HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0246.006 2012-2014 PI,AC
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Council Testimony
From: HSCA BOD <HSCA_BOD @hawaii.rr.com>
Sent: Monday, July 08, 2013 10:32 AM
To: counciltestimony @co.hawaii.hi.us
Subject: Testimony on Bill 64 - Environmental Management Committee, Tuesday, July 9th at
1:00PM
Attachments: testimony to County Council on Bill 64 7_9_13.pdf
Please accept the following testimony from Hawaiian Shores Community Assn for Environmental Management
Committee meeting on Jul 9, 2013 at 1:00 PM.
Mahalo,
Eileen O'Hara, President
Hawaiian Shores Community Assn
Board of Directors
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Comm.No, '?�G' (O
Ref.To: Pt E/4
Ref.Dote JUL 9 ZU13
1
Hawaiian Shores Community Association
15-2793 S. HONU STREET PAHOA, HAWAII 96778
PHONE (808) 965-8140 FAX(808) 965-0802
EMAIL: hscaRhawaii.rr.com
Website: www.hawaiianshores.orq
July E:, 2013
To: Environmental Management Committee ( I
Hawaii County Council , ),
25 Aupuni Street
Hilo, HI 96720
Aloha Councilman Kern, Chair and Committee Members,
The Hawaiian Shores Community Association (HSCA) would like to let you know that
we support Bill 64 as it applies to control of noxious weed trees on occupied properties.
We have serious issues with Albizia and other large weed trees in our subdivision of
nearly 1300 lots. Due to the small lot size, 9,000 to 15,000 square feet, the growth of
large weed trees, both on occupied and unoccupied lots, has created a human safety
issue for many of our members. Large trees untended on neighboring lots threatened
physical property and limbs have fallen on fences, roofs, and vehicles causing extensive
damage. The roots of the Albizia tree threaten underground utilities, specifically the
private water system we maintain. The negative economic costs of uncontrolled growth
of lane weed trees significantly affect Puna and other parts of the Big Island.
The State passed Act 76 in 2009 that is enforced by the State Civil Defense. Although
helpful in about 70% of the reported cases, the State Director recently admitted at the
May 31, 2013 meeting on Albizia Control convened by Senator Russell Ruderman that
the mandate is unfunded. Thus, in the event that letters to the respective property
owners do not result in the problem being remedied, the State has not devised a way to
fund and recoup for the costs of removal.
Bill 64 goes a long way to remedy the deficiencies in Act 76, and we fully support the
intent of this bill. We encourage the Committee to pass this bill and forward to full
Council for approval.
Respectfully Submitted,
717-z-7"-
z -
Eileen O'Hara, President
Hawaiian Shores Community Assn
Board of Directors
Attachment: July 2013 Environment Hawaii article regarding May 31st meeting
convened by Senator Russell Ruderman at the U.S. Forestry facility in
Hilo
juh-2c0.3•hnvironment Hai,aili•Page
Behind Albizia)s Beauty Lurks
A Multitude of Undesirable Traits
..: .
B eauty isn't a RvaN's skin deep.It's an ad agt. caused by albizia. Even where the trees are j AtioN0
worth keep:ng in mind when discussing distant from the roads,Hughes wrote in his -..„.„,
the albizia tree J'Ealcataria moluccana)that is te,stimony to the Senate,"they are considered j,.,j '.-s.,j,j
ravaging.,Hawai‘i forests and,mo re and more, problematic and hazardous because hrnbs „:....:.:;:-: '.---..„,sj
residential neieborhoods as well. It's a gor- can fall into waterways and accumulate
--3.
genus stately true to behold from afar. The against bridges,potentially causing flooding
---;-14*-;•',74.', ‘.„ ' J-4!'",-7•
graceful,spreading branches of mature trees and physical damage to critical inftastruc- ilir i.4 -- ,j
reach skyward to nosebleed heights and cast tu re." ,„i ,,,,,,,,,,, J.:---,, .J,„
'1.'',Jl**J. :-----.--- --... '-`• '
into shadow up a)an acre or more of land.A "In addition," he continued, -natural ,..:'-r•r--..
grove of albizia can, and frequently does, events such as hurricanes or stoiims often -i.,...‘„, - 4
cover an area best measured not in square feet cause extreme damage to [albizial stands, .. ...,:„:„.„.. k-,.....:::,
or even in acres, but in square kilometers, which in turn contributes to road closures, i:,. ';;.,--,--.;°-;.- ,f,
.. ...
visible from ink,.'s away. electrical outages,and property damage... It ..A-2.-:.--:, ,.....J-:2 .., ..-.. 'h ,. .,iF ;-.-Jos,..... 170
Up close, the tree is not quire as benign. is durrently estimated that there are between
Despite their apparent majesty, albizia trees so and too miles of state roads along which '''''!"%%::::',;''''''114'
have shallow roots and brittle as-glass limbs, lalbizial populations are maturing,growing ' '
I
qualities that raike them unwelcome neigh- in size,and reaching high densities.'
hors and out-and-out menaces along high-
vii.ays and utility ines.At least one person has A Success Story
died while trvine to cur down a mature albizia ( i May 31. Sen. Russell Ruderman, who vsso.
