things left of the Ross home.
Homeowners want the DOH to send someone to the area to inspect the upcountry properties individually.
Currently someone on Oahu is making decisions.
Ross said, “We have no one on Maui physically here to come and look at our properties, and nobody’s taking the time to do it.”
Ross said a one-size-fits-all approach won’t work because of the topography.
A DOH spokesperson said there was no one was available to do an on-camera interview for the story. A statement was sent instead Wednesday morning that read, after meeting with upcountry residents recently, they were “developing guidance for existing cesspool use in the Kula wildfire-impacted residences, with conditions.”
The guidance will be based on similar guidelines for Lahaina residents who were also impacted by a wildfire and are existing cesspool users.
The statement continued that there will be some “Kula-specific conditions, given how soil conditions in Kula differ from Lahaina, and there is no plan to construct a sewer system in Kula.”
Among the Kula-specific conditions, the home cannot have more than five bedrooms, and structural support rings could be required to prevent collapse of the cesspool.
There are currently about 83,000 cesspools statewide, with about 12,000 on Maui.
The DOH spokesperson said they are hoping to have the policy ready by Friday.
Ross was happy to hear there is finally progress. He had hoped to be rebuilding by now especially because he is a contractor. He said building supply costs have increased significantly in the last year and will keep rising the longer he is forced to wait.
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