HomeMy WebLinkAboutElias, Tamar
Tsuneda, Kaci
From:Tamar Elias <tamarelias@hotmail.com>
Sent:Tuesday, July 21, 2026 3:32 AM
To:Council Testimony
Subject:Testimony on Res. 603-26
Aloha e Chair Kagiwada, Vice Chair Kāneali ʻ i-Kleinfelder, and members of the Hawai ʻ i County
Council Committee on Governmental Relations and External Affairs,
My name is Tamar Elias and I am writing in STRONG SUPPORT of Resolution 603-26, urging the
Department of Agriculture and Biosecurity (DAB) to take seriously the interim “emergency”
coconut rhinoceros beetle (CRB) rules for West Hawai ʻ i, adopted by the Board of Agriculture and
Biosecurity (BAB) in March.
The CRB situation on Hawai ʻ i Island is dire. With CRB detections in a region that now stretches
from Kīholo to Keauhou, we must do everything we can to stop or slow its spread - before it is too
late. Unfortunately, as outlined in this resolution, the need for much more timely action by DAB has
been and continues to be a critical gap in this all-hands-on-deck effort.
DAB’s months-long delays in advancing regulations to mitigate high-risk vectors, such as
businesses selling potted plants and other CRB host material, has contributed significantly to the
current crisis. As this resolution notes, it was only through the initiative of local nonprofits and a
groundswell of public support that the current CRB interim rules were put before and adopted by
the BAB.
Despite their adoption in March, a subsequent months-long delay in the implementation of these
rules is leaving the entire island - and our neighbor islands as well - at daily risk of CRB
introductions. While a handful of compliance agreements have been issued, there is still no
designated DAB point-of-contact to facilitate continued implementation, much more community
awareness is still needed, and whether and how any necessary enforcement will be carried out is
unclear.
To be clear, the stakes are extremely high, and the threat is imminent. While the drier conditions in
West Hawai ʻ i still give us a chance to contain this devastating pest, should breeding populations of
CRB be established in places like Hilo, Puna, or anywhere else with high levels of vegetation,
containment and eradication may quickly become impossible. The meaningful implementation
and enforcement of DAB’s interim rules will give us the best chance at preventing such an
outcome.
Please help us avoid the tragic consequences now unfolding on O ʻ ahu and Kaua ʻ i, where CRB has
become established after years of DAB inaction. Please pass this resolution and its common
sense, extremely reasonable call for DAB to treat our CRB situation as the emergency it is: by
designating a dedicated staff point of contact for the rules, raising public awareness of their
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requirements, and enforcing their provisions as necessary.
Mahalo nui for the opportunity to testify.
Sent from my iPhone
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