Hawi's Kauhola Lighthouse to be Demolished

Tuesday October 26, 2009 after years of consultation with State of Hawaii historic preservation officials, the U.S. Coast Guard issued a press release informing the public of its decision to demolish the Kauhola Lighthouse. See Press Release.

The Kauhola Lighthouse, which is no longer operational, sits on a 3.5-acre federal government property north of Hawi in the Kohala area of the Big Island and is in danger of falling down a steep cliff face if no action is taken.

In 1933, the lighthouse was approximately 85 feet away from the edge of the cliff; today it is a mere 20 feet. Between 2003 and 2007, the cliff retreated approximately 15 feet, partly exacerbated by an October 2006 earthquake, when an additional six feet sheered off of the cliff face.

A petition circulated in Kohala asked that the lighthouse be moved 200 feet inland. But the Coast Guard said the move would be too costly and that the ground is not stable enough to conduct that type of work. Estimated costs to relocate the lighthouse were not disclosed. See Star Bulletin article.

The Coast Guard has an official agreement with the State Historical Preservation Office to maintain Kauhola Point's sister lighthouses at Barber's Point and Nawiliwili Harbor to preserve the historical examples of lighthouse construction of that era.

Said Steven Tanaka, who made periodic checks of the lighthouse for the past 15 years, "It's going to be sad to see it go down." Star Bulletin article.

Photo courtesy of U.S. Coast Guard, 14th District

Proposed Sale of Hamakua Land Remains Unresolved

On October 22nd the Hawaii County Council Finance Committee voted 4-4 to hold a full hearing on Bill 132 which has been dubbed the “Transparency bill” sponsored by Hamakua Councilman Dominic Yagong. See West Hawaii Today. Scheduling the bill for full hearing spared the bill from defeat as a 4-4 vote would have resulted in defeat, while only 3 votes were needed to set the matter for hearing.

Bill 132 was sponsored in response to the Mayor’s proposal to sell Former Hamakua Sugar lands acquired by the County for back taxes owed which have sat unused for 15 years. The Mayor proposes to sell portion of the Hamakua lands in an effort to address the economic crisis the County is facing in the form of an approximately $8.2M deficit. See Hawaii County News Office of the Mayor. The Hawaii County Council agreed with this proposal in June voting 8-1 for a budget that included revenue from a Hamakua land sale.

Bill 132 would require the mayor to bring any potential county land sale greater than 10 acres or $500,000 back to the council, so council members and the public can learn who is buying it and what their intentions are for the land. See West Hawaii Today. Bill 132 has found strong, grassroots support, mostly amongst those who do not wish to see the Hamakua lands sold, as well as those who push for greater transparency in government, however it has resulted in a division in the Council and resulting in turbulence for the Mayor’s Office has he seeks to address the County’s economic problems without huge tax hikes and minimal impacts on public services and County jobs. http://www.bigislandvideonews.com/2009/10october/20091015malamahonua.htm


The Mayor argues “[t]his is bad and unnecessary legislation because the buyer, price and potential land uses in any public land sale are already public record by law,” Mayor Kenoi said. “The council already authorizes county land sales by resolution before the land is put on the market. The council is well aware of all possible uses of the lands under existing zoning, and the council has complete control over any rezoning that might be proposed in the future. This ensures the Hamakua lands will remain zoned for agriculture and will be used for agricultural activities in the future. The public has had ample opportunity to provide testimony through the budget hearing process. Appropriate safeguards are already in place to protect the public interest.” See Hawaii County News Office of the Mayor. “The proposed ordinance is an unnecessary and bureaucratic add-on to an open and transparent process. It will jeopardize the county budget and finances,” Mayor Kenoi said. “This administration’s commitment is to reduce the size and barriers in government, not to erect them as Bill 132 does.” See Hawaii County News Office of the Mayor.

One thing is clear all sides are passionate and appear to have admirable goals – a budget that can fund essential public services and preservation of agricultural land, a form of land use near and dear to the Big Island. As the community discussions of the issues continue creative proposals are being suggested. For instance one community blogger has suggested “a covenant to be put in any deed that the land shall remain in agriculture for some 20 plus years and prohibit the use of GMO on the land.”

