Category: Hawai’i

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RIMPAC Protest and Invasive ‘Lily-Pads’

Today Malu Aina organized a demonstration at Pohakuloa against the RIMPAC military exercises. Jim Albertini reports:

Our group of about thirty set up along Saddle Rd. opposite the main gate and represented all parts of the island.  We had people from Hilo, Kona, Waimea and and even Na’alehu, that included old time Kaho’olawe “Stop the Bombing” activists, and some young Hawaiian activists picking up the torch of “Aloha ‘Aina.”  We even had members of the Ka Pele family who some years back led a peace gathering to pule and build an ahu at Pu’u Ka Pele on Pohakuloa in opposition to the bombing.  Access to that ahu and pu’u has since been blocked by concrete barricades and chain linked barbed wire fence.

The ‘Red Flag” was up along Saddle Rd. as we approached the base indicating live fire.  Pohakuloa and the sacred ‘aina is coming under intense bombing this month as part of the world’s largest military exercise –RIMPAC (Rim of the Pacific) taking place on land and sea around Hawaii.  The every two year RIMPAC is growing larger.  This year’s assault involves 22 nations, 42 surface ships, six submarines, more than 200 aircraft and 25,000 personnel.

David Vine wrote “The Lily-Pad Strategy”, an important analysis of the changing military base strategy of the U.S. around the world:

Disappearing are the days when Ramstein was the signature U.S. base, an American-town-sized behemoth filled with thousands or tens of thousands of Americans, PXs, Pizza Huts, and other amenities of home. But don’t for a second think that the Pentagon is packing up, downsizing its global mission, and heading home. In fact, based on developments in recent years, the opposite may be true. While the collection of Cold War-era giant bases around the world is shrinking, the global infrastructure of bases overseas has exploded in size and scope.

Unknown to most Americans, Washington’s garrisoning of the planet is on the rise, thanks to a new generation of bases the military calls “lily pads” (as in a frog jumping across a pond toward its prey). These are small, secretive, inaccessible facilities with limited numbers of troops, spartan amenities, and prepositioned weaponry and supplies.

And as Vine reminds us:

Like real lily pads — which are actually aquatic weeds — bases have a way of growing and reproducing uncontrollably.

READ THE FULL ARTICLE

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Depleted Uranium at Schofield and Pohakuloa – Army chafes at NRC regulations

In 2005, DMZ-Hawaiʻi / Aloha ʻAina first exposed the fact that, despite Army assurances that depleted uranium was not used in Hawaiʻi, in fact, depleted uranium (DU) had been found at Schofield Barracks on Oʻahu. Since then, the Army has tried to dismiss the problem. In order to not run afoul of nuclear regulatory laws, the Army applied for a Nuclear Regulatory Commission license to “possess” DU at several ranges, including Schofield and Pohakuloa in Hawaiʻi.   Several activists petitioned to intervene in the proceedings, but were denied standing. However, the regulatory conference calls are open to the public.  It seems that the Army has been trying to skirt the NRC regulations.  After receiving the license to “possess” DU in Schofield, the Army decided to start doing grubbing and construction in a contaminated area.  The NRC told the Army to stop because their permit did not allow for such a “removal” action.   There was recently a conference call on this matter. Thanks to Cory Harden from Sierra Club Moku Loa chapter who shared her unofficial notes from that call, which, by the way, are quite revealing of the Army’s dismissive attitude to the health risks as well as their disrespect to the NRC regulators.

HIGHLIGHTS FROM 7-12-12 TELEPHONE CONFERENCE

ON HAWAIʻI DEPLETED URANIUM (DU)

BETWEEN NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION (NRC) AND ARMY

Caveat—there may be inaccuracies—this is my best understanding of a technical discussion—Cory

Testy exchanges punctuated the conversation.

  • The Army said onerous NRC restrictions put soldiers at “unnecessary and unacceptable risk” by impacting training and NRC has “virtual control of Army training ranges…” NRC countered by asking what specific conditions in the license will impact training and how NRC’s “statuatory mandate [is] harmful to the nation.”
  • The Army said the DU response nationwide has cost $10 million so far, and ongoing costs will be $100,000 a year per Hawai’i base (Pohakuloa and Schofield). There are 15 other known DU sites in the U.S. NRC asked what percentage of the Army’s operational budget $100,000 was. The Army said they’d get back to NRC in writing.
  • NRC told the Army sharply not to “throw reports” at NRC “willy-nilly” but to tie them to relevant conclusions. NRC called for more data to back up several Army conclusions, such as little migration of DU, and no need for sampling of sediments and of ground and surface water. The Army said NRC requirements keep becoming more burdensome. NRC asked if the Army was contesting one of the license conditions. Army staff said they were not authorized to answer.

