Category: Kaua’i & Ni’ihau

Posted on

Military denies involvement with fish kills

The military denies that its training activity off Kaua’i and Ni’ihau had anything to do with the fish kills and whale deaths.  Still the military will not disclose what activities it conducted because they are classified.   The public has no reason to believe them.   The military claimed that no depleted uranium was used in Hawai’i, but in 2006 we revealed that DU was discovered in Lihu’e near Wahiawa.  Since then, the Army has admitted that DU was also released in Pohakuloa, and possibly in Makua.   Recently the USS Port Royal, the Navy’s most sophisticated Aegis destroyer, ran aground and crushed the coral reef, and the Navy did not tell state or the public that it had dumped 7000 gallons of raw sewage just a short distance from heavily using fishing and recreational areas.  The military conducted secret biologial and chemical weapons tests in Hawai’i and other locations in the 1960s, coded named Project 112/Project SHAD.   Veterans of these tests have fought to get the tests declassified so that they can get proper compensation and treatment for health problems that afflict them.   The tests include the release of sarin nerve gas on the Big Island and the release of biological “simulants” at still classified locations on O’ahu.    A veteran of these tests told us that some of the tests involved the release of bacteria from ships in Pearl Harbor to study how the cloud of biologial “simulant” moved and behaved as it wafted up towards central O’ahu.

===

Military denies involvement with fish kills

DARPA: No underwater sonar used

By Coco Zickos – The Garden Island

Published: Friday, March 27, 2009 2:10 AM HST

LIHU‘E – While the community awaits answers with regards to the Ni‘ihau, Lehua and Kaua‘i fish kills that occurred earlier this year, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency – which conducted military operations during the same time period – and the Pacific Missle Range Facility said Thursday all activities administered during the month of January were not irregular and met with their environmental guidelines.

“I’d like to further clarify that all activities that took place on the range during this time were normal and within the scope of our EIS, to include both classified and unclassified operations,” said PMRF spokesman Tom Clements in an e-mail, responding to a report in The Garden Island that military activity could have caused large fish kills and the deaths of two baby whales.

A DARPA official also said the military did not cause the deaths.

“There were classified military operations in the area during that time frame. I cannot provide details of these operations, but I can tell you definitively that no rodenticide or chemicals were involved, nor were there any underwater sonar, acoustics or explosions,” said Jan R. Walker of DARPA external relations in a written statement provided by Clements. “In short, the tests did not involve any activities that could harm fish or marine mammals.”

Chapter 12 of the Hawai‘i Range Complex Final Environmental Impact Statement/Overseas Environmental Impact Statement said there is “uncertainty in predicting impacts to marine mammals and fish from (mid-frequency active) sonar.” The document also raised concerns about swim bladder resonance in fish and the potential impacts of particular frequencies on certain species.

The adult male trigger fish, or humuhumu, collected on Ni‘ihau had a “pale liver and swollen swim bladder,” according to Don Heacock, marine biologist for the Department of Land and Natural Resources Aquatics Division on Kaua‘i.

“Typically where we see distended fish bladders is when someone is bottom fishing and brings the fish up really fast and it doesn’t have time to acclimate to the pressure changes,” Heacock said.

Preliminary analysis by Dr. Thierry Work, wildlife disease pathologist with the National Wildlife Health Center, after a gross necropsy was administered showed “no visible external lesions” and “no evidence of external or internal bleeding.”

Chris Swenson, coastal program administrator for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, confirmed Wednesday that results have ultimately revealed that rodenticide was not the cause of the fish and whale kills. He said there are a number of factors which could have contributed to the incident, and added further testing must be done for confirmation.

Heacock has “strongly suggested” that the National Water Quality Assessment Program conduct further tests which would encompass numerous pesticides, chemicals and other “abnormalities.” Dr. Carl Berg, marine biologist and water quality expert, said a number of fish collected from Ni‘ihau have been frozen and are ready to be sent for further examination as soon as approval is confirmed.

Until then, the cause of the swollen swim bladders will remain a mystery, and Ni‘ihau residents will continue to wait for answers.

Coco Zickos, business writer, can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 251) or czickos@kauaipubco.com

Source: http://kauaiworld.com/articles/2009/03/27/news/kauai_news/doc49cc68c9888ed956057001.txt

Posted on

Joan Conrow on torture and military propaganda in our schools

http://kauaieclectic.blogspot.com/2009/03/musings-ugly-side.html

Thursday, March 19, 2009

Musings: The Ugly Side

Well, it’s been six years since the U.S. began its “shock and awe” campaign to destroy Iraq and oust Saddam Hussein on those bogus “weapons of mass destruction” claims.

My how time flies – except for those guys and gals who keep having their tours of duty extended, and the Iraqis still living under the American occupation.

For the American public, it’s apparently turned into one big yawn:

“This is already one of the longest wars in American history. There’s nothing new in Iraq,” said Steven Roberts, a professor of media studies at the George Washington University. “We’ve read the stories of instability in the government a hundred times. Every single possible story has been told, and so there is enormous fatigue about Iraq.”

Yes, let’s skip all that and get into the really interesting stuff, like the latest celebrity to enter rehab and Michelle Obama’s penchant for sleeveless dresses.
.
Never mind those tedious details, like the $800 billion price tag and the 4,261 Americans killed in the war – a figure that I’m not sure includes the alarming suicide rate among ground troops in Afghanistan and Iraq. Oh yeah, and then there’s the Iraqi casualty count, which CNN says is “harder to ascertain because of the lack of formal record-keeping.” But it’s “reached at least 128,000,” by CNN’s tally.

