{"id":4433,"date":"2009-10-12T11:05:20","date_gmt":"2009-10-12T19:35:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.dmzhawaii.org\/?p=4433"},"modified":"2010-06-27T16:42:28","modified_gmt":"2010-06-28T01:12:28","slug":"munitions-clean-up-to-begin-at-makuu-farm-lots","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.dmzhawaii.org\/?p=4433","title":{"rendered":"Munitions clean up to begin at Maku’u Farm Lots"},"content":{"rendered":"

According to an article in the Honolulu Advertiser<\/a>, the Army Corps of Engineers is beginning the clean up of munitions from the Maku’u Farm Lots in Puna.\u00a0 The article states:<\/p>\n

The agricultural Puna subdivision, now leased by the state Department of Hawaiian Home Lands, was built over a 640-acre bombing range. During World War II, it was known as the Popoki Target Area.<\/p>\n

“The site was reportedly used by the Navy as a target practice area during World War II,” the corps said in response to an inquiry. “No records document this but ground reconnaissance revealed deteriorating air-to-ground practice bombs onsite.”<\/p>\n

The Navy acquired the land through a sublease. That lease was canceled Nov. 1, 1945, and the land was returned to the Territory of Hawai’i.<\/p>\n

http:\/\/www.honoluluadvertiser.com\/article\/20091012\/NEWS0101\/910120321\/Puna+site+due+for+ordnance+removal<\/a><\/p>\n

Posted on: Monday, October 12, 2009<\/p>\n

Puna site due for ordnance removal<\/h2>\n

By Peter Sur<\/p>\n

Hawaii Tribune-Herald<\/p>\n

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is moving ahead with plans to clear munitions from the Maku’u Farm Lots.<\/p>\n

The agricultural Puna subdivision, now leased by the state Department of Hawaiian Home Lands, was built over a 640-acre bombing range. During World War II, it was known as the Popoki Target Area.<\/p>\n

“The site was reportedly used by the Navy as a target practice area during World War II,” the corps said in response to an inquiry. “No records document this but ground reconnaissance revealed deteriorating air-to-ground practice bombs onsite.”<\/p>\n

The Navy acquired the land through a sublease. That lease was canceled Nov. 1, 1945, and the land was returned to the Territory of Hawai’i.<\/p>\n

In 1990, the corps conducted a preliminary investigation and found 12 practice bombs within the subdivision, one of which contained a spotting charge.<\/p>\n

A second site visit in 1991 found no evidence of ordnance because of the dense vegetation, but it was given a high priority for further action.<\/p>\n

The corps in mid-2005 then conducted a much more thorough survey of the 640 acres, and identified two areas of concern: a 93-acre bombing target area and a 15-acre troop maneuver area.<\/p>\n

In the bombing target area, the investigation collected 271 pounds of munitions debris. A search of the maneuver area found a hand grenade with its fuse missing and a trash pit containing shell casings of various sizes, up to .50-caliber.<\/p>\n

Another follow-up search in July 2008 that focused on the two areas found no explosives or hazardous metal compounds.<\/p>\n

“Archival records show no evidence for the potential of chemical warfare material or byproducts,” the corps said.<\/p>\n

The corps decided in August 2008 on what it called “the most ambitious” of the alternatives considered: the removal and disposal of all munitions-related items from the surface and down 2 feet. The 93-acre bombing target area and the 15-acre maneuver area will both be cleared of vegetation as necessary to allow the use of munitions detectors. Personnel will sweep the ground in lanes 5 feet wide.<\/p>\n

Also, the corps will begin a public education campaign, which will include periodic public safety awareness meetings and the distribution of educational media to landowners and local businesses.<\/p>\n

“In the public safety materials, the corps will stress that munitions encountered by the public should never be touched or handled by teaching the ‘Three R Rule,’ ” an official said.<\/p>\n

That is, recognize you may have seen ammunition, retreat and report it to authorities.<\/p>\n

The corps issued a $1.56 million contract to Environet Inc. on Sept. 22 to remove the munitions and potential explosives.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

According to an article in the Honolulu Advertiser, the Army Corps of Engineers is beginning the clean up of munitions from the Maku’u Farm Lots in Puna.\u00a0 The article states: The agricultural Puna subdivision, now leased by the state Department of Hawaiian Home Lands, was built over a 640-acre bombing range. During World War II, … <\/p>\n

Continue reading “Munitions clean up to begin at Maku’u Farm Lots”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[2408],"class_list":["post-4433","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-hawaii","tag-uxo"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dmzhawaii.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4433"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dmzhawaii.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dmzhawaii.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dmzhawaii.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dmzhawaii.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4433"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.dmzhawaii.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4433\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4435,"href":"https:\/\/www.dmzhawaii.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4433\/revisions\/4435"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dmzhawaii.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4433"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dmzhawaii.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4433"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dmzhawaii.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4433"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}