HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0377.463 2024-2026From:
Mark Bergner
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Sent:
Wednesday, August 27, 2025 4:32 AM
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To:
Council Testimony
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Subject:
Support
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Aloha Chair Inaba, Vice Chair Onishi and council members, a Z__
Mahalo for the opportunity to testify. My name is Mark Bergner and I am testifying in strong support of this
resolution urging the State of Hawai'i to protect the health and safety of Hawai'i Island residents by halting all
live -fire exercises and desecration at Pohakuloa Training Area until a full archaeological inventory survey and
Ka Pa'akai analysis are completed, and by rejecting any lease renewals or land swaps with the military.
For over six decades, the military has used these sacred conservation lands at Pohakuloa—leased for just $1
in 1964—for destructive training activities. Despite their legal and cultural significance, these lands have been
bombed, burned, and contaminated. More than 1,000 wildfires have been sparked, endangered species
habitats destroyed, and unexploded ordnance and depleted uranium shells continue to threaten the safety of
our people and environment.
The courts have already confirmed that the State has failed to uphold its constitutional duty to monitor and
protect these lands. In Ching v. Case (2019), the Hawai'i Supreme Court found the State breached its trust
obligations by neglecting cleanup and oversight responsibilities at Pohakuloa. These failures cannot continue.
The Army's own environmental review was rejected by the Board of Land and Natural Resources in May. The
FEIS omitted key cultural and environmental surveys, failed to meaningfully assess contamination risks to
groundwater, and ignored the constitutional requirement to protect Native Hawaiian rights. To this day, no
comprehensive archaeological inventory survey or Ka Pa'akai analysis has been completed, despite their clear
legal mandate.
The Hawai'i State Constitution is explicit: these public trust lands must be held for the benefit of Native
Hawaiians and the general public —not for military destruction. Article XI I, Section 7 further mandates
protection of Native Hawaiian cultural and religious practices. Continuing live -fire exercises in violation of these
constitutional protections is unacceptable.
Before any discussion of lease renewal or land swaps, the military must first finance and complete a
comprehensive cleanup, restoration, and bioremediation plan to heal the lands it has degraded.
For all these reasons, I urge the Council to pass this resolution and call upon the State to honor its
constitutional, cultural, and environmental responsibilities to protect Pohakuloa for present and future
generations.
Approving Resolution 234-25 sends a powerful message that Hawaii County stands with its people —
families, communities, cultural practitioners, and environmental stewards who have long raised concerns about
PTA's short- and long-term impacts.
It signals that Hawai'i County will no longer accept unilateral military decisions that compromise our land,
culture, and health without meaningful engagement, cleanup commitments, and legal compliance with public
trust obligations.
Mark Bergner Hilo Hi
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