And let’s just totally gloss over the torture thing.

Democracy Now! had an interview yesterday with author, journalist and professor Mark Danner, who this past weekend broke the story that two years ago the International Committee of the Red Cross concluded in a secret report that the Bush administration’s treatment of prisoners “constituted torture” in violation of the Geneva Conventions.

In hearing the account of what happened to Abu Zubaydah, including beatings, cold temperatures, sleep deprivation, being kept in coffin-like boxes and waterboarding administered over the course of many weeks, I couldn’t help but think about what happened not only to the prisoner, but to the men who were doing the torturing.

I mean, what kind of mind set do you have to be in to systematically mistreat someone in such horrendous ways? How do you gear yourself up to go to work when that’s your job? And how do you ever go on to live a normal life?

Yeah, all of the above is the ugliness of war, the downside that most Americans don’t see and think about – and don’t want to see and think about.

Perhaps if they did they’d find it just a little bit inappropriate to have the crew of a target boat visiting Kalahelo elementary school as part of a “career development program.”

A photograph of a kindergartener being shown a piece of military equipment accompanies the story, in which Principal Erik Burkman chirps:

“It’s all about showing the students what kinds of opportunities are available to them once they leave school.”

OK, that’s fine, but while you’re also showing kids the war mongers dressed in their “smart black headwear, khaki-colored shirt and smartly pressed black slacks with black socks and black shoes,” how about showing them some of the amputees, or the guys who will never leave the VA hospital because of head injuries or the homeless vets living in the street or the ones whose lives are forever screwed up because they’ve got PTSD?

How about showing them photos of the kids just like them who are blown up and maimed and orphaned by American soldiers, sailors, Marines and suicide bombers fighting the occupation of their nation? How about showing them what happens to real people when the joy stick they’re operating isn’t controlling a video game, but a Predator drone?

But that kind of education might distress and depress the poor keiki, and perhaps even require parental permission. Far better to fill their heads with propaganda and nonsense to prime them at an early age to fight the next imperialistic war.

===
www.kauaiworld.com
Thursday, March 19, 2009

Navy visit to Kalaheo School offers students another career choice

By Dennis Fujimoto – The Garden Island
KALAHEO – The new look of the United States Navy arrived with the crew of a target boat Wednesday morning on the Kalaheo School campus.

Lt. Michael Prince, whom many of the school students knew as “Coach Mike,” brought along a crew from the Navy’s Seaborne Target Division that operates out of the Pacific Missile Range Facility in Mana. That division is more commonly known as SEPTAR with its larger boats moored at the Port Allen harbor.

“This was a special visit,” said Erik Burkman, Kalaheo School’s principal. “It comes on the heels of our career development program that was changed from previous years.”

Burkman said instead of having community professionals visit the school, the classes instead visited places where people worked.

“It’s all about showing the students what kinds of opportunities are available to them once they leave school,” Burkman said.

The Navy’s target crew – Francisco Herndon, Alfonso Gomez and Randy Belknap – operate under Prince and were dressed in the Navy’s new uniform of a smart black headwear, khaki-colored shirt and smartly pressed black slacks with black socks and black shoes.

“I’m in white because people associate white with the Navy, but the new uniforms are a lot more ‘user-friendly,'” Prince said. “They’re smart looking and make the people look good.”

Along with the new uniforms, the crew hauled in one of the latest classes of target boats, the OA class, for the students to see.

“This is to show the students just one more opportunity they have available to them, but also how the remote system on one of these target boats work,” Prince said. “We’ve been to other schools for Career Development, but this is the first time we are visiting Kalaheo School.”

Herndon took the reins and welcomed the students, showing them how the target boat is operated using a laptop computer and a joystick resembling those found in gaming systems on home computers.

“The boat is remotely operated when it pulls a target,” Prince said. “In actuality, all the boats are targets. Eventually, they’ll be expended.”

Prince said the new boats are different from the older models in its keel where the newer boats use a four-foot cut with the result being the newer boats being able to negotiate swells better, comparing the target boats against the United States Coast Guard’s rigid-hull craft.

Students reveled in the ability to move the boat’s steering system using the joystick control, doing radio checks with Gomez answering on their inquiries and even getting a close up look at some of the gear used by the Navy personnel.

“Normally, we operate out of PMRF and launch out of the Kikiaola Small Boat Harbor,” Prince said. “But recently, the harbor has been undergoing a facelift so we sometimes launch out of Port Allen.

For the crew, it was a nice change of pace, especially for Belknap who recently moved here from Oklahoma.

But for the students, the most thrilling part was being able to sound the boat’s horn using the special tab located atop the joystick.

Posted on

Military ignored conditions set by state regulators on undersea warfare exercises

The Coastal Zone Management Act (CZMA) established a regulatory regime to create more consistency in regulating coastal resources, by delegating certain regulatory powers to approved state CZM agencies. This means that on matters of Coastal Zone Management, the federal government should be in accordance with the regulatory guidelines set by the Hawai’i CZM agency. However, in its 2008 annual report, the Hawaii Coastal Zone Management Program reported that in several instances, the U.S. military simply “issued a notice of intent to proceed over both the conditions and objection” of the Hawaii CZM Program. One instance involved the use of sonar and live fire exercises by the Navy undersea warfare exercises (USWEX). The other involved the Navy Hawaii Range Complex. There have been reports of massive fish kill off the island of Ni’ihau and Kaua’i and dead whales washing ashore on Ni’ihau and Kaua’i. It was reported by the Hawaii Independent that the Navy and the DARPA conducted classified exercises in the vicinity of Ni’ihau and Kaua’i during a USWEX event in the Hawaii Range Complex. Here’s an excerpt from the 2008 Hawaii CZM Program annual report:

Federal Consistency Program

The CZMA requires federal agencies to conduct their planning, management, development, and regulatory activities in a manner consistent with federally-approved state CZM programs. The informational and procedural requirements for CZM federal consistency reviews are prescribed by federal regulations.

