Honolulu has no realistic alternative to expanding the Waimanalo Gulch dump, even if the city starts shipping some trash to the Mainland, Mayor Mufi Hannemann said yesterday.

If the dump were shut down, as some have urged, a new one would likely have to be opened in Nanakuli or Ma'ili, and it's clear that nearby residents don't want that, he said.

"The Wai'anae Coast has made it real clear to me, since I've been mayor, that they don't want a landfill in their backyard," Hannemann said.

"We really have to deal with what's before us, which is an existing landfill," he said. "Yes, it has had its problems, but I believe that unless there's an alternative to that, it would be really fiscally irresponsible for us to shut it down."

The dump was fined $2.8 million last year for various health and environmental violations, and its state operating permit expires in less than a year.

Officials announced Tuesday that the city plans to seek a 20-month extension on the existing state permit for the dump while completing plans to expand the site and operate it for at least 15 more years. Experts must also determine if large upright stones found there are Hawaiian artifacts that should be protected.

The city will soon seek proposals from companies interested in shipping trash to Washington or Oregon — probably starting with less than one-tenth of O'ahu's total annual volume of more than 1 million tons.

Such a plan, along with more recycling, could help stretch the dump's life span by decreasing the amount of trash deposited there. But the facility will still be needed, Hannemann said.

"I think we're making the most of a bad situation," he said.

On another matter, Hannemann said he is glad a new environmental study will consider an airport route for the city's planned mass transit system.

But he said plans would proceed for now under the assumption that part of the system's first phase will be routed along Salt Lake Boulevard, without an airport link, as the City Council decided in February.

"In the short term, we are very committed to what the City Council voted for. ... We will study the airport route because I think it's the prudent thing to do," he said. "If and when monies become available, or the will of the council should change, then it could be revisited."

And the city needs to have an alternative plan in case the environmental study determines there are serious obstacles to the Salt Lake route, he said.

Hannemann flew to Los Angeles late yesterday to attend the 75th annual meeting of the U.S. Conference of Mayors. He said he and L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa will call for a streamlined visa application process for visitors from China.

Hawai'i stands to gain from China's rapidly growing economy, as it did when similar changes encouraged travel from Japan decades ago, he said.

"I'm saying, let's borrow that same page and do it with the Chinese, the Koreans, the Vietnamese," Hannemann said.

He and Villaraigosa will co-sponsor a resolution asking the Bush administration to enter into a bilateral agreement with China to expand group leisure travel to the U.S. and facilitate visas.

The U.S. has remained too focused on allowing easy travel from Europe, while seeming to ignore Asia, Hannemann said.

As Pacific-oriented cities, Honolulu and Los Angeles "should educate the rest of the United States that this is something they shouldn't fear, but they should embrace and welcome," Hannemann said.

"China is coming on big-time, and we would be foolhardy to put up borders to say that 'China can go elsewhere; we'll let that Chinese growth be developed with other nations,' " he said.

Reach Johnny Brannon at jbrannon@honoluluadvertiser.com.