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By Claire Rush and Jennifer Sinco Kelleher

The Associated Press

LAHAINA, Hawaii 鈥� Hinano Rodrigues remembers being 4 or 5 years old and carrying a bucket across a highway to the ocean in the Maui community where he still lives.

At dawn, he would accompany his grandmother to a reef at low tide, where she plucked black snails, spiny lobsters and spiky sea urchins from the craggy rock. In Hawaiian, she would instruct him to break off a branch of kiawe, a type of mesquite, to entice an octopus hiding in a hole.

It taught Rodrigues, 71, the value of ahupuaa, a Native Hawaiian system for dividing land from the mountains down to the ocean, with the residents of each section living off the land and waters within it.

But now the section where Rodrigues lives and where his ancestors have always lived 鈥� the Olowalu ahupuaa 鈥� is also home to a temporary landfill being used to store debris from聽the deadly wildfire聽that decimated the historic nearby town of Lahaina last summer, destroying thousands of buildings and killing 102 people. It鈥檚 enough refuse, including聽soil contaminated with lead and arsenic, to cover five football fields five stories high.

A controversy over whether that site is truly temporary 鈥� and over where the debris might finally wind up 鈥� has sparked a fierce legal fight. Tens of millions of dollars and a priceless, offshore ecosystem are at stake.

鈥淲hy would you go put opala like this in a place that鈥檚 clean?鈥� Rodrigues asked, using a Hawaiian word for trash.

Handling debris after a large wildfire is always a logistical challenge. After the聽2018 Camp Fire聽killed 85 people and burned down most of the town of Paradise, California, more than 300,000 truckloads were required to transport the debris to three landfills, said Cole Glenwright, the deputy incident commander of the debris removal operation. The whole process took about a year.

It鈥檚 taking much longer on Maui, given environmental concerns, time to聽clear destroyed lots, worries about Native Hawaiian cultural sites, and a tussle over the ownership of a potential permanent site for the debris.

The temporary landfill in Olowalu is a former quarry on state-owned land. It鈥檚 close to Lahaina, which made it a convenient choice for quickly storing the debris being cleared away to allow reconstruction. Officials believe the area鈥檚 arid climate will reduce the risk of contamination spreading, and they say they鈥檝e taken many precautions, including using thick liner and stormwater controls to contain runoff.

Officials have analyzed samples of soil, groundwater and surface water and found no traces of contamination being released, according to a聽quarterly report聽released in July.

But the site is slightly uphill from a coral reef, and some locals fear an ecological catastrophe would occur if pollution were to reach the water.

The operation of the site also threatens sacred Hawaiian shrines and altars and desecrates ancient Hawaiian burial sites, according to a lawsuit filed by two people who don鈥檛 want the debris in Olowalu. One of the plaintiffs is Manoa Ka鈥檌o Martin, whose ancestors are among those buried nearby. The other is farmer Eddy Garcia, who worries about contamination of the food he grows, including bananas, pineapples, taro and starfruit.

Amid demands to remove the debris from Olowalu, Maui County is seeking to seize a privately owned former quarry near the Central Maui Landfill across the island to use as a permanent dump site.

That鈥檚 prompted another legal fight. The company that owns the land, Komar Maui Properties, doesn鈥檛 want to give it up.

Komar bought the land in 2015 with plans to build a private landfill, but it says permitting issues have stalled development. It is contesting the county鈥檚 effort to take the property by eminent domain. A federal judge has prevented the county from taking immediate possession while the lawsuit plays out.

Andy Naden, general counsel and executive vice president of Komar Investments, the parent company of Komar Maui Properties, says the county moved to seize its land only after learning the Federal Emergency Management Agency would pay 鈥渢ipping fees鈥� associated with disposal of the Lahaina debris 鈥� fees typically paid by weight to landfill owners. Maui County charges a聽tipping fee聽of nearly $110 per ton for municipal solid waste.

鈥淔EMA is going to dump 400,000 tons into this hole,鈥� Naden said. 鈥淭hat equates to $44 million that the federal government is going to give to whoever has the hole.鈥�

Shayne Agawa, director of Maui鈥檚 Department of Environmental Management, disputed that. He said his department has long been interested in acquiring the land as part of plans to expand the adjacent public landfill.

Agawa, who lives in Olowalu, said the county doesn鈥檛 want the debris to remain at the temporary site. But it has yet to come up with a backup plan in case the court blocks the county from seizing Komar鈥檚 land. Officials are looking at other nearby parcels, he said.

To respond to cultural concerns, Maui officials consulted with the county鈥檚 archaeologist, Janet Six, and FEMA directed one of its historic advisors to assess the site. Six told The Associated Press she could not rule out the presence of ancient cultural sites or burial grounds but noted that the area was previously disturbed by mining. FEMA found that no historic properties would be affected.

The lawsuit filed by Garcia and Martin asserted that the construction and operation of the temporary dump has in fact damaged or desecrated such sites by exposing them to toxic materials, in violation of Martin鈥檚 spiritual practices.

Garcia said he feels uneasy as rumbling trucks haul debris up the road next to his farm. He worries one heavy bout of rain will cause toxins from the debris to contaminate the food he grows.

Garcia and Martin dropped their lawsuit after the county announced plans for the permanent site in central Maui, but their lawyer is considering their next legal steps while the debris sits in Olowalu.

鈥淚 have a feeling they鈥檙e going to try to make it permanent and just say, 鈥楽orry, we can鈥檛 move it to the other site,鈥欌�� Garcia said.

Further complicating the issue is that the ashes or bones of some fire victims might be mingled in the debris. Raenelle Stewart鈥檚 97-year-old grandmother died in the fire. Stewart often wonders if the ashes the family received contain all her remains. The fire debris should be kept nearby, she said.

鈥淚 think they should designate a spot in Lahaina for it,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 think it鈥檚 so toxic that the earth can鈥檛 handle.鈥�

Randy Awo, a retired administrator in the state Department of Land and Natural Resources, is a Native Hawaiian and a resident of Maui. He鈥檇 prefer to have the debris shipped out of state 鈥� an option officials rejected as too expensive.

Awo called the concerns about remains 鈥渁 sacred topic鈥� and said he does not want to be insensitive to families who lost loved ones. But, he added, the community must also protect Maui鈥檚 finite amount of land.

鈥淲hen our environment is subjected to toxins that threaten life itself,鈥� he said, 鈥渨e have to start making decisions that weigh both.鈥