Because there is a significant federal presence in Hawaii, federal consistency is a valuable State management tool. Federal planning, regulatory, and construction activities have direct and significant effects on land and water environments statewide.

The federal government controls vast tracts of land. The range of federal activities and permits reviewed is extensive and includes harbor projects, beach nourishment projects, military facilities and training exercises, fisheries management plans and regulations, open ocean aquaculture, and dredge and fill operations. In addition, projects funded by certain federal grant programs are reviewed for potential impacts to CZM resources.

Public notices for all federal consistency reviews are published in The Environmental Notice.

The following are noteworthy examples of federal consistency activities:

1. Makua Military Reservation Training Activities: The U.S. Army’s live-fire training exercises at Makua Military Reservation on Oahu were reviewed for impacts on resources in areas beyond the reservation. The reservation itself is a federal area that is excluded from CZM review. However, the CZM Program was concerned about the effects of live-fire training, particularly wildfire on State natural area reserves, critical habitat for endangered species, and historic and cultural resources. Federal consistency negotiations with the Army resulted in mitigation measures to ensure protection of natural and cultural resources.

2. U.S. Navy Undersea Warfare Exercises (USWEX): The CZM Program reviewed a series of USWEX, which are anti-submarine exercises involving the use of mid-frequency active sonar in waters around the State. The primary concern with sonar is its potential to harm marine mammals such as whales and monk seals. USWEX also involves land-based training exercises such as aerial bombing of Kaula Island off of Kauai and Pohakuloa Training Area on the Island of Hawaii. Operational conditions and mitigation measures were required for the sonar use for consistency with CZM enforceable policies. An objection was issued over the use of Kaula Island until a monitoring plan and baseline survey of birds is completed. In response to the Program’s consistency decision, the Navy issued a notice of intent to proceed over both the conditions and objection.

3. U.S. Navy Hawaii Range Complex (HRC): The HRC is one of the Navy’s range complexes used for training operational forces and military systems. The HRC covers 235,000 square nautical miles around the Main Hawaiian Islands, and a 2.1 million square nautical mile Temporary Operating Area of sea and airspace. The biennial Rim of the Pacific naval exercise is included as one of the major activities covered by the review. One of the primary concerns was the Navy’s use of mid-frequency active sonar and its impacts on marine mammals. The CZM Program required mitigation measures for the sonar use to be consistent with CZM enforceable policies. An objection was issued to the use of Kaula Island for bombing until a monitoring plan and baseline survey of birds is completed, and the development and operation of a directed energy (laser) weapon facility at the Pacific Missile Range Facility on Kauai, until potential hazards are identified and operating procedures and safety requirements are developed. The Navy declined to agree and issued a notice of intent to proceed over the conditions requiring sonar mitigation and the objection to the bombing of Kaula Island. However, the Navy is developing a management plan for seabirds at Kaula in response to the CZM review and also agreed to submit a separate CZM review for the directed energy facility when the details are developed.

4. Hawaii Superferry Security Zones: The CZM Program issued federal consistency concurrences for the U.S. Coast Guard to establish security zones for the Hawaii Superferry at Nawiliwili Harbor, Kauai and Kahului Harbor, Maui. The security zones were necessary in consideration of the large number of protestors who prevented the Superferry from entering Nawiliwili Harbor. The Program’s consistency concurrence ensured that public access was maintained by requiring that canoe and boating clubs, small commercial businesses, and Native Hawaiian cultural practitioners be given consideration for access to resources during the activation of the security zone. The Program also required that when the security zone is inactive, public access to and use of established public areas in and around Nawiliwili Harbor and Kahului Harbor be allowed.

The Hawaii CZM Program facilitates cooperation among government agencies in reviewing applications for federal, State, and County permits. Also, pre-application consultation is highly encouraged. Consultations occur by telephone and email, as well as through meetings involving applicants and agencies.

The CZM Program continued its involvement with the federal and State agency coordination initiative involving quarterly meetings with regulatory and resource agencies, and various branches of the military. The meetings are hosted by the U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command and the U.S. Navy. This forum provides the participating agencies an opportunity to discuss and coordinate on current and future projects, activities, and issues.

Posted on

Military ground-based missile defense shot down test missile

US intercepts ballistic missile in Hawaii test

By AUDREY McAVOY Associated Press
March 17, 2009

HONOLULU – The military’s ground-based mobile missile defense system successfully shot down a medium-range ballistic missile during a test in Hawaii, the Missile Defense Agency said Tuesday.

It was the first time the military fired two interceptors at one target using the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system, a program designed to shoot down ballistic missiles in their last stage of flight.

The drill followed through on a test that was planned for last September but had to be aborted when the target malfunctioned shortly after launch.

On Tuesday, the target missile was fired from a vessel off the island of Kauai.

Soldiers with the Army’s 6th Air Defense Artillery Brigade then launched two interceptors from the Pacific Missile Range Facility on Kauai’s west coast.