International Day of Climate Action - Hilo's Blue Line

October 24th is the International Day of Climate Action

Folks in Hilo are organizing a community event Hilo's Blue Line

24 October 2009 - 11:00am - 1:00pm

Draw the Blue Line of expected sea-level rise in Downtown Hilo! Here's how you can help:

- Help make signs on Monday the 19th (at Kahuina Gallery in Hilo) from 9:30 - 11:30 (or till pau)Kahuina Gallery is at 128 Kilauea Ave. in Hilo (Ph: 935-4420)

- Join the pre-event informational on Wednesday the 21st at 10 AM (45 min. long) at the Hawaii Community College (Manono street campus), Hale Aloha Building's Conference Room (1st floor), adjacent to the cafeteria

- Kokua in drawing the BLUE LINE at 11 am, check-in at 10:30 at Bayfront Beach Park (near Suisan) see map below

*Please wear BLUE on the 24th! All creativity welcome!

PRIZES for the most creative line and for the first 10 groups to arrive on the 24th. Bring your club, community organization, class and your family - contact Erika by using the event organizer link below.

Download the action announcement, poster & map on this page for more information.

*Mahalo to the Sierra Club, 350.org, Kokua Foundation, Hawaii Interfaith Power and Light, Blue Planet Foundation and the Pacific Aquaculture & Coastal Resources Center & Kahuina Gallery for making Hilo's Blue Line possible.


Location Information
Bayfront Beach Park off Kamehameha Ave. Downtown Hilo
Hilo, HI, 96720
United States
Event Organizer
H. Erika P

Army seeks license to possess depleted uranium on Big Island's Pohakuloa Training Area (PTA)

By letters dated November 6, 2008, and July 8, 2009, the U.S. Army Installation Command submitted a Source Material License application to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), for the Schofield Barracks and Pohakuloa Training Area (PTA) sites in Oahu and the Island of Hawaii, Hawaii.

This license application is for possession of depleted uranium (DU) due to the potential for residual DU to be at various Army Installations where testing of the M101 Spotting Round has occurred. See Notice of License Application Request of U.S. Army Installation Command for Schofield Barracks, Oahu, HI, and Pohakuloa Training Area, Island of Hawaii, HI; and Notice of Opportunity for Hearing published in the Federal Register.

The license would be an after-the-fact permit to allow the army to “legally” possess depleted uranium that was unleashed into Hawaii’s environment over 40 years ago.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission held what they referred to as “informal” public meetings on August 26th in Kona and August 27th in Hilo. See New Pacific Voice for links to the public comments.

The deadline for submitting public comments and requesting a hearing is Oct. 13, 2009. Members of the public may e-mail comments to the NRC project manager, John J. Hayes, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, John.Hayes@nrc.gov.

Mauna Kea Summit subject of Citizen suit

On October 1, 2009 Mauna Kea Anaina Hou, Royal Order of Kamehameha I, Sierra Club, Hawaii Chapter, and Clarence Ching (Appellants) filed an agency appeal in the Third Circuit Court appealing two agency orders:
(1) the Board of Land and Natural Resources (BLNR)’s approval of the (UH)’s Comprehensive Management Plan (CMP) prior to making a decision on the Appellants request for a contested case, and
(2) BLNR’s denial of the Appellants request for a contested case hearing regarding the proposed CMP
Colin Yost of Cruise & Yost LLLC is the attorney of record for the Appellants. The issues on appeal include: Denial of due process and improper notice. The appellants base their allegation on several grounds which includes that the hearings held on the matter were held on Oahu not the Big Island which is the location of the project resulting in a violation of H.A.R. 13-5-40(4)(b) requiring all hearings relating to Conservation Districts be held in the county in which the land is located. Violation of procedure for contested cases.
See also Kehea website.

The Waikoloa Dry Forest Recovery Project Seeks Comment on draft EA

Today the OEQC issued its Environmental Notice which contained notice of 30 day public comment period to the Draft EA of the proposed Waikoloa Dry Forest Recovery Project. See: OEQC Environmental Notice

The Waikoloa Dry Forest Recovery project seeks to restore and protect a native lowland dry forest habitat over 275 acres of open space south of the community of Waikoloa Village which included the installation of a proposed fence to exclude ungulates (wild cattle and goats) from the area. See: Draft Environmental Assessment For Construction of a 275 acre Fence Enclosure South of Waikoloa Village dated September 2009.


The Waikoloa Village Chapter of the Outdoor Circle with the assistance from the Hawaii Forest Stewardship Program will manage this native dry forest restoration project that contains a native lowland wiliwili (Erythrina sandwicense) forest with endangered uhiuhi (Caesalpinia kavaiensis) trees.