Issues covered included:

  • For now, no high-explosive munitions will be fired into DU areas. To resume firing, the Army would need to do a risk assessment (requiring another telephone conference) plus environmental monitoring.
  • NRC said there was uranium in some water samples, but the Army did not mention this to NRC. The Army said they will release a study on this soon.
  • Isaac Harp asked that air monitoring be done at Makua, where no ground surveys were done because of unexploded ordnance and thick vegetation. The Army said they have data on Makua which they will share with NRC.
  • NRC will look into whether the 2,000-pound dummy bombs dropped on Pohakuloa from high altitudes may liberate DU dust.
  • Dr. Cherry of the Army said they will do their best to check for DU in exploratory water wells planned for Pohakuloa.
  • The Army agreed it was inappropriate when a DU air sampling study at Schofield included ash and soil in one sample.
  • The Army wishes to delay issuance of the license until the end of August so it can address issues raised by NRC.
  • It is possible to challenge the license after it is issued, but the license would not be changed unless the challenge succeeded.
  • NRC is looking into ways to make information on the license and ongoing reports more easily available to the public.

Dr. Cherry of the Army said:

  • the Atomic Energy Commission (precursor to NRC) and NRC had numerous opportunities, such as license renewals, over the course of 50 years, to offer guidance to the Army on controls for DU spotting rounds, but never offered any guidance.
  • A May 10, 2011 document (I didn’t catch the author) said the spotting rounds were not believed to pose a health hazard and they could be left on the ranges. So the Army may have had no obligation to inform NRC of the 2005 discovery, but did so anyway.
  • All studies indicate no health hazards, low probability of migration, and harmless radiation levels.

Cory Harden

PO Box 10265

Hilo, Occupied Hawai’i 96721

mh@interpac.net

 

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Fire in Kahuku Training Area, burning shorts and RIMPAC aircraft assault Pohakuloa

KHON reported that there was a brush fire in the Kahuku Training Area this afternoon:

The Honolulu Fire Department reported that the Kahuku Training Area fire is contained. All firefighting operations were concluded by 5:45 p.m. Army Range Control personnel will monitor the fire area overnight.

The Honolulu Fire Department reports that the Kahuku Training Area fire is 90 percent contained. The fire started shortly before 2:30 p.m. and burned approximately 3.5 acres in the Army training area. The HFD worked with the Federal Fire Department and Army Fire and reported the fire 90 percent contained as of 5 p.m.

The Honolulu Fire Department is working with the Federal Fire Department and Army Fire to contain a small wildfire in the Army’s Kahuku Training Area, approximately 1-2 miles above Kamehameha Highway. There are no reports of property damaged or threatened by this fire and no reports of injuries.

The Army is not allowed to do live fire training in Kahuku.  So I wonder what the source of the fire was.  The recent fire in Lualualei that burned more than 1200 acres began inside the Navy base.  Sometimes, old phosphorous illumination rounds left behind from past training activity have been known to spontaneously ignite when exposed to air.   This is a continuing problem in Lihu’e, where the Schofield Training Range is located.

Recently in San Onofre, CA, a woman suffered burns when her shorts burst into flames.  The fire was caused by strange “rocks” picked up at the beach:

Lyn Hiner, a 43-year-old California mom, is in the hospital recovering from second- and third-degree burns after some colored rocks her family found on the beach exploded in her shorts pocket and caught fire, ABC News reports.

Hiner’s daughters found the green and orange rocks during an outing to San Onofre State Beach in southern California and gave the rocks to their mother.

When Hiner and her husband, Rob, were preparing to go out that night, the rocks erupted in her pocket, she told ABC News.

[. . .]

“There were actual flames coming off her cargo shorts,” Orange County Fire Authority Capt. Marc Stone told ABC News.