Two interceptors were used to increase the chances of success. The first shot down the target over the Pacific Ocean. The second was destroyed.

“Any time you’re in a combat situation, more than likely you will launch more than one interceptor in case one fails,” said Missile Defense Agency spokesman Rick Lehner.

The target separated in flight, meaning the interceptors had to differentiate between the target missile’s warhead and booster.

The military also has Patriot anti-missile batteries to intercept missiles just before they strike.

But the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system is designed to protect larger areas than the Patriot system because it intercepts targets at higher altitudes.

Even so, it can only target short and medium-range missiles. Intercontinental ballistic missiles are out of its range.

THAAD is one of two missile defense systems the military tests at the Pacific Missile Range Facility on Kauai. The other is the sea-based Aegis system. The Missile Defense Agency coordinates U.S. missile tests in cooperation with the Army, Navy and Air Force.

The artillery brigade is based in Fort Bliss, Texas.

Posted on

Classified military operations coincided with fish kill

This investigative story was posted on the Hawaii Independent.  What was DARPA doing in the area off of Ni’ihau?  Why won’t they tell the public?

Classified military operations coincided with fish kill

Posted March 17th, 2009 in Niihau by Joan Conrow

A Navy contractor was engaged in classified operations around Ni‘ihau in mid-January when a major fish kill and dead humpback whale calf were reported on the island’s shores.

Chris Swenson, coastal program administrator for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, said crews involved with a project to eradicate rats on Lehua had to leave the islet “four or five times” between Jan. 3 and 21 to accommodate classified military operations on the north end of Ni’ihau.

Lehua is about a half-mile from Ni’ihau, where thousands of fish began washing up on Jan. 17 and a dead humpback whale calf was seen on Jan. 21. Another humpback whale calf washed up between Kekaha and Kauai’s Pacific Missile Range Facility (PMRF) on Feb. 9, and a mass kill of squid and lanternfish was discovered at Kauai’s Kalapaki Bay on Jan. 20. Scientists do not know if the events are related.

Swenson said that a representative of DARPA – the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, which develops and tests new technology for the Department of Defense – told him that Fish and Wildlife crews could not be on Lehua at night between Jan. 3 and mid-February. The same DARPA official told him that Ni‘ihau residents also had been told to stay off the north part of their island during that time.

PMRF spokesman Tom Clements previously refused to confirm whether military activities had been conducted on the range, saying only: “If an anomaly occurred at that time that people are trying to connect to our activities, we’re saying they were no different than the activities that have been done on the range over the past 40 years.”

According to the DARPA website, “Over the years, DARPA has responded to issues of national importance with new ideas and technology that have changed the way wars are fought and even changed the way we live. Since the very beginning, DARPA has been the place for people with ideas too crazy, too far out and too risky for most research organizations. DARPA is an organization willing to take a risk on an idea long before it is proven.”

Swenson said he objected to the DARPA request because “it’s a big hassle and a lot of extra risk” to repeatedly helicopter his crew off Lehua, where they were monitoring the Jan. 6 and 13 aerial applications of the rodenticide diphacinone.

“We told them we’d stay in our tents and not look out, but they weren’t buying it,” Swenson said. “They said they were doing a lot with aircraft, aerial stuff, and we had to be off Lehua at night during that time.”

During the day, Swenson said, “we saw a lot of boat activity. A lot of torpedo chasers were out cruising around.”

The January 2009 undersea warfare training exercise (USWEX), which in previous years has involved the use of sonar, also was under way during that same period, beginning at 4 p.m. Jan. 15 and ending at noon Jan. 18.

The whale deaths, and the fact that many of the beached Ni‘ihau fish had distended swim bladders, has prompted some to question whether sonar or under water explosions may have played a role.

Swenson said that sonar testing and underwater explosions “would correlate with the distended swim bladders.” As for the lanternfish and squid kills, “those are both deep water species, so something happened deep down quickly that nailed a bunch of them.”

In regard to the Ni‘ihau fish kill, Swenson said, “My gut suspicion is something got spilled during Naval exercises up there. They had the Port Royal grounding and sewage spill they [the Navy] weren’t going to tell us about.”

Swenson was referring to a guided missile cruiser that ran aground near the Honolulu International Airport’s reef runway on Feb. 5. The navy discharged about 7,000 gallons of untreated wastewater from the ship without first informing the state Department of Health.

Thierry Work, the federal wildlife biologist who conducted a necropsy on one fish collected from the Ni‘ihau fish kill, said he did not want to add to speculation about the cause. He found “acute inflammation and swelling of the gills,” which he said can be caused by a number of factors, including chemical irritants and natural toxins.

When asked why many of the fish had distended swim bladders, Work replied: “I’m stumped.” That condition occurs when a fish “loses the ability to compensate buoyancy for whatever reason,” he said, and is typically associated with hooking a fish and quickly bringing it up from deeper waters.

However, the Ni‘ihau fish kill involved shallow water reef fish – primarily humuhumu and nenue – and the specimen Work examined showed no sign of being hooked. He said detonating dynamite in the water also could cause the condition, “but then you would think all sorts of fish would be affected, not just triggerfish.”

“Each fish has different swim bladder characteristics, so even if there were many species in an area that was blasted, only a few species would have extended swim bladders,” said Dr. Carl J. Berg, a Kauai research scientist with deep-sea research experience. “Deep water fish and squid come up closer to the surface to feed at night, then go back down into the dark depths during the day, so they could have gotten nailed at night when they were nearer the surface. My guess is by underwater explosions or sonar.”

