HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0377.638 2024-2026From: Jendy Benjamin
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Sent: Tuesday, September 2, 2025 8:08 AM
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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,
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My name is Benji Ekolu Rodrigues and I am testifying in strong support of this resolution urging the State of
Hawaii to protect the health and safety of Hawai'i Island residents by ceasing all live -fire exercises at
P6hakuloa 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 P6hakuloa—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. In the entire time they occupied PTA, the Army has given the people of
Hawai'i NO indication they will ever be good stewards.
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 P6hakuloa. 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.
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.
Benjamin ekolu Rodrigues
Puna, Hawaii
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