HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0377.499 2024-2026From:
maryferla
CD
Sent:
Wednesday, August 27, 2025 12:17 PM
To:
Council Testimony
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Subject:
Strong Support of Resolution 234-25
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Aloha Chair Inaba, Vice Chair Onishi and councilmembers, W
My name is MaryElizabethFerla-Brown, and I am testifying in strong support of this resolution urgingthe
State of Hawaii to protect the health and safety of Hawai'i Island residents by ceasing all live -fire
exercises at Pohakuloa TrainingArea 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 Chingv. 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 Hawaii 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 XII, 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.
MaryElizabeth Feria -Brown, Kailua-Kona
Comm.
Ref. To:
Ref. Date - 3