Blog

From Marti:

This is just a quick run down on the status of some of the local legislation we are watching this session.  Tomorrow is second lateral – the day when surviving bills have to be delivered to their final committee.  The next major deadline is April 9th.

GOOD BILLS

SB 1088 - Seeks to improve enforcement of beach access for the public.  It successfully passed the House Water, Land, and Ocean Committee on Monday (Mahalo to Rep. Ito (D-Kaneohe) and Rep. Har (D-Kapolei)).  It is now on it’s way to the House Judiciary Committee (Rep. Karamatsu, D-Waipahu).  It needs a hearing by the first week of April.  Click here to demonstrate your support this important bill.

HB 1663/SB 709 – Both bills to protect taro from genetic modification are moving along nicely since cross over.  Tho, we are cautious to ensure that they are not amended to contradict the interests of taro farmers and consumers.  Click here to submit testimony in support of meaningful protections for our beloved Haloa. And, you can click here to read about the poundin’ good time had by all at the Taro Festival this year.

HRC 231 – This House Concurrent Resolution to uphold and enforce the laws that protect Mauna Kea was recently introduced by Rep. Hanohano (D-Puna).  This resolution outlines all that the State Land Board needs to do to fulfill its constitutional and statutory mandates to protect the conservation district of Mauna Kea.  Click here to add your support for this awesome reso.

BAD BILLS

HB 1174 - This bill seeks to give UH (the developer) management control over the conservation district of Mauna Kea. The Senate Committees on Higher Education and Water, Land passed this bill in a joint hearing, despite considerable solid testimony in opposition and only conditional testimony in support.  This bill now must be heard by the Ways and Means Committee.  Click here to take action and defend Mauna Kea.

HB 1741 – The bill to raid the Natural Area Reserve Fund has finally died!! Though we are concerned that this important fund to prevent invasive species could be raided through the budget bill.  So, stay close to hear the call to action on that front.

HB 1226 – Not only has the preemption bill died at the Capitol, it has also raised the ire of the counties who don’t appreciate some state representatives offering to just give away county authority to regulate GMO-agriculture.  Click here to read about the resolution Maui passed 9-0 against the preemption bill.

SB 1318 – This bill flipped to the good side.  The House Water, Land, and Ocean Committee deleted all the language about abolishing our coastal zone management protections and replaced with it with good language from Rep. Thielen’s pilot proposal to protect shorelines in Kailua from sea level rise with greater setbacks.

SB 1712 – The Right to Fish Bill is back in a slight muted form this session.  Unfortunately, this bill is starting to gain momentum. Stay tuned for updates on how to take action against efforts to undermine management of our fisheries and coastal areas.

From Marti:

Great news!  S.B. 1088 has a hearing before Chairman Ken Ito (D-Kaneohe) and the House Water, Land, and Ocean Committee.  This hearing may be the biggest hurdle this important bill faces.  So, if you care about improving enforcement of your right to access the beach and mauka recreational areas throughout Hawaii nei, then now is the time to come out.  We need make sure the Representatives do not make any unnecessary changes to the bill, so it is important to ask them to pass this bill as already amended.

The hearing is scheduled for Monday morning, March 23, 2009 at 9:30 am in room 325.

If you can’t attend the hearing, but still want to participate, then click on the link below and take a just a second to personalize your testimony to the Representatives.  Tell them why uphold your constitutional right to reach the beach is so important and deserves improved enforcement.

TAKE ACTION NOW TO PROTECT PUBLIC ACCESS MAUKA-to-MAKAI (this is also where you can find out more about the specifics on this particular bill).

Big mahalos to the Beach Access Hawaii, Hawaii Surfrider Foundation, and the Hawaii Chapter of the Sierra Club for their support in this effort.

Hang Loose!  See you Monday!!

Update on press coverage of the Land Board hearings on the Mauna Kea Management Plan:

The Advertiser reprinted Jason Armstrong’s article from yesterday’s HTH today, but omitted Barry Taniguchi’s quote “endorsing” the UH Management Plan:

“We don’t have anything now, and anything is better than nothing, I think,” he said.

Hmmm.

From today’s HTH, on UH’s proposed management plan for Mauna Kea:  http://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/articles/2009/03/19/local_news/local02.txt

“We don’t have anything now, and anything is better than nothing, I think,” he said.

Could UH’s Barry Taniguchi have given a weaker endorsement of the UH Mauna Kea “management” plan he himself has been lobbying in favoring of?

Forgive us if we continue to believe that Mauna Kea deserves better than a “anything is better than nothing” plan for its future.

The Land Board will hold a two day hearing on April 8 and 9 in Hilo to consider UH’s latest management plan for the summit. The plan is UH’s attempt to circumvent, er… comply with requirements from two losses in court and two state audits which found that the telescope developers violated the state and federal laws meant to protect Mauna Kea. You can ask the Land Board and other decision-makers to reject this false UH plan, and give this sacred summit the future it deserves: a plan which protects and conserves the summit, provides for independent oversight, fair representation for communities, and fair compensation to the people of Hawaii.

The UH plan fails to put any enforceable or numeric limits on telescope development and instead limits public access, dictates religious ceremony, and makes it easier for UH and telescope developers to pocket public money made from the lease of Mauna Kea’s public trust lands. A`ole.

But, it seems, “better than nothing.” Right.

We’d like to nominate the bill proposing the repeal most programs and protections for beaches and coastlines in Hawaii (SB 1318 SD 1) as officially one of the WORST ideas of 2009.

From Elizabeth Reilly of the Hawaii Kai Neighborhood Board:

SB 1318 SD1 relating to planning and economic development titled “Coastal Zone Management; State Planning; Repeal” does just that “Repeals the chapters relating to coastal zone management and state planning, and transfers the authority and functions of the office of planning to DBEDT” despite DBEDT’s public opposition to this proposed action.

Decision-making was deferred on this bill yesterday by the Committee on Water, Land, & Ocean Resources.

Excerpt from Letter to the U.S. Army from Michael Reimer in regards to Depleted Uranium (DU) studies at Schofield Barracks, on Oahu, and Pohakuloa Training Area (PTA), on Hawaii:

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.

Michael Reimer, Ph.D., geologist, retired
Kona Hawaii, Hawaii

Mahalo to Shannon for the tip. shannonkona@gmail.com