Scientists investigating the incident say the seven rocks that Hiner’s daughters brought back contained traces of phosphorus, the chemical found on the tips of matches, ABC News reports.

In 2007, a series of news stories reported that pieces of ocean-dumped munitions were washing ashore in Wai’anae and that homeless residents were stringing these into “Hawaiian Jade” to give to tourists.   Could it be that incidents like this are the origin of the urban legend that bad things happen to visitors who take rocks from Hawai’i?

Meanwhile, Hawai’i island will assaulted by increased aircraft traffic and noise as RIMPAC training takes place at Pohakuloa:

The amphibious assault ship USS Essex (LHD 2) transits through the Pacific Ocean. Essex is deployed for Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) exercise 2012, the world'€™s largest multinational maritime exercise, which includes 22 nations, 42 ships, six submarines, more than 200 aircraft and 25,000 personnel. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Raul Moreno Jr.)The amphibious assault ship USS Essex (LHD 2) transits through the Pacific Ocean. Essex is deployed for Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) exercise 2012, the world’€™s largest multinational maritime exercise, which includes 22 nations, 42 ships, six submarines, more than 200 aircraft and 25,000 personnel. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Raul Moreno Jr.)

MEDIA RELEASE

An F/A-18F Super Hornet assigned to the "Bounty Hunters" of Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 2 breaks to enter the landing pattern over the flight deck of Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72). U.S. Navy photo by MC2 James R. EvansAn F/A-18F Super Hornet assigned to the “Bounty Hunters” of Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 2 breaks to enter the landing pattern over the flight deck of Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) last year. U.S. Navy photo by MC2 James R. Evans

PŌHAKULOA TRAINING AREA, Hawaii— Big Island residents will hear increased aircraft noise over Pōhakuloa Training Area due to the beginning of the Navy’s biennial Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) exercise, the world’s largest international maritime exercise.

U.S. Navy and Air Force aircraft, as well as aircraft from some of the other 21 participating nations, will begin arriving at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam this week.

Navy fighter aircraft began training over PTA on June 24 and will continue until July 1. They will also train from July 7-9. RIMPAC is scheduled to begin officially on June 29 and conclude Aug. 3.

All noise abatement complaints can be directed to the RIMPAC Command Information Bureau at (808) 472-0239. For more information about RIMPAC, visit the exercise website at www.cpf.navy.mil/rimpac

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Two news stories on recent Makua court ruling

Here are two articles citing the recent court ruling that enjoins the Army from conducting live fire training in Makua until it has completed marine environmental impact studies as required by a 2001 settlement with Malama Makua.   The Honolulu Star Advertiser reported “Army must conduct more studies on live-fire training at Makua” (June 21, 2012).

The AP reported “Judge wants updated Makua Valley studies” (June 22, 2012):

No branch of the military has trained in Makua with live ammunition since 2004, after the Army failed to complete a court-ordered environmental study on the effects of decades of military training. The Army and its opponents have been embroiled in a decade-long legal dispute over how the military may use the valley.

Many Native Hawaiians consider the valley sacred. Others object because the environment includes more than 50 endangered plant and animals. Lawsuits came after the training exercises led to multiple fires in the 4,190-acre Waianae Coast valley.

But this court ruling will not bar all Army training in Makua, and the slow easing out of Makua may be deliberate misdirection from the enormous military (Army and Marine Corps) at Pohakuloa on Hawai’i island:

Army officials say the military branch will abide by the order and use the military reservations in different ways, and decide whether to resume live-fire training once the studies are complete.

“The Army will continue to prepare soldiers through a training regimen that does not employ live fire while studies are completed, the results are analyzed and the appropriate level of National Environmental Policy Act planning is completed,” the Army said in a statement.

Last year, the top Army commander in the Pacific told The Associated Press he would need to keep his options open on Makua in case the construction of new ranges at Schofield Barracks and Pohakuloa Training Area is delayed.

In other words, the Army is holding Makua hostage while it expands on Hawai’i island.

 

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Osprey crashes, Japanese city rejects Osprey, and Marines want to bring Osprey to Hawai’i?

The Honolulu Star Advertiser reported that”Marines’ copter plan raises fear of noise” (June 12, 2012):

The public has nearly a month to weigh in on Marine Corps plans to station MV-22 tiltrotor Osprey and H-1 Cobra and Huey attack-utility helicopter squadrons at Marine Corps Base Hawaii, but any community opposition likely will boil down to a single topic, according to the secretary of the Kaneohe Neighborhood Board.

