WAILUKU, Maui - Maui County Council Chairman Danny Mateo found himself in an unusual spot Friday and admitted he may have been a bit naive by attempting to help bring some compromise to the hotly debated East Maui and Na Wai Eha streams-diversion debates.

Mateo introduced at Friday's regular County Council meeting a nonbinding resolution that would urge the state Commission on Water Resource Management to side primarily with small farmers as well as Hawaiian Commercial & Sugar Co., saying both are in dire jeopardy.

About 40 people testified for and against Mateo's mostly symbolic gesture "urging the Commission on Water Resource Management to consider the importance of agricultural uses when setting instream flow standards for East Maui streams and the four (Central Maui) streams of Na Wai Eha."

Mateo said he believed introducing the resolution was a no-brainer, a "win-win" move. Mateo said his resolution asks the commission to consider not only the big sugar cane producer but also small farmers when it redistributes Maui's invaluable stream water.

He pleaded through his resolution for a more equitable solution than what the commission has suggested it will do in an unprecedented effort to restore the water to revive the streams' flora, fauna and aquatic life as well as resurrect the Valley Isle's struggling taro industry.

"I thought it was a noncontroversial issue," Mateo said. "Obviously, we spent the entire day being told I was wrong."

Still, council members unanimously moved the measure to the council's Committee of the Whole for formal debate. Council Vice Chairman Mike Molina called Mateo courageous.

The critics weren't so generous. They called Mateo's resolution "inappropriate," too little too late and politically motivated, especially since the commission is expected to release its final decision as soon as this month after receiving testimony in a series of legal inquiries before a state hearings officer.

"It's over," said taro farmer Victor Pellegrino of the hearing process. "The resolution is after the fact and redundant. The commission is already considering both small and large ag. The commission is well aware of the facts and the laws."

Meanwhile, proponents applauded Mateo for siding with HC&S and its nearly 800 employees who, they say, are unfairly demonized as water- and money-hungry vultures by organizations such as Hui O Na Wai 'Eha, made up of taro farmers and environmentalists.

"We hear us described as 'corporate,' but we are regular people. We're your neighbors," said Kelly Ruidas, an HC&S mechanic and International Longshore & Warehouse Union Local 142 member.

HC&S employees formed their own group, Hui O Ka 'Ike, to counter Hui O Na Wai 'Eha's claims, including an accusation that HC&S wastes 50 percent of the water it diverts.

Fourth-generation HC&S employee Leonard Pagan, who is an irrigation manager, said he considers those claims ridiculous and takes them personally. HC&S also performs an invaluable service to the community by preventing downpours from turning into devastating floods.

"Yes, HC&S is a big corporation," Pagan said. "But remember that big corporations have a lot of employees, and I am proud to work for HC&S."

Company officials said that fluctuating sugar prices and a drought now in its third year have caused HC&S, a subsidiary of Alexander & Baldwin, to lose millions. Forcing the company to spend more money on pumping water from wells could doom it, they said.

John Duey, a taro farmer with Hui O Na Wai 'Eha, was unswayed. He compared Mateo's effort to presenting new evidence to a jury already in deliberations.

Maui Farm Bureau Executive Director Warren Watanabe said the commission's proposed decisions will put at risk numerous farming efforts to make Maui sustainable with its own fresh fruits and vegetables.

A year after a state Commission on Water Resource Management ruling poured more than 12 million gallons of water per day back into eight East Maui streams, the panel still is considering a proposal to restore water to 19 more East Maui waterways.

Exactly how much remains undecided, but a decision could come at any time.

But that's not necessarily the case for Na Wai Eha, which is made up of the Waikapu, Iao, Waihee and Waiehu streams. More than six months ago, the Commission on Water Resource Management's hearings officer and commissioner Dr. Lawrence Miike issued a "proposed decision" that would restore 34.5 million gallons of the 70 million gallons a day currently diverted from Na Wai Eha.

And in mid-October, commissioners heard final arguments on Miike's proposal. A decision is pending.

For five years now, the nonprofits Earthjustice and Maui Tomorrow plus taro farmers have battled HC&S, Wailuku Water Distribution Co. and East Maui Irrigation.

In other council news Friday,

•Council members voted 7-1, with Council Member Joe Pontanilla excused, to confirm Orlando Tagorda of Kahului to the Maui Planning Commission. Council Member Wayne Nishiki voted no, saying he wanted Mayor Charmaine Tavares to recommend a candidate from West Maui to make the board more geographically balanced.
•The council unanimously voted to send Molina's aquarium life protection bill to the Public Services Committee for discussion. The bill would put in place new rules meant to ensure the humane treatment of Maui County's reef fish when they are collected by licensed fishers for sale. He also hopes to reduce overfishing, Molina said.
•The County Council unanimously passed on first reading zoning changes that will allow Maui Economic Opportunity Inc. to build its bus transit hub in Puunene.