Work was unaware of the Jan. 20 lanternfish kill at Kalapaki, but said that on Jan. 26 state conservation officers gave him two lanternfish to necropsy after a number of that species washed ashore at Maui’s Puunoa Beach. He has not yet conducted tissue studies on the samples.

Although some have speculated that the rodenticide diphacinone may be the cause of the Ni‘ihau fish and whale deaths, both Swenson and Don Heacock, the state aquatic biologist for Kauai, discounted that possibility.

“There’s no way it [diphacinone] could get into a baby whale,” Heacock said. “They’re only drinking milk and the mamas don’t feed here.”

Tissue tests done on opihi and 18 live fish caught off Lehua following the rodenticide application showed no sign of diphacinone, Swenson said. Results are still pending for aama crab and seawater.

Monitoring work done on Lehua found “no detectable movement” of the pellets on land, Swenson said.

Swenson said the Health Department is testing fish from the Ni‘ihau kill for diphacinone and pesticides, but has not yet released the results.

Updated 4:54 pm with quote from Carl J. Berg.

Source: http://www.thehawaiiindependent.com/hawaii/niihau/2009/03/17/classified-military-operations-coincided-with-fish-kill/

Posted on

Two dead whales and a mass fish kill on Kaua’i, Ni’ihau – Is the Navy to blame?

From the Hawaii Independent: http://www.thehawaiiindependent.com/hawaii/kauai-hawaii-regions/2009/03/09/fish-fears-on-kaua%E2%80%98i-ni%E2%80%98ihau-%E2%80%93-is-the-navy-to-blame/

Fish fears on Kaua‘i, Ni‘ihau – Is the Navy to blame?

Posted March 9th, 2009 in Kauai, Niihau

by Joan Conrow

It’s been weeks since a massive fish kill was discovered on Niihau, but those living on the privately-owned island remain afraid to eat the reef fish that are a dietary staple.

“For the Niihauans, fishing isn’t a hobby, it’s how they put food on their table,” said Don Heacock, the state aquatic biologist on Kauai. “It’s one of the few places in Hawaii nei where people are still practicing traditional subsistence fishing. And now they’re afraid to eat the fish because they don’t know what happened to them.”

Bruce Robinson, whose family owns the island that lies off Kauai’s western shore, first spotted fish washing ashore on Jan. 17, but did not contact state officials until Feb. 2, when he brought Heacock a sample of about 100 dead fish.

“But very few were fresh and most were seven or more days old,” said Heacock, who selected the freshest fish he could find from the sample and gave it to Thierry M. Work, a federal wildlife disease specialist, for a necropsy.

Work found that the fish had suffered severe trauma to the gills. “The most significant finding was the acute inflammation and swelling of the gills that was suggestive of an acute insult,” according to the necropsy report. “One possibility is some sort of chemical irritant, however, the identity of such a cause cannot be determined based on available information.”

Heacock said he observed hundreds of dead fish on Niihau and many had distended swim bladders, a phenomenon more typically associated with deepwater fish that are brought up to the surface. Fish use their swim bladders to “sense, hear and feel sounds and vibrations underwater,” he said.

“If there was a very large underwater explosion, for example, fish would feel that, and if it was loud enough, it could kill them,” Heacock said. “It could destroy organs and tissue.”

In response to concerns that the fish might have died during an illegal fishing operation using bleach, Work researched the scientific literature and found that “exposure to chlorine causes a distinct lesion, which I did not observe in this particular fish. If I was going with the literature, I would not suspect chlorine,” Work reported.

Heacock said that Robinson also reported a baby humpback had washed ashore on Niihau on Jan. 21. Based on photographs, Heacock said the whale was “very fresh. I could see no noticeable external signs of trauma, but it was laying on one side and I don’t know what was under that.”
A large swell apparently washed the calf away before Heacock and others were able to get to Niihau on Feb. 4, where they collected dead fish and monk seal scat and observed several seals, which appeared healthy.

On Feb. 9, another humpback calf washed ashore on a section of beach between Kekaha and Kauai’s Pacific Missile Range Facility. The whale had several broken ribs, but it’s unknown whether that injury occurred before or after the whale died, Heacock said. Necropsy results are still pending.

“We don’t know if the fish kills and the two baby whales washing ashore are related, but they might be,” Heacock said. “We do not know if there was some kind of sonic experiment or sonar testing going on. We do know there were military activities going on during that period. Several commercial fishermen said they’d seen some large Navy ships, Marine Corps helicopters and even Australian ships around Niihau in that time period.”

Paul Achitoff, an attorney with Earthjustice, said that the Navy’s counsel confirmed that the January 2009 undersea warfare training exercise (USWEX) began at 4 p.m. Jan. 15 and ended at noon Jan. 18.

The Navy did use mid-frequency active sonar during antisubmarine training exercises last year. However, PMRF spokesman Tom Clements refused to confirm whether the Navy had used sonar during this year’s USWEX, or even that military activities had been conducted at all.

“If an anomaly occurred at that time that people are trying to connect to our activities, we’re saying they were no different than the activities that have been done on the range over the past 40 years,” Clement said.

Marine mammal strandings have occurred in Hawaii following sonar exercises, including two pygmy sperm whales that washed up on Maui and Lanai after the April 2007 USWEX and a beaked whale that came ashore on Molokai during one of the exercises last year. In July 2004, a pod of melon-head whales came into Hanalei Bay shortly after the Navy used sonar. The Navy contends there is no connection between such strandings and sonar use, but has never released any necropsy reports on the dead animals.