“In one word,” said Bill Sager, “it’s the noise.”

[. . .]

“Several people have expressed concerns to me,” he said.

While the Marines opened a 30-day comment period on their proposals last week, “People will have no way of evaluating the noise impact of an Osprey until they actually hear it,” Sager said.

It seems a  major concern for us in Hawai’i ought to be safety.   Today, an CV-22 Osprey crashed in Florida, injuring five: 

An Air Force CV-22 Osprey crashed Wednesday during a routine training mission north of Navarre, Florida, injuring five crew members aboard, a military official said.

In April two U.S. troops died in an Osprey crash in Morocco.   Last March, a Marine pilot died and radioactive strontium 90 was released into Kane’ohe Bay when helicopter crashed on Ahu o Laka sandbar in the bay.

Okinawans have been strongly opposing the stationing of Osprey aircraft.  The city of Iwakuni on the main island of Honshu was proposed as a temporary base for the Osprey until facilities were available in Okinawa.  However, Japan Today reports that “Iwakuni balks at U.S. deployment of Osprey aircraft” (June 13, 2012):

Safety concerns after a recent crash have put plans to briefly deploy the U.S. Osprey aircraft to a city in Yamaguchi Prefecture on hold, officials said Tuesday.

Opposition to the plan to temporarily base the helicopter-like planes in the city of Iwakuni has been rising since the fatal crash in April left two Marines dead in Morocco.

Japan’s defense minister said Tuesday he may go to the city of Iwakuni to persuade local officials to accept the temporary deployment. But after meeting with ministry officials on Monday Iwakuni’s mayor said he needs more assurances that the aircraft is safe.

The Marine Corps released a Final Environmental Impact Statement on its proposals on the basing and statewide training of Osprey tiltrotor and Cobra and Huey attack-utility helicopter squadrons.   The 30-day comment period began Friday June 8.  The proposal is to expand the Marine Corps in Hawai’i :

  • 24 MV-22 Osprey aircraft
  • 18 AH-1Z Viper Super Cobra helicopters
  • 9 UH-1Y Huey helicopters
  • 1,000 Military personnel
  • 1,106 Family members

The Marine Corps helicopter Environmental Impact Statement can be viewed at:

  • Written comments on the EIS must be postmarked or received online by July 11 to become part of the official rec ord.
  • Comments can be made online by selecting the “contact” tab at www.mcbh.usmc.mil/mv22h1eis/ index.html or by mail to: Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Pacific 258 Makalapa Drive, Suite 100 Pearl Harbor, HI 96860-3134 Attn: EV21, MV-22/H-1 EIS Project Manager

 

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EPA: Pohakuloa Training Area among the top 10 polluters in Hawai’i

The Hawaii Tribune Herald reported that the Pohakuloa Training Area made the EPA’s top 10 polluters list for Hawai’i in 2010:

A Hilo power plant and the Army’s Pohakuloa Training Area made the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s newly released list of the state’s top 10 industrial polluters for 2010.

[…]

The Army’s training area and range facility on Saddle Road ranked ninth among reported polluters in the state, with 96,397 pounds of chemicals reported. PTA was not on the top 10 list for 2009. According to data on the EPA’s website, all of the waste is metals or metal compounds, with 39,725 pounds classified as PBTs, or persistent, bioaccumulative and toxic chemicals. Both categories include lead.

A call early Thursday afternoon to Army Garrison Hawaii’s public affairs office was not returned in time for this story.

Six of the top 10 industrial polluters were in Honolulu County, all located in Leeward Oahu. The perennial top polluter, Hawaiian Electric Co.’s Kahe Point generating station near Kapolei is again atop the list with 550,651 pounds of pollutants, and joint Navy and Air Force Facility Pearl Harbor-Hickam is second, with 420,761 pounds. Two other Leeward Oahu power plants, the Waiau generating station in Pearl City and the AES facility in Kapolei, ranked fourth and seventh, respectively.

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Send in the Choppers?

Here’s a report from recent hearings for proposed Marine Corps helicopter expansion plans that were held on Hawai’i island:

http://bigislandweekly.com/news/send-in-the-choppers.html

Send in the Choppers?

