HomeMy WebLinkAboutRES 234 Draft 01 2024-2026A RESOLUTION URGING THE STATE OF HAWAI‘I TO ENSURE THE HEALTH AND SAFETY OF HAWAI‘I ISLAND RESIDENTS BY REQUESTING THE MILITARY TO CEASE ALL BOMBING AND DESECRATION ACTIVITIES AT THE
PŌHAKULOA TRAINING AREA, REJECTING LAND SWAPS AND LEASE RENEWALS WITH THE MILITARY UNLESS CERTAIN STIPULATIONS ARE ESTABLISHED, AND CONDUCTING A KA PA‘AKAI ANALYSIS ON THE AREA.
WHEREAS, military activities at Pōhakuloa Training Area (PTA), especially activities that include the use of white phosphorus and depleted uranium, have caused severe environmental contamination
that poses ongoing risks to public health and safety; and
WHEREAS, the Hawaiʻi Supreme Court, in Ching v. Case (2019), found that the State breached its constitutional duty to inspect and monitor the land at PTA to ensure that the military
complied with lease terms and cleanup obligations, which have been neglected since the lands were leased to the military in 1964; and
WHEREAS, military activities at PTA have also caused or exacerbated wildfires, which have destroyed thousands of acres of ranch, agricultural, and homestead lands; and
WHEREAS, the required Ka Paʻakai analysis to protect Native Hawaiian cultural practices and resources has never been conducted on PTA; and
WHEREAS, the Ka Paʻakai analysis is a legal framework established by the Hawaiʻi Supreme Court in 2000 in the case Ka Paʻakai O Ka ʻĀina v. Hawaiʻi Land Use Commission to evaluate projects
that may affect Native Hawaiian traditional and customary rights; and
WHEREAS, the Ka Paʻakai analysis requires government agencies to conduct detailed investigations to: (1) identify the scope of valued cultural, historical, or natural resources; (2)
assess how the proposed project will affect or impair resources, including Native Hawaiian rights; and (3) evaluate whether the government agency has fulfilled its constitutional obligation
to preserve and protect Native Hawaiian rights; and
WHEREAS, the desecration of burial and cultural sites, occupation of lands under the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands, and the perpetuation of harm through militarization directly conflict
with Hawaiʻi’s values and trust obligations; and
WHEREAS, on May 9, 2025, the State Board of Land and Natural Resources voted to reject the U.S. Army’s final Environmental Impact Statement to extend its lease for the Pōhakuloa Training
Area, which expires in 2029; and
WHEREAS, war, conflict, and disharmony with the land and its people affects all residents, visitors, and the living planetary system as a whole; and
WHEREAS, the “Aloha Spirit” law (Hawaiʻi Revised Statutes §5-7.5), as written by the late Aunty Pilahi Paki, is a working philosophy of Native Hawaiians that calls for healing, unity,
and respect for the land and people of Hawaiʻi; now, therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE COUNTY OF HAWAI‘I that it hereby urges the State of Hawaiʻi to ensure the health and safety of Hawaiʻi Island residents by:
Requesting the U.S. military to immediately cease all bombing and desecration activities at PTA;
Rejecting land swaps and lease renewals unless stipulations are established to address comprehensive cleanup, restoration, and bioremediation at PTA; and
Conducting a full Ka Paʻakai analysis of PTA to ensure the protection of Native Hawaiian cultural practices and resources.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the State of Hawaiʻi fulfill its responsibilities to the land and people, guided by the Aloha Spirit, to prioritize health, safety, and environmental stewardship.
BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED that the County Clerk shall transmit a copy of this resolution to the Honorable C. Kimo Alameda, Mayor of the County of Hawaiʻi; the Honorable Joshua B. Green,
M.D., Governor of the State of Hawaiʻi; members of the Hawaiʻi State Legislature; Dawn N. S. Chang, Chairperson of the State Department of Land and Natural Resources; and Admiral Samuel
Paparo, Commander of the United States Indo-Pacific Command.
Dated at _____________, Hawai‘i, this ______ day of ___________________, 20___.
INTRODUCED BY:
_______________________________________
COUNCIL MEMBER, COUNTY OF HAWAI‘I
COUNTY COUNCIL
County of Hawai‘i
Hilo, Hawai‘i
ROLL CALL VOTE
AYES
NOES
ABS
EX
GALIMBA
HUSTACE
I hereby certify that the foregoing RESOLUTION was by
the vote indicated to the right hereof adopted by the COUNCIL of the
County of Hawai‘i on _____________________________________.
INABA
KAGIWADA
KĀNEALI‘I-KLEINFELDER
KIERKIEWICZ
ATTEST:
KIMBALL
ONISHI
VILLEGAS
Reference:
COUNTY CLERK CHAIRPERSON & PRESIDING OFFICER
RESOLUTION NO.