In a response to an email posing additional questions, Clements wrote: “As far as ‘loud noises underwater,’ as you know, there are many anthropomorphic sources of sound in the water, including recreational and commercial boat traffic that crosses our range. Our activities that can cause sound in the water are managed and quantified, as expressed in the Hawaii Range Complex EIS completed in 2008.

“And regarding the introduction of toxic or noxious chemicals, if your question refers to operations specifically designed to test or train with or against chemical agents, than the answer is ‘no.’ The PMRF range did not have any spills or accidents resulting in unintended releases. Most human activities on and in the water can potentially introduce chemicals into the ocean, from sunscreen to diesel fuel emissions.”

When asked whether any intended chemical spills or releases occurred, and why the Navy declined to comment on the date or nature of its activities, Clements replied in a second email: “I believe I did respond within the context of the question by distinguishing between intended (operations specifically designed) and unintended (spills or accidents). Not commenting specifically on all-inclusive military operations within a given parameter of dates is not unusual.”

Heacock said he recommended that state officials ask the Navy for more information about the activities it was conducting when the fish and whales died. He also suggested testing samples collected from the fish kill for contaminants under the National Water-Quality Assessment program (NAWQA), but state and federal officials balked at the $15,000 price tag.

“I only recommended that because we’re dealing with human health and safety issues,” Heacock said.

“The [state] Department of Health issued warnings not to eat fish if it smelled or tasted strange, but there are many toxins with no odor and no taste. The Niihauans have a right to know what happened to their fish.”

Both Heacock and Work said fish kills and marine mammal strandings should be reported immediately so necropsies can be conducted before the animals begin to decompose.

Posted on

Pohakuloa Depleted Uranium studies “fall far short”

The Sierra Club Moku Loa chapter has been doing excellent work bird dogging the Army over its handling of the DU contamination at Pohakuloa.   Cory Harden posted the following letter and attached review of the Army’s studies by an independent scietist.

“I am particularly concerned that what is proposed by the U.S. Army for future studies at PTA will fall far short of providing the best information possible at this time, or for that matter, provide any information that can be used to develop a real rather than a speculative risk assessment.” From Mike Reimer, PhD, Kona geologist, retired

Michael Reimer
75-6081 Ali`i Drive RR-103
Kailua-Kona, HI 96740
March 6, 2009

Colonel Howard Killian, Deputy Director
U.S. Army Installation Management Command
Pacific Region
132 Yamanaga Street
Fort Shafter, Hawaii 96858-5520

Dear Colonel Killian:

I have had an opportunity to review the reports released from DU studies at Schofield Barracks and Pohakuloa Training Area. I also spoke with Dr. Lorrin Pang, some members of the Community Advisory Group, and met contractor Dr. Jeff Morrow.

I agree with your statement that you mentioned in a previous communication we had, and that is to let the science speak.

In that light, I am particularly concerned that what is proposed by the U.S. Army for future studies at PTA will fall far short of providing the best information possible at this time, or for that matter, provide any information that can be used to develop a real rather than a speculative risk assessment.

DU is an issue of evolving study results and knowledge. There are some points that are immutable fact. We know that DU is present at Schofield and Pohakuloa. As I recall, the Army does not dispute the point of potential health risk. Therefore, we must take the best information we obtain today and use it to address the concerns about the level of health risks from potential exposure to DU.

The citizens of the Big Island are concerned. This is a natural, often fearful, reaction anytime the word radiation is mentioned in our society. Yet, we live in a world with ubiquitous and unavoidable natural radiation, from cosmic rays to the foodstuffs that provide our sustenance. According to the position of the U.S. EPA, any and all ionizing radiation has the potential of causing cancer. Thus, there has to be a reasoned balance between unavoidable exposure and elective exposure.

The past use of DU on the Big Island places exposure to that type of radioactive material in the “unavoidable exposure” category. This brings forth the question then of how much additional risk does it pose to the people of the Big Island including the military personnel stationed and working at Pohakuloa.

I believe that with adequate study, this question can be answered with reasonable assurance. As I mentioned, I do not believe the currently planned study has the capacity to answer that question. The reason for my belief is that the study design is to measure total uranium and to show that it is below standards set by World Agencies for regulated exposures. This may present itself as a feel-good approach, but it is unfortunately misleading even with the rudimentary information we have today about the form and occurrence of uranium in the natural environment. In other words, the study as currently planned still leaves the door wide open on determining excess health risks, if any.
The attached commentary contains suggestions on what additional information could be collected to help determine the risk. It is fair to assume that the information about the use of DU is as accurate as it can be. That is, the only use was in the Davy Crockett spotting rounds, no use of penetrating munitions occurred, that is the 20mm or 30 mm rounds from various Gatling configurations, smaller caliber rounds, or larger caliber armor penetrating munitions. It assumes that DU does not remain from any breach of containment if used as ballast or armor reinforcement, or any other possible presentation of DU.

My comments are intended for a reasonably informed individual about DU issues; it is not overpoweringly technical but does use various standard abbreviations, chemical, isotopic, and radiological inferences and acronyms. For example, I use DU for depleted uranium and its various components, and natural uranium or NU for naturally occurring uranium. I am not suggesting that the uranium has a chemical, physical, or radiological difference. However, it is different in form and that is a significant difference for risk assessment. In addition, unless specifically mentioned, I do not separate radioactive decay into the three common particles, alpha, beta, and gamma radiation. Of special note is my use of the term “form” in describing uranium. Unlike the Hawaii Department of Health presentation (November 2007), I use form not to refer to the element uranium (and isotopes) but to describe its occurrence in a matrix – natural, alloy DU, or oxidized DU.