Tuesday, December 6th, 2011

Marines unveil EIS for more helicopters here.

By Alan D. McNarie

The Marines were back in town last week, holding meetings in Waimea and Hilo to get public input on a plan to base three more squadrons of attack aircraft in the islands and train them at areas including Hawai’i Island’s Pohakuloa Training Area. As usual, they got an earful from Native Hawaiians, peace activists and concerned citizens. But they also got support from a few parents of past and former military personnel, who wanted the Corps to provide its personnel with the best training possible.

The plan would bring up to two Marine Medium Tiltrotor (VMM) squadrons and one Marine Light Attack Helicopter (HMLA) squadron to the islands, where they would be based on O’ahu and train there and on other islands. The VMM squadrons would bring with them a total 24 MV-22 Osprey tiltrotor aircraft, which take off and land vertically like helicopters and fly like airplanes; a relatively recent and controversial addition to the Marine Corps Arsenal, they replace large troop-transport helicopters and have superior range and speed, but bring with them a troubled reputation for crashes, malfunctions, delays and cost overruns during their development. But when one resident brought up a troubling report about the aircraft’s performance, a Marine spokesman said those problems had largely been solved by improved parts and supply.

“Every mission that we’ve been asked to do with the V22, we have been able to do.”

The HMLA squadron is armed with 15 AH-1 Cobra attack helicopters and 12 UH-1 Huey utility choppers. Hueys and Cobras have been flying with the Marines since Vietnam, but the airframes have gone through a series of updates, and the Marines are planning to replace neither with a radically different vehicle in the near future. A helicopter pilot who accompanied the Marine Team at Hilo told Big Island Weekly that while the new AH-1Z version of the Cobra has better range, performance and electronics than the current choppers, its logistics and personnel needs would be about the same.

Coming along with the aircraft would be approximately 1,000 active-duty military personnel, 22 civilian personnel (contractors and government employees), and 1,106 civilian dependents, mostly stationed on O’ahu.

On the Big Island, most of the impacts of the new squadrons would be felt, literally, at Pohakuloa. The squadrons will be using the firing range and various landing sites there, and “New construction or improvements to existing landing zones and other facilities” are expected to occur. Marine officials assured BIW that the landing sites they had identified for use in training were within PTA itself. One map on exhibit at the meetings showed possible landing zones marked in red within the training area, but also showed five landing zones, including Mauna Kea State Park, marked in black outside the PTA boundaries. Marine officials told BIW that those sites were on the map for “reference” only.

[…]

Residents expressed concerns that powdered DU, which has been linked to cancer and other ailments, could be kicked up by continued use of the Pohakuloa firing range and drift to residential areas and Waikoloa Elementary School.

“Less than one percent of the base has been surveyed, so how do you know that you’re not going to be impacting DU?” pointed out Albertini. “To say that this is outside the scope of this EIS is bogus, because you don’t know where the DU is.”

One resident wondered if DU and other heavy metals from the firing range could also get into the local groundwater supply, and noted that that the possible effects of Pohakuloa activities on groundwater were not addressed in the EIS.

In response, a Marine official admitted that “”there has never been an investigation,” of the aquifer under Pohakuloa, though the Army has gotten funding to sink two test wells.

“Nobody knows where that water is,” he said. “We will, know, probably, by 2012.”

The EIS itself raised some concerns about impacts on historic and cultural sites, though most of the ones identified were on O’ahu. The document identified no pre-contact cultural sites on the Big Island and only two historic ones: the fence wall from ranching days and “the old Kona to Waimea Government Road.” PTA has an ongoing program to protect known cultural sites. But Native Hawaiians have long complained that most of the PTA firing range has never been surveyed. At the Hilo meeting, one resident cited the lament of a Native Hawaiian who complained that he’d repeatedly been denied permission to collect “the bones of his ancestors,” which were lying exposed on the range and had been broken into smaller and smaller pieces over the years.

READ THE FULL ARTICLE

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Japanese military official fired for comparing base construction to ‘rape’ as Yanbaru forest comes under new attack

Ten Thousand Things blog just published an excellent update on the firing of a Japan Defense Ministry representative who compared the U.S. military construction in Okinawa to “rape.”  There is good background information links on the page for the tense situation in Takae, a forest area in northern Okinawa threatened with expansion of helicopter landing facilities.   Here’s an excerpt:

The head of the Okinawan branch of Japan’s Defense Ministry compared DC-Tokyo forced US military construction in Okinawa to “rape.” For his transparent comment about US-Tokyo strategy, Satoshi Tanaka was fired yesterday.

