Kaua‘i’s only permitted landfill at Kekaha is closing in on its design limits, and county officials are moving ahead with a plan to squeeze more life out of it by building upward inside the existing boundaries. The largest option on the table, a vertical build-out known as Cell 3, would carve out roughly 1.5 million cubic yards of new disposal airspace and, officials say, give the island roughly 12 more years to permit and construct a replacement facility. The strategy has packed neighborhood meetings and stirred up familiar arguments over costs, coastal exposure and whether the county should cut more trash before stacking any higher.
What Cell 3 would do
The proposed Cell 3 expansion would create about 1.5 million cubic yards of additional landfill capacity by raising portions of the site to as high as 195 feet above mean sea level. According to Kauai County, the project would stay inside the current 74-acre waste footprint, shift roughly 253,000 cubic yards of older Phase I material, install a modern composite overliner and tie the new vertical sections into the existing gas, stormwater and leachate collection systems.
How the Phase II permit differs
On a separate track, the state is reviewing a draft solid-waste permit that would let the county raise the active, lined Phase II area to 171.5 feet and accept more trash each day. County and state documents say that adjustment would add about 400,000 cubic yards of capacity and buy roughly two to four years of additional operating time. Public-notice materials from the Hawai‘i Department of Health describe the draft permit, along with the technical reports and environmental reviews regulators are vetting under HRS Chapter 343 and state solid-waste rules, and note that those records are open for public inspection.
Community meeting and next steps
To walk residents through the plan, the county and its consultants held an open house at the Kekaha Neighborhood Center on May 27, complete with maps, poster boards, technical exhibits and opportunities for people to submit questions and written comments. Coverage by Kauai Now notes that the session was meant to get the public ready for the Environmental Impact Statement process and to spell out how neighbors can stay involved as the project moves forward.
Costs, engineering and safety questions
County officials currently peg the Cell 3 work at a minimum of $24 million and potentially up to $43 million, money they say would be raised through municipal bonds. As reported by Civil Beat, Solid Waste Division Chief Allison Fraley told residents the added space is intended strictly for material that cannot be reused or recycled. Engineering documents prepared for the county by Tetra Tech lay out the heavy work involved: reconsolidating about 253,000 cubic yards of older waste, installing a composite overliner and leachate collection system over Phase I, extending the gas-collection network and adding rip-rap armoring because the landfill sits inside a tsunami inundation zone.
How to weigh in
The county expects to publish an Environmental Impact Statement Preparation Notice in early June and is lining up more scoping meetings along with a formal public comment period tied to the EIS. For details on the EIS schedule, upcoming meetings and how to contact the project team, including Tetra Tech lead Kayla Yost, residents can review local coverage and county project materials via Kauai Now or reach out directly to the county’s Solid Waste Division.
