HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0377.076 2024-2026From: susanblueyes2-gs
Sent: Sunday, August 17, 2025 6:41 PM
To: Council Testimony
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Subject: Please SUPPORT Res. 234-25
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Aloha Chair and Council Members,
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I stand in full support of Resolution 234-25 to protect the health,
safety, and cultural integritFof
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Hawai'i Island.
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This is a historic and important opportunity for our residents. We ask that you unanimously Vote in
SUPPORT of Resolution 234-25, which will help end Pohakuloa live fire and bombing practice and
any further contamination and destruction of the landscape, soil and air quality in the Pohakuloa
Training Area, as well as rejecting land swaps and lease renewals with the military unless specific
stipulations are established with the U.S. Military adhering to our Hawai'i State Constitution and motto
through the Ka Pa'akai Analysis on the area.
For decades, Pohakuloa—a sacred and ecologically vital area —has been subjected to contamination
and destruction from military activity. These impacts extend far beyond the immediate training
grounds.
What happens on our land directly affects our island's water quality and quantity. The pollutants and
toxins from bombing and live fire seep into the soil, travel into our aquifers and threaten the clean
water that sustains our families, farms, and fisheries. The Board of Land and Natural Resources
recognized this danger when they denied the U.S. Army's Final Environmental Impact Statement in
May 2025—its second failure to meet the requirements of our laws. -
The Army's recent, partial clean-up efforts are not acts of goodwill; they are strategic moves to secure
more land and re -frame their public image. True stewardship means consistent respect for cultural
sites and environmental health —not compliance only when more land is at
stake.
Pohakuloa is culturally sacred. It is also centrally located at high elevation and greatly impacts our
island's ecological health. We cannot allow further poisoning of our land, air, and water under the
guise of national defense. Protecting this area is protecting our people, our culture, and our future.
I urge you to adopt Resolution 234-25 without delay.
Please review these articles:
--Ka Pa'akai Analysis: https:Hkawaiola.news/columns/e-ninau-is-nhlc-ask-the-native-hawaiian-legal-
corporation/e-n hlc-what-is-a-ka-paakai-analysis/
--The Army is Not Our Neighbor: https://ethanmckown.substack.com/p/the-army-is-not-our-
neighbor?r=3bxyhg&triedRedirect=true&utm medium=ios
Mahalo, 11
Comm. I
Susan Bambara Ref. To:
1 Ref. Date AUG 19 2025