Japanese Defense Minister Ichikawa apologized to Okinawans for Tanaka’s remark.

In mid-November Tanaka moved ahead, despite local oppostion, with US military construction in biodiverse Yanbaru Forest, a subtropical rainforest in northern Okinawa. The U.S. Marines want to destroy one of Yanburu’s most well-preserved areas, a habitat for unique, indigenous species, to make way for military Osprey aircraft heliports.

The U.S. Marines, the manufacturer, and congressional representatives from the district in Texas in which the factory is located, have lobbied for years against the axing of the expensive, accident-prone military Osprey aircraft from the U.S. defense budget. This Iron Triangle even beat out former Vice President Dick Cheney who argued against the program. Despite extreme costs, accident risks, and no strategic value for the aircraft, US Marines have pushed to build heliports for the Osprey aircraft in Okinawa since they need someplace to put them, according to some U.S. foreign affairs analysts.

As a result, residents of Takae, an eco-village in Yanbaru Forest, have been in a cold war with the U.S. Marines for years. Residents report assaults by U.S. military helicopters against civilian protesters. Some fly low to the ground,terrorizing villagers destroying their property, and damaging forest trees. One villager reported that a U.S. soldier demanded food, at riflepoint, while laughing at her. These are just a few reports that reflect the tip of an iceberg of accounts of U.S. military injuries and intentional infliction of emotional distress upon local people.

GO TO THE WEBSITE

Meanwhile, Hawai’i (Mokapu and Pohakuloa) is threatened by a proposed increase in helicopter and Osprey training activities.  The Marine Corps is holding hearings on the Draft Environmental Impact Statement.   The schedule of hearings is here.

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Hawai’i island residents blast Army expansion at Pohakuloa

The Hawaii Tribune Herald reports that more than fifty people turned out to testify against the Army’s proposed expansion of training facilities at Pohakuloa.

“We don’t want any further militarization of our island,” Bunny Smith said.

According the Hawaii Tribune Herald,

The next step is to come up with the (cost) numbers to construct,” Egami said of the modernization of training infrastructure and the construction and operation of a battle area within the 132,000-acre military facility.

Meeting the 25th Infantry Division’s training requirements will necessitate constructing a 200-acre Infantry Platoon Battle Area, according to the DEIS. Included will be a simulated battle course consisting of a live-fire shoothouse and a building like those found in urban warfare.

Also, the Army wants to construct various buildings for munitions storage, vehicle maintenance and administrative use. Those and related facilities would be built outside the 200-acre battle area.

Testimony was colorful and passionate:

Hawaii needs “houses of justice and peace” rather than military shoothouses, said peace activist Jim Albertini of the Malu ‘Aina Center for Nonviolent Education and Action.

“We want the U.S. to stop bombing Hawaii,” he said.

In directly addressing Army Col. Douglas Mulbury, commander of the Army Garrison Hawaii, Moanikeala Akaka said the military will have to pay tens of millions of dollars to remove World War II-era bombs like one found recently at Hapuna Beach State Park.

“You know, it’s hard to have respect for your institution when you ignore and so callously treat our homeland,” she said.

“We say no expansion; do it somewhere else,” Akaka shouted, generating applause from the audience.

Claiming the military is in Hawaii illegally, Cory Harden of the Sierra Club questioned whether the firing will dislodge depleted uranium found at PTA, triggering fires like those that have occurred at the Army’s Makua site on Oahu, or pose other public health risks.

“You’ve got to wonder what hazards are lurking out there. Apparently, nobody knows,” she said.

 

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Military expansion in Pohakuloa hearings on Hawaiʻi Island

Mahalo to Jim Albertini of Malu ʻAina:

Two Important Meetings Coming Up!

Published by jalbertini on November 2nd, 2011 in Hawaii Independence, Military, Public Events, Radiation, Social Justice, Take Action!.