The 10-year project aims to restore native forest around a remnant patch of lowland wiliwili forest habitat, and establish new populations of 9 endangered plant species. The remnant forest patch lies ½ mile south of Waikoloa Village at approximately 1000 ft. elevation on the northwest flank of the island of Hawaii

The draft EA sets forth that the first step to controlling the large number of ungulates that roam throughout the project site is to erect a fence around the 275 acre boundaries. Without a properly constructed fence the remaining native vegetation has no future. The use of large scale fencing is now a common method for excluding ungulates and facilitates the recovery of degraded habitats even in a very short time period. The EA notes other successful fenced and researched dry forest areas such as the exclosure in Ka‘upulehu. This area was fenced in 1956 in recognition of its rich diversity of native species (Cabin et al. 2000). Other fence units exist at Pu‘u Wa‘a Wa‘a, West Hawaii Veterans Cemetery, Kipuka Owe Owe, Palamanui, the Koaia reserve, and Pohakuloa Training Area (PTA) (Yvonne Yarber Carter, personal communication).

The Waikoloa Dry Forest Recovery project site is home to 10 endangered uhiuhi and approximately 80 living wiliwili trees. The surrounding area harbors at least 3 more uhiuhi trees and approximately another 100-120 wiliwili trees. A noticeable attribute, when walking through the area, is the vast number of wiliwili snags; over half of the trees in the area are dead.

The EA concludes no significant negative impacts are anticipated under this project, but numerous positive benefits are expected, including additional fire protection for the Waikoloa Village community; restoration of open space; native, threatened and endangered species habitat improvement; and control of weedy and invasive species.

Comments can be made to either:

Waikoloa Village Outdoor Circle, P.O. Box 38-4721, Waikoloa, HI 96738. Dave Faucette, 883-3362 (the consultant)

or

Dept of Land and Natural Resources, Division of Forestry and Wildlife, 1151 Punchbowl Street, Room 325, Honolulu, HI 96813 (the proposing and approving agency)

EPA to set water quality criteria numeric for Florida's waters - is this a trend?

On August 19, 2009, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) entered into a consent decree In an effort to settle a lawsuit filed by five environmental groups (i.e. Florida Wildlife Federation, Inc., Sierra Club, Inc., Conservancy of Southwest Florida, Inc., Environmental Confederation of Southwest Florida, Inc., and St. Johns Riverkeeper, Inc.) alleging that the EPA “failed to perform a non-discretionary duty to set numeric nutrient criteria for the State of Florida as required by CWA Section 303(c)(4)(B), 33 U.S.C. § 1313(c)(4)(B).” See consent decree.

The EPA has agreed to set numeric water quality criteria for nitrogen and phosphorus in Florida’s waters. Nitrogen and phosphorus are commonly found in fertilizers. An excess in nitrogen and phosphorus levels are considered nutrient pollution in waterbodies because such levels can cause harm to aquatic ecosystems and threaten public health by causing algae blooms and excessive vegetation which, in turn, robs oxygen in the water from fish and other organisms. Under the consent decree, EPA must propose nutrient criteria for Florida’s lakes and streams by January 2010, and for coastal waters and estuaries by January 2011.

Florida already has a qualitative, narrative criterion for nutrients, but lacks specific numeric limits. The function of setting water quality criterion has traditionally (since 1998) been delegated to the states with the EPA having the final approval over the numeric limit set by the state, i.e. the EPA would either approve the criterion proposed by the state or send it back to the state for revision. Under this consent decree the EPA will set numeric water quality criteria for nitrogen and phosphorus in Florida’s waters. While the consent decree only applies to Florida, this is a potentially precedent setting and other states are on notice.

The EPA in its determination letter to Florida noted that the Florida Department of Environment Protection has spent "over $20 million in collecting and analyzing data" but has yet to develop numeric standards.

Section 303 of the Clean Water Act requires states to establish water quality standards, and to review and update those standards at least every three years. These standards must include water quality criteria, which define the amounts of pollutants, in either numeric or narrative form, that the waters can contain without impairment of their designated beneficial uses. They also include the actual designation of beneficial uses, such as water supply, recreation, fish propagation, or navigation, and antidegradation requirements. 33 U.S.C. § 1313(c)(2)(A); 40 C.F.R. §§ 131.6, 131.10-12.1.

