A Mahi Pono crew uses a pair of a gas-powered augers to dig the holes for papaya trees being planted Thursday. The crew was expected to plant 10,000 non-GMO solo papaya trees. Mahi Pono Community Relations Director Tiare Lawrence said the next crops scheduled to be planted by the farm are onions, coffee and limes, which will go in the fields that have been prepped along Haleakala Highway. Also set to be planted soon, she said, will be ulu trees in Hamakuapoko. She said the breadfruit trees will provide shade for cattle and also help re-establish the“cultural landscape”of the area. Pranquil Arocena (left in second photo) and Miguel Villa plant a papaya tree Thursday morning.

A Mahi Pono crew uses a pair of a gas-powered augers to dig the holes for papaya trees being planted Thursday. The crew was expected to plant 10,000 non-GMO solo papaya trees...

The East Maui Irrigation Company (EMI) has submitted a Draft Environmental Impact Statement for a long-term, 30-year, water lease.

Company executives say the lease would allow a continued supply of water through the EMI system to Mahi Pono’s farm lands in Central Maui and other water users served by EMI including approximately 35,000 upcountry Maui residents served by the Maui County water system. Mahi Pono is a co-owner and operator of EMI.

“The filing of the DEIS is an important step in ensuring both the supply of water for upcountry Maui residents and supporting Mahi Pono’s vision of transitioning former sugarcane land into diversified agriculture, increasing local food production and helping achieve food security for Maui, and our state,” said Shan Tsutsui, Senior Vice President of Operations for Mahi Pono. “We are pleased that EMI is moving forward with this process.”

EMI Submits Draft EIS for Long-Term Water Lease to Mahi Pono

EMI Submits Draft EIS for Long-Term Water Lease to Mahi Pono

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