2025-02-19 PL-CRC-2023-000007 SHPO Determination

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Richelle Takara February 19,2025 Page 2 May 13, 2024, however, in the most recent letter received from the FHWA the final APE has been defined as the original 6.6 acres. The FHWA identified four cultural resources within the 6.6-acre APE. The FHWA has determined that two of the cultural resources are historic properties eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP): the Waiaka Bridge and a pre-contact to early historic period agricultural terrace complex assigned State Inventory of Historic Places (SIHP) Site 50-10-06-22632. The two other cultural resources identified are the former location of the 1865 Waiaka Catholic Church and the 1955 Keanuiomana Stream Guage. 1. The Waiaka Bridge was constructed in 1932 by Charles H. Will as the first bridge to be funded by federal money on Hawaii.The bridge is considered eligible for listing in the NRHP under Criterion C.The FHWA has determined the proposed undertaking will have an adverse effect on the Waiaka Bridge. The SHPO agrees and will coordinate with the FHWA and HDOT to develop the MOA to address the adverse effects. 2. SIHP Site 50-10-06-22632 was determined eligible for listing in the NRHP under Criteria A,C,and D. The FHWA maintains that this site will not be impacted or adversely affected by the proposed undertaking since it is not in an area where any construction activities are proposed. The FHWA commits to the placement of orange construction fencing prior to the start of ground disturbing activities for the undertaking, to mark the southern edge of the area proposed for road improvement be placed and to keep machinery from leaving the construction area and inadvertently impacting any features of Site 22632. The SHPD requests a commitment in the Memorandum of Agreement to 1) mark the construction plans and paperwork that will be used in the field with a 15 foot circumference around the boundary of SIHP 50-10- 06-22632 with instructions that the area is to be avoided and 2) The orange construction fencing shall be at least 15 feet from the boundaries of SIHP 50-10-06-22632 and HDOT/FHWA shall document the proposed placement of orange construction fencing with photographs taken prior to the start of work and submit those photographs to SHPD HICRIS number 2021PR00849 with a notification that the project has started. 3. The FHWA also identified the former location of the 1865 Waiaka Catholic Church. According to FHWA, the 1865 Waiaka Catholic Church, built by Father Damien and dedicated to St. John the Evangelist, is depicted on a map prepared in 1887 (Hawai`i Registered Map No. 637) as being located in the vicinity of the final 6.6-acre APE on the north side of Kawaihae Road, perhaps within the Hawaii Preparatory Academy (HPA) campus (TMK: (3) 6-5-001:033). Consultation conducted as part of the current undertaking indicates that unmarked burials were also present near the former location of the 1865 Catholic Church. The church burned down in 1900 and was rebuilt in 1916, and eventually relocated to a new location near the intersection of Kawaihae Road and Lindsey Road. The FHWA has determined the 1865 Waiaka Catholic Church is not eligible for the NRHP since the location of the former structure is unknown and the church lacks all aspects of integrity. While the SHPO agrees the absent church structure is not eligible for listing in the NTHP, the SHPO has concerns that while the church structure is not present, there may an archaeological site and unmarked burials or a cemetery at its location and within the APE for which there has been no identification efforts such as archaeological testing. Therefore,the SHPO requests whether the undertaking involves ground disturbance in the in and around the vicinity of the grounds where the 1865 Waiaka Catholic Church may have once stood. If there is ground disturbance proposed in this area, the SHPO requests archaeological testing and a findings report before the start of the proposed undertaking or,at minimum,archaeological monitoring under a SHPD accepted archaeological monitoring plan(AMP)be carried out during the project in the area(s)where the church may have once stood. 4. Lastly,the FHWA identified the 1955 Keanuiomana Stream Guage is located in Keanuiomano Stream and was established in 1955 as one of approximately 100 stations installed between 1950 and 1964 by the United States Geological Services (USGS). The site was evaluated within the historical context of USGS Stream Gaging in Hawaii,with a period of significance of 1909-1964.According to the report prepared by ASM affiliates in support of the subject undertaking, the USGS installed a stream gauge just above the Wai`aka Bridge in Keanu`i`omano Stream in 1955 during its post-war expansion of gauging stations, and that gauge is in operation today (Barna; 36). The site was previously evaluated to be significant under Hawaii Revised Statutes (HRS) Chapter 6E under Criterion d for information yielded relative to historic land use,however ASM finds the site is not significant under HRS Chapter 6E and is not eligible for listing in the NRHP. The FHWA has determined that SIHP 50-10-06-23313 (Keanu`i`omano Stream Gage Station