Florida is not alone in being hesitant to assign a numeric standard to its water quality criteria, and possibly for good reason. Those states such as Hawaii that have led the way and set numeric standards for water quality criteria have found themselves in a pickle when the numeric the state set is later found to be too stringent and the antidegradation requirements of the Clean Water Act prevent the state and EPA for that matter from assigned a new numeric that is less stringent. Take the case in Hawaii where the enterococci numeric set was later to become problematic because waters in which the native Hawaiian monk seal (an endangered species) was found present consistently tested with enterorcocci counts above the standard - meaning the water was to be considered contaminated, even though there was no presence of human fecal. As a result Hawaii has to use C. perfringens as an aide along with enterococci in determining whether there is a bacterial contamination of Hawaii’s waters. See Melissa O’Connor, Water, Water Everywhere, but Not a Drop to Swim and Fish in: Clean Water Act National Standards and the Issue of Ecological Diversity, 10 U. Denv. Water L. Rev. 97 (2006).

In that article I wrote in support of state’s rights and my position that the EPA should embrace ecological diversity in its administration of national water quality pollutant criteria and standards established under the Clean Water Act in an effort to promote ecologically appropriate and scientifically supported state water quality standards.

While it is understandable the plaintiffs in the law suit resulting in this consent decree seek healthy waters for Florida and brought suit to bring the issues to the forefront and exact action from the government, it is also dangerous to set precedents of the federal government stepping in to set local water quality standards – which may or may not be ecologically appropriate, especially if these standards are nationally based.

Clean Energy and Algae-based Biofuels

Due to technological developments, and substantial recent investment in the emerging algae-based biofuels industry by Exxon Mobil Corp. and other companies, H.R. 3460 a bipartisan bill that proposes amendments to the national renewable fuel program to allow renewable fuel standards to be met, in part, by algae-based biofuels was introduced by Representative Brian Bilbray (R-CA), Jay Inslee (D-Wa), Harry Teague (D-NM), and six other California lawmakers both Republican and Democrats. On July 31, 2009 it was referred to the House Energy and Commerce Committee.

While the national renewable fuel program currently does not contain specific provisions for the use of algal-based biomass to meet renewable fuel standards, the proponents of H.R. 3460 and the supporters of algae-based biofuel are asking Congress to specifically include algae-based biofuels placing them on equal footing with other fuel and renewable energy sources.

Hawaii has taken great steps to transition from its reliance on imported fossil fuels to renewable energy through the Hawaii Clean Energy Initiative and Energy Agreement. With a commitment to a goal of “70 percent clean, renewable energy for electricity and transportation by 2030,” the State and Hawaiian Electric Company declared “[t]he future of Hawaii requires that we move more decisively and irreversibly away from imported fossil fuel for electricity and transportation and towards indigenously produced renewable energy and an ethic of energy efficiency,” as “[t]he very future of our land, our economy and our quality of life is at risk if we don not make this move and we do so for the future of Hawaii and of the generations to come.” http://hawaii.gov/dbedt/info/energy/agreement/signed2008oct20.pdf
See also http://www.hawaiicleanenergyinitiative.org

The national renewable fuel program also promotes blending renewable fuels into transportation fuel and establishes annual renewable fuel standards for the calendar years 2006 through 2022 and specifically requires the EPA to ensure that transportation fuel sold or dispensed to consumers in the United States contains 36 billion gallons of renewable fuels by 2022. 42 U.S.C. § 7545(o)(2)(B)(i)(I). Of this 36 billion gallons, 21.0 billion gallons of renewable fuels is to come from “advanced biofuels,” which include ethanol derived from cellulose, hemicellulose, lignin, sugar or starch (excluding corn starch), biomass-based diesel, biogas, and other fuels “that have lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions … that are at least 50 percent less than baseline lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions.” 42 U.S.C. § 7545(o)(2)(B)(i)(II) and 42 U.S.C. § 7545(o)(1)(B)(i).

Hawaii has a history of aquaculture and suffers from the effects of invasive algal species which “jumped tank” and made home in areas unintended. See http://bigislandlandblawg.blogspot.com/2009/07/invasive-alien-algae-in-main-hawaiian.html As a result, given this new push for alternative energy sources and interest in algae-based biofuel on the national level, it begs the question, is algae-based biofuel a possibility for Hawaii? It seems so. See http://news.cnet.com/8301-11128_3-9832304-54.html. Which announces the creation of a joint venture of the fuel giant Royal Dutch Shell and HR Biopetroleum called Cellana to make biodiesel from algae in Hawaii. According to the report "[t]he plans call for growing algae in ponds of seawater using strains of algae that are native to Hawaii." If biodiesel from alage is possible in Hawaii, is it also a feasible solution to control and or eradicate our invasive algal species? Ideally, if algae-based biofuel is to be pursued in Hawaii it would include a proposal to eradicate invasive algal species using them for fuel while intentionally cultivating native species for sustained fuel generation purposes.

