HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0377.642 2024-2026From: Raquel Runnels
Sent: Saturday, August 30, 2025 4:10 PM
To: Council Testimony
Cc: Kimball, Heather; Kagiwada, Jennifer, Onishi, Dennis; Kierkiewia, Ashley; Kaanealii-
Kleinfelder, Matt; Hustace, James; Galimba, Michelle M.; Villegas, Rebecc�Bnabc
Holeka cn ACC.)
Subject: Strong Support of Resolution 234-25
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Aloha Chair Inaba, Vice Chair Onishi and councilmembers, - 2r
My name is Raquel Runnels, a Kanaka 'oiwi from Oahu, and I am testifying in strong sup p�o�rtoflliis
resolution urging the State of Hawai'i to protect the health and safety of Hawai'i Island resi7ents by
ceasing all live -fire exercises 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. 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 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 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.
Approving Resolution 234-25 sends a powerful message that Hawai'i 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.
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Ref. To:'
t Ref. Date S - 3 2025
It signals that Hawaii 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.
Our kupuna may not live to witness landback in their lifetime, but it is our duty to hold those who claim
to be "stewards" of our'aina accountable and to return it to its rightful stewards, the Kanaka Maoli. As
Pua Case reminds us: "We are not protesters. We are protectors. We stand not in opposition, but in
affirmation —of our land, our water, our life, our future." The military's continued use of Pohakuloa
betrays this sacred kuleana, and we must act now to protect what remains for the future generations
to come. Please support this resolution to protect the 'aina (land), wai (water), and people of Hawai'i.
'O au iho no me ke mahalo,
Na Raquel S. Runnels
Me Wahiawa, O'ahu
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