This is a commentary; it is not a formal, peer-reviewed technical report although it may in some instances give the appearance of a peer review for the program. I do not duplicate information that can be found elsewhere and except in unusual or compelling circumstances, I do not provide references. For detail not presented here, I am sure various contractors you have will be able to address and clarify the concepts more fully. However, I am also willing to further explain my commentary for those issues that might be seen as some in a gray area of meaning.

Sincerely,

Michael Reimer, Ph.D., geologist, retired
GeoMike5@att.net

Distribution: Sherry Davis, Corey Hardin, Hawaii County Council, Pete Hendricks, J. Morrow, Ph.D., L. Pang, M.D., LTC Richardson, S. Troute

Read Dr. Reimer’s full comments on the Army’s Pohakuloa Depleted Uranium study

Posted on

New Missile Defense Command

http://www.navytimes.com/news/2009/03/navy_bmd_command_030409/

Navy Times
March 5, 2009

CNO announces new missile defense command

By Andrew Scutro

Next month the Navy will establish a new command with missile defense in mind.

Adm. Gary Roughead, chief of naval operations, announced the coming formation of the Navy Air and Missile Defense Command during a speech before a business group Wednesday night in Northern Virginia.

“We’ll formally stand it up in April, but it will be the place where the Navy comes to bring together the thinking, the ideas, the concept, the intellectual effort for our air and ballistic missile initiatives, efforts and programs so that we can stay in the forefront of this important mission area,” Roughead told the group.

He said it will be based in Dahlgren, Va. – where the Navy has an existing facility – though further details about the new command were not readily available Wednesday night.

Tensions over ballistic missile launches have risen in recent weeks because of news that North Korea was preparing a test launch. The saber-rattling was taken seriously enough to prompt a comment from Adm. Timothy Keating, head of U.S. Pacific Command, who was quoted saying, “If a missile leaves the launch pad, we’ll be prepared to respond upon direction of the president.”

The Navy has had several successful ship-launched intercepts of test ballistic missiles. As of November, Navy shot 19 interceptor missiles at speeding targets and was successful in 16 attempts.

The Nov. 1 test was the first “fleet operational firing.” After two target missiles were fired from the Pacific Missile Range Facility on Kauai, Hawaii, an SM-3 fired from the destroyer Paul Hamilton directly hit the first. Another ship, the destroyer Hopper, failed to intercept the second target missile.

The Missile Defense Agency, which oversees the military’s BMD programs, has also been testing land-based interceptor systems.

The Navy’s Aegis BMD program is directed by Rear Adm. Brad Hicks.

By upgrading existing Aegis radar systems and training ship crews to intercept airborne ballistic missiles, the Navy has been bolstering the usefulness of its older Flight I/II Burke-class destroyers, as well as some of its Ticonderoga-class cruisers.

There are six BMD-capable ships homeported in Pearl Harbor: the cruiser Lake Erie and destroyers Russell, Paul Hamilton, O’Kane and Hopper. The BMD-capable cruiser Port Royal ran aground Feb. 5, suffering extensive damage that will cost millions to repair.

Five are based out of Yokosuka, Japan: the cruiser Shiloh and destroyers John S. McCain, Stethem, Fitzgerald and Curtis Wilbur. Homeported in San Diego are the destroyers Decatur, Milius, Benfold, Higgins and John Paul Jones. Destroyers Stout and Ramage are the two Norfolk-based BMD-capable warships.

Roughead spoke at a meeting of the Fredericksburg Regional Chamber of Commerce Military Affairs Council. Also scheduled to speak was Rep. Robert Wittman, R-Va., following the showing of a film on ballistic missile defense.

Posted on

Clarifying misperceptions about the Superferry

http://www.kauaiworld.com/articles/2009/01/26/opinion/kauai/doc497d331b4f8ac160221093.prt

Clarifying misperceptions about the Superferry

By Andrea Brower, George Inouye, Noelani Rogers and Ed Coll

Published: Monday, January 26, 2009 3:09 AM HST

Hawai‘i Superferry has been debated in Hawai‘i ever since the newly elected Gov. Lingle assigned her chief of staff, Bob Awana, to personally consult and expedite the HSF project back in 2002.

Since then, volumes of information have reached every Hawai‘i resident; factual and informative, partial and biased, sometimes not true at all. As a result, public opinion has formed up around ideology and personal interest, often without basis in fact. Here, then, are four common misperceptions about the Superferry.

The first misperception is that a study just released, mandated by the Oct. 29, 2007 Act II legislation, is a legitimate environmental impact statement. That report, being called an EIS, is lacking a critical component of a true Environmental Impact Statement, as defined in the National and Hawai‘i Environmental Policy Acts. Both include an option of “no action.”

That means if the study shows that environmental impacts are very serious and cannot be mitigated, then the project must be terminated. An EIS should be conducted before the start of a project in the same way that a driver should be licensed and the car have a safety check before being allowed on the road.

The misnamed “EIS” recently released by the contractor Belt Collins omits the “no action” alternative; it was custom-tailored by the legislature in special session to suit the needs of HSF. That means that any findings, no matter how disastrous to the environment, will not get in the way of the company’s operations.

