Mayor Richard Bissen offers the following statement upon the Council’s passage of Bill 120, which authorizes an intergovernmental agreement between the County of Maui and the State of Hawai‘i Department of Land and Natural Resources for right-of-entry for the Olowalu Temporary Disposition Site:

“I am thankful for community members bringing forward concerns, as well as the Council allowing the time to fully vet this difficult and complex situation. The Council’s vote today was a critical step in getting survivors back to their parcels and moving recovery efforts forward and will allow us to begin the debris removal process.

“After careful consideration the Council and I have collectively agreed that Olowalu will not be used as the Permanent Containment Site. As I promised, debris from the Olowalu Temporary Disposition Site will be removed once the permanent site is identified and built.”