FYI  Important meetings coming up:
#1.  DLNR & Senate people
#2.  EIS Pohakuloa expansion .  See below for details

Opportunity to talk about need for comprehensive testing and monitoring at Pohakuloa for DU radiation contamination, Mauna Kea, etc
Hilo, Waimea and Kona meetings (see below)

SENATE COMMITTEE ON WATER, LAND AND HOUSING HOSTING
DLNR LISTENING SESSIONS ON HAWAI‘I ISLAND

HILO—The Senate Committee on Water, Land and Housing (WLH) Chair Senator Donovan M. Dela Cruz and Vice Chair Senator Malama Solomon in partnership with Senator Gilbert Kahele are hosting the Department of Land and Natural Resources’ (DLNR) Hawai‘i Island Listening Sessions on Friday, November 4 and Saturday, November 5, 2011. The DLNR Administration team, including Chairperson William J. Aila, Jr., First Deputy Guy H. Kaulukukui, and Water Deputy Bill M. Tam from Honolulu, is visiting Hawai‘i Island to hear community comments, questions, and concerns regarding topics under the Department’s jurisdiction.  This is part of a series of DLNR Listening Sessions to be conducted statewide.

“The meetings and site visits that DLNR has been conducting on the neighbor islands have been very successful in helping Senators address community concerns and needs,” said Senator Donovan M. Dela Cruz, who has been attending the talk story sessions.

“Having Chair William Aila and his team visit the Big Island is a great opportunity for them to listen to residents and to see for themselves the pressing needs of our community,” said Senator Malama Solomon, who represents District 1, which encompasses Waimea, Hāmākua, North Hilo, Keaukaha, and Hilo.

“I look forward to continuing the conversation with Chair William Aila and his DLNR team about finding a solution to the problem the axis deer is posing on the Big Island’s agricultural industry,” said Senator Gilbert Kahele, who represents District 2, encompassing Ka‘ū, Puna and Hilo.

“These listening sessions are purely for the Department to visit with communities and receive feedback on the communities’ ideas and concerns relating to the Department’s responsibilities,” said William J. Aila, Jr., Chairperson of DLNR. “Community participation is essential to caring for our land and natural resources in Hawai‘i.”

The DLNR is responsible for managing 1.3 million acres of state land, 3 million acres of state ocean waters, 2 million acres of conservation district lands, our drinking water supply, our fisheries, coral reefs, indigenous and endangered flora and fauna, and all of Hawai‘i’s historic and cultural sites.  DLNR’s management responsibilities are vast and complex, from the mountaintops to three miles seaward of our beautiful coasts.  The health of Hawai‘i’s environment is integral and directly related to its economy and quality of life.

For more information on DLNR and its divisions, visit www.hawaii.gov/dlnr.

If you are unable to attend but would like to send your comments, questions, and concerns to the DLNR, please e-mail:  DLNR2011ListeningSessions@hawaii.gov

Hawai’i Island Public Listening Sessions

Hilo Listening Session
Hosted by Senators Donovan M. Dela Cruz, Malama Solomon and Gilbert Kahele
Friday, November 4, 2011
5 p.m. – 7 p.m.
Waiakea High School Cafeteria
155 West Kawili Street, Hilo, Hawai‘i 96720

Waimea Listening Session
Hosted by Senator Malama Solomon
Saturday, November 5, 2011
10:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.
Waimea Middle Public Conversion Charter School
67-1229 Mamalahoa Highway, Kamuela, Hawai‘i 96743

Kona Listening Session
Hosted by DLNR
Saturday, November 5, 2011
3:30 p.m. – 5:30 p.m.
Konawaena High School Cafeteria
81-1043 Konawaena School Road, Kealakekua, Hawai‘i 96750

Individuals requiring special assistance or accommodations are asked to contact the office of Senator Malama Solomon at (808) 586-7335 or 974-4000 Ext. 67335 toll free from the Neighbor Islands at least four days in advance of the meeting.
###

Army EIS hearings on Pohakuloa Expansion
6:30-9:30PM

Tuesday, Nov. 8th Aunty Sally’s Luau Hale in Hilo 799 Piilani St.
Wednesday, Nov. 9th Waimea Elementary School  cafeteria -67-1225 Mamalahoa Highway

If can’t attend. send testimony by Nov. 30 to PTAEIS@bah.com or by fax to (808) 545-6808, or mail to PTA PEIS PO Box 514, Honolulu, HI 96809
–

Jim Albertini

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