HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0377.648 2024-2026From: Gail Silva
Sent: Tuesday, August 26, 2025 6:38 PM
To: Council Testimony
Cc: Kimball, Heather, Kagiwada, Jennifer, Onishi, Dennis; Kierkiewicz, Ashley; K nealiL2n
Kleinfelder, Matt, Hustace, James; Galimba, Michelle M.; Villegas, Rebecca�naba��c
Holeka ND -<�
Subject: Strong Support of Resolution 234-25 o-<
3T
Aloha Chair Inaba, Vice Chair Onishi and councilmemberg�,
Mahalo for the opportunity to testify My name is Gail Silva and I
am testifying in strong support of this resolution urging the State
of Hawaii to protect the health and safety of Hawaii 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 Hawaii Supreme Court found the
State breached its trust obligations by neglecting cleanup and
oversight responsibilities at Pohakuloa. These failures cannot
continue.
Comm.
Ref. To:
1 Ref. Date
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 Hawaii County will no longer accept unilateral
military decisions that compromise our land, culture, and
PJ
health without meaningful engagement, cleanup commitments,
and legal compliance with public trust obligations.
Gail D. Silva,
45-452 Waikalua Pl.
Kane'ohe, Hawai'i