The second misperception, fostered by the Lingle administration, is that there is no connection between HSF and the military. In its Public Utilities application in June 2004, HSF Inc. “anticipated that an entire battalion of 350 Stryker tanks will be able to be transported from O‘ahu to their training grounds on the Big Island in four trips…”

Soon after that, CEO John Lehman was quoted in Pacific Business News as saying the Superferry “will make it easier for soldiers to train when the Stryker Brigade comes to Hawai‘i.”

Misperception number three: Being against HSF is to be against alternative modes of transportation. This is a false division. Almost all “Superferry protesters” are in favor of an inter-island ferry service. How would these ferries be different? They would carry passengers only, with some cargo capacity.

That would substantially reduce the threat of invasive pest transfer and removal of already depleted ocean and mountain resources from the outer islands. No more searching of vehicles and personal property. Their speed would be like that of other inter-island vessels, the danger to whales being nearly eliminated. The ferries would be sized appropriately for our travel needs, would have a clean, cost-effective propulsion system and would be Hawai‘i-owned, either privately or publicly.

The fourth misperception is that those opposed to the Superferry don’t care about the economy. Hawaii’s economy starts and ends with our environment and our indigenous culture. It is worth noting that in a poll by National Geographic Travel Magazine to select favorite island vacation destinations, in which O‘ahu placed 104 out of 111 choices, poll respondents cited overdevelopment of the island and trivialization and commercialization of the Hawaiians’ culture.

Hawai‘i Superferry, publicizing itself as the H4, extends that develop-and-exploit mindset to the outer islands. Where did Kaua‘i place in that poll? 64th.

If viewed in the context of promoting a healthy local economy, those who think Superferry would be good for business should be careful what they wish for. Businesses on O‘ahu, from plumbers to surf instructors, would leap at the opportunity to expand to Kaua‘i. And with their higher sales volume allowing for lower profit margin, they would be very competitive indeed.

In a larger context, for many on the neighbor islands, a good portion of what they put on the table comes from the mountains and the sea. Unlike O‘ahu, we have considerable remaining natural resources.

When oil prices climb again, and traditional jobs and money become more scarce, these resources and our agricultural lands, our “natural” economy, will be needed to bridge us to a future where we must supply much more of our own needs, while maintaining and restoring the resources as well.

The real equation is: To oppose Superferry is to oppose the way the democratic process was completely discarded. Gov. Lingle bent over backward to give a New York corporation, the HSF, whatever it wanted, when it wanted.

That included calling the special session to craft a law, the constitutionality of which is now being questioned by the Hawai‘i Supreme Court.

Here we have neither a company nor an administration that have shown respect for our local communities.

Andrea Brower is a coordinator for Malama Kaua‘i. George Inouye is a Westside fisherman. Noelani Rogers is a Kanaka Maoli activist. Ed Coll is a teacher at Kaua‘i Community College

Posted on

Kako’o mai Kaua’i o Mano!

KAUAI SUPPORT

Hawaiian rights activists protest on Kaua‘i, O‘ahu

By Michael Levine – The Garden Island

Published: Sunday, January 18, 2009 3:10 AM HST

LIHU‘E – While an estimated 5,000 demonstrators protested the state of Hawai‘i’s stance on so-called ceded lands in Honolulu, roughly 15 assembled at the junction of Kapule Highway and Ahukini Road in Lihu‘e in a sign of solidarity yesterday.

Katy Rose, a member of Kaua‘i Alliance for Peace and Social Justice who helped organize the sympathy rally, said the 116th anniversary of the 1893 overthrow of the Hawaiian monarchy is a “very significant date to keep history in people’s consciousness and brings up the pressing question of (Gov. Linda) Lingle’s appeal to the (U.S.) Supreme Court.”

“Most of us that were out there today were not Hawaiian people, but it’s our responsibility as non-Hawaiians to show that we stand side-by-side with Hawaiians, that we stand for justice for Hawaiian people, and that we don’t want Lingle to successfully divide our communities from each other,” Rose said.

The Lingle administration is appealing a January 2008 Hawai‘i Supreme Court decision that overturned a prior Circuit Court ruling and in effect put a hold on the sale or transfer of ceded lands until the issue is resolved further.

More than 30 states have filed briefs on the state’s behalf in preparation for the hearing in front of the U.S. Supreme Court, scheduled for next month. State Attorney General Mark Bennett said last month he expects a ruling by the end of June.

Demonstrator Kip Goodwin said yesterday that the state’s stance that native Hawaiian people have no legal claim to the lands is “an insult added to a century of injury.”

Raymond Catania, another Kaua‘i demonstrator, described the lands as “seized” rather than “ceded” and said they “should be given back to the Hawaiian people to decide how to use them.”

The Hawaiians’ right to “self-determination” was a common refrain from the three Kaua‘i demonstrators during their phone interviews.

“Ultimately, the question of these Hawaiian lands and these questions of Hawaiian independence and sovereignty need to be determined by the Hawaiians themselves,” Rose said. “I can’t say one way or the other what I think would be best for the Hawaiian people, but I believe they have the right to self-determination.

“Right now, they are living as an occupied nation, and their right to self-determination has been taken away. That’s the nature of occupation,” she said.

According to an Associated Press report, the peaceful Honolulu rally, featuring dozens of Hawaiian sovereignty groups performing chants and hula, drew the attention of hundreds of tourists.

“I think it was successful,” Catania said of the Kaua‘i rally, “because we were in an area where there were a lot of people, and they are beginning to be aware of the issue.”

Proudly powered by WordPress