Invasive Alien Algae in the Main Hawaiian Islands

Cecile Walsh, a DLNR Aquatic Invasive Species Research Associate was the guest speaker at the July 9^th Hilo Bay Watershed Advisory Group (http://www.hilobaywatershed.org/) meeting.

Ms. Walsh explained that an invasive algae commonly known as gorilla ogo (scientific name Gracilaria salicornia) is threatening coral reefs throughout the Hawaiian islands and can be found on Oahu, Molokai, Maui, and the Big Island. At areas such as Kaunakakai Harbor, Keawanui, Ualapue and Kaloko`eli, gorilla ogo could smother coral reef habitats on Molokai if its growth is not stopped, according to Walsh so she is spending this summer working with Molokai’s concerned community members to educate the public and make efforts to eradicate these invasive alien species. See also The Molokai Dispatch’s June 23^rd article entitled Stinging Intruders http://www.themolokaidispatch.com/?q=node/3193 .

Ms. Walsh explained that the gorilla ogo is a brittle seaweed with cylindrical branches and that when a branch breaks it can grow into another plant. Studies have even shown that the smaller the piece the more rapid the re-growth. The problem is that gorilla ogo grows on the reef forming thick intertwining mats overgrowing and killing coral and other seaweeds. (See http://www.hawaiiinvasivespecies.org/pests/gorillaogo.html )

As a result Ms. Walsh and her colleagues use a “super sucker” which is an underwater vacuum to literally suck the gorilla ogo off the reefs which is more efficient that hand removal as the vacuum sucks all the small broken pieces of the ogo up too thus not making the problem worse. Once vacuumed off the reef and removed from the ocean the gorilla ogo makes for some good compost which farmers gladly use on their crops.

While the Big Island does not presently suffer from the invasion as severely as Molokai and parts of Oahu, the gorilla ogo has made its presences known and can be found in Queen Liliuokalani Gardens and around Coconut Island and Pohioki on the East side and off the Kona coast on the West side of Hawaii. It is thought that the gorilla ogo “escaped” from open aquaculture facilities in Kaneohe Bay on Oahu and spread. There was a similar “escape” from an aquaculture facility in Kona Ms. Walsh explained. These “escapes” were met with unspecified fines but the damage is done.

While it is not completely known why the ogo is a slow grow in East Hawaii compared to the neighboring islands, it is thought because of the large amounts of fresh water and the wave action – non the less the Big Island is grateful for the “slower” growth as it seeks ways to prevent it from suffering from the ogo to the magnitude of our neighbor isles.

Kealakekua Stewardship Management Plan

DLNR has released for public comment its Kealakekua Stewardship Management Plan. The Plan can be found on-line at http://hawaii.gov/dlnr/ksa. Public comments are being accepted through April 30th as DLNR seeks to start implementation of the Plan this summer.

In an effort to protect the Bay's resources and reduce the impact of commercial activities on the surrounding neighborhoods some of the Plan's proposals include imposing fees on commercial activities, requiring private users to register their boat/kayak, and discontinuing all landings along the Kaawaloa shoreline at this time - however landings in the future may be permitted with a special use permit.

While it is clear to those that frequent the Bay and Pier area that commerical activities have risen the plan also limits non-commerical acitivites and uses by locals. For instance, non-commerical kayaks must be registered with DOBOR* for use in the Kealakekua Bay MLCD**. Kayak owners must, agree to conditions of entry and use and affix a numbered decal to the kayak. However, registration is limited to one per person and is not transferable. So if you happen to have more than one kayak you're going to have to pick which one to register and no more heading out with a buddy in your spare.

Any person violating the rules will be guilty of a petty misdemeanor. The punishment, in addition to any other penalties, shall be a fine of not less than: $250 for a first offense; $500 for a second offense; and $1,000 for a third or subsequent offense. Furthermore, the specified fines cannot be suspended or waived.

Some of the good things the Plan provides for besides attempting to protect the natural resources includes installation of ladders at Napo'opo'o Landing for safer ingress/egress.

*DOBOR = Division of Boating and Ocean Recreation
**MLCD = Marine Life Conservation District

Comments can be made via email, fax, or mail at the following:
KealakekuaPlan@yahoo.com

FAX: 808-327-6229

DLNR
74-380B Kealakehe Pkwy.
Kailua-Kona, Hawaii 96740