The Hawaii Supreme Court this morning handed down its ruling in the city’s challenge of the Land Use Commission‘s permit condition that would close Waimanalo Gulch landfill to regular garbage on July 31 of this year. Ash from H-POWER will be allowed indefinitely.

The unanimous 5-0 decision was written by James Duffy.

The court ruled that the condition, No. 14, was “inconsistent with the evidence shown in the record and not supported by substantial evidence.” But it doesn’t necessarily mean the gulch can stay open indefinitely. The case is being kicked back to the Circuit Court, which in turn will kick the permit back to the LUC for reconsideration.

“Having held that Condition 14 cannot stand because it is inconsistent with the evidence shown in the record and not supported by substantial evidence, the LUC’s approval of (the permit) also cannot stand because Condition 14 was a material condition to the LUC’s approval,” the court wrote today. “Consequently, this matter must be remanded to the LUC for further hearings as the LUC deems appropriate.

“In the present case, the relevant question is whether the LUC would have reached the same conclusion … without its imposition of Condition 14. Based on the record, we cannot so conclude,” the court wrote.

U.S. Rep. Colleen Hanabusa, Hawaii Sen. Maile Shimabukuro and the Ko Olina Community Association had argued on the side of the state that the landfill should be closed this July. They cited previous broken promises about the life of the landfill.

The Honolulu Planning Commission decision on which the LUC based its 2009 approval said the permit should be in effect “until capacity as allowed by the State Department of Health is reached.”

The city has argued that Waimanalo Gulch has 15 years of life left.

The decision comes as the city is also petitioning the Planning Commission to extend the life of the landfill. Meanwhile, a volunteer committee is finalizing its rankings for 11 potential sites for a new landfill that would replace or supplement Waimanalo Gulch. It would take about seven years to get a new landfill up and running.