HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0377.064 2024-2026From: Alexia Akbay
Sent: Sunday, August 17, 2025 5:56 PM
To: Council Testimony
Cc: Kimball, Heather, Kagiwada, Jennifer, Onishi, Dennis; Kierkiewicz, Ashley; Onealil-i
Kleinfelder, Matt; Galimba, Michelle M.; Villegas, Rebecca; Inaba, Holeka; I�'ustac,?Q
James E�
Subject: Testimony in Support of Reso 234-25 — <z
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Aloha a Chair and Councilmembers, = z
My name is Alexia Akbay. I am writing today in support of Resolution 234-25_as a resident of Kalaoa on
Hawai'i Island.
The Board of Land and Natural Resources (BLNR) in Hawaii utilizes Environmental Impact Statements
(EIS) to assess the potential cultural and environmental impacts of proposed projects. We appreciate
that BLNR recognizes the cultural, ecological, and environmental impacts and has denied the U.S.
Army's final Environmental Impact Study as of May 2025.
The U.S. Army at Pohakuloa has only recently begun cleaning and engaging in cultural maintenance of
the place after residents have demanded and pushed back for over 50 years! These decades of non-
compliance and the lack of acknowledgement of our culture and health on this sacred land, as $1-a-year
leaseholders for the size of Guam, do not comply with our laws.
Resolution 234-25 would protect the health and safety of Hawai'i Island residents by calling for the
military to halt alt firing and bombing practice, as well as further contamination and damage to the
landscape and soiUair quality in the Pohakuloa Training Area. We also reject land swaps and lease
renewals with the military unless specific conditions are met, with the U.S. Military following our Hawai'i
State Constitution and motto through the Ka Pa'akaiAnalysis on the area.
Alexia S Akbay
Research Intern I NYU Langone, SeedProgram
Health Leads Advocate
B.A. Candidate in Chemistry and Public Health
New York University I Class of 2017
asa452@nyu.edu / (724) 549-4400
® Comm. No v 1
Ref. To:
1 Ref. Dote 2025