J*
tree and several lawsuits have been filed in an represents the Puna district of the Big Island . .,
,..,..
effort to get landowners to take down trees and who introduced the resolution, con-
that .... -s.,...„ ,
.
are putting the lives and property of veiled a meeting of community representa- s,,,..,„j , ,
neighbors at risk. tives,agency officials,and others interested in i2k,::'-J:.-,.--, --,
Testimony submitted on a resolution addressing the problems posed by albizia. Wilitg*---...., -‘.,
.-4,-',Iik* ' --... ' ‘,.,:',,?,%4;4,":4;
aimed at developing albizia control measures Among those attending were residents r41 .r"-e0,- . ---- ',- „...:-..„.;,;.,,,,,-,.„
provides some idea of just how few friends from the small community ofPi'ihonua,lust !Pk!"''.-.'" '7:1 l',:r-- ....- - :;;;„!..."ii
albizia has in Hx.vai`i.Earlier this year,when rmatika of Hilo along the Wailuku River. JF- „„. ......-7..4. ..,,,,74 17
the Senate held hearings on a resolution Plagued byblocked roads and flooding caused J--- --` I,„ .j.: ii:.,..4---,
176
urginv,the Haws ii Invasive Species Council by downed albizia limbs,the community got rj-' , .i-
to develop a strategy to control albizia,of the together with Hughes and James Leary, an !:- - ...- .
dozei:s of people submitting testimony, just expert in pesticides with the University of .- , , .jj
one person---among the dozens testifying- Fli.waki College of Tropical Agriculture and 71---iii-t---', •• .. ..i
opposed albizia control. Not even Sydney Human Resources.
Ross Singer-champion of the coqui,man- The result was the development of a sue-
. . ...
grove,and waiawi-stood up for albizia.The cessful "hack and squirt" method of killing
measure,which seas adopted as Senate Reso- mature albizia trees. According to Julie
ludon..1.1, urges tile Hawah Invasive Species Tulang, "in one day, in a matter of three
,, . ' a-
Council“to‘dew lop and implement a corn- hours, and working in teams of two, the
prehensive inten.gencr plan for the control cornmunitywasable to,euthaniw 4.00 trees. „
,.: !•:-,7,4x*J7-:'
,,.,
and eradication' of albizia and"to find part- Teams would cut gashes in the trunks of ,---.. ---, 4..
nets to utilize ul.e albizia trees that are re- mature trees-one gash for each six inches of i'.!ii.'4,2''',„ '•:: . •..i.■:,e'i„-"ti:i ,i,i.......
moved,'and call!on the state Department of diameter-and then put eight to to drops of .,,,..i4... . ..-:
. '..1.-'?',.. s
Agriculture to investigate hiocontrol agents the herbicide Milestone in each gash. - .: :.. s. ,.,
targeting albizia. According to Springer Kaye,manager of ---: .J-J,--...' ..., -..
„i,...,ers-'.' ..,.-,
Albizia is a po.t on all of the larger islands the Big Island Invasive Species Committee, - :f: iki4,,,,,,,,
of Fiawai'i. On Kauai, when a canopy of "it costs just s3.5o to kill a tree - 50 cents , . .. :‘j,...._j...,---j .,,.„- V*,04.4
albizia grew over Kuhio Highway, the state worth of herbicide,$3 worth of labor." .::.!.---r, - ,-, -i, ,J, ‘. ,J-* 7.f ,...,'7/4
Department of'•.-ransportation spent more .kfter the trees died.Tulang said,the corn- -i. .....: 7.-..,i,,.„ ' • •,of--...s.,,,,,.....-
than st million to remove approximately muniry was concerned there would be new . ...4 _.... ..........,.....,.,-,...j ,,r . .. :%.„.,.
1,500 ricer along a single mile of roadway trees coming up in their place. However, .y..,--,, J,j j jo - -fl .,‘,, . •. ,, , ..,,.., .,„„, :,..,:
According to albizia expert Flint Hughes,of—there was a good understory of grasses, ,.71.SJ-:..;:-.,te.. .4,,ii ,,,,..,. , °*.:;`,- ',--77,---„:„.„..:,... ....;y„
the U.S. Forest Service's Institute of Pacific which came back in even thicker after the ... • .
Concrary to the advice of processional arborists,this tree-
I sia ncis Forestry il Hilo,the DOT estimates alb:zia was dead."
trimmer has climbed high to at back this albizia tree in
that more than 40 percent of its damage :Kaye added that within a year and a half of Hilo.To be iiiire.he was ieelired hi:ailiity lines—
Claims inv(-)Iving falling trees and branches are the trees being poisoned,"yon eventually get anchored to an adjoining albizia.
Pap:1/Ecvironmert Hawaii• iu1 zca;
a tall snag.It just kind of crumbles in place." originated(as is the case on the Big Island),it
Girdling trees can work just as well as the will investigate by asking the complainant to
,,4 : ` , had ndsquirt"method,accordingtol.ileen send photos of the hazard.
; ', U H ara,an aide to Ruderman and an organic In most cases Sigler continued, `if it's
farmer.The trees girdle easily,she said,and it albizia, I'll take the information to the vice
. ' doesn't take more than so minutes per tree. director of Civil Defense,and if he feels its
tT
The trick is to remove enough bark so that the appropriate,we'll follow up with the owner.
tre can't repair itself,H ugh es warned."Al bizia Usually well send him a letter, make him
is good about reconnecting its vascular tis- aware of the concern and of the law.We ask
All About Albizia sue,"he noted."If you girdle only this much" him to take a look and let us know what
–he held his fingers and thumb about three mitigation he'll take....Usually we ask them
(Falcataiia moluccana) inches apart–"it'll grow back." to contract with a licensed,bonded tree ser-
tE 3rzt fs albizia native taYrge? While the"hack and squirt" method is a vice and arborist."
ltisnatiFettitheMoluccas,Ite;;Guinea. cost-effective way of dealing with so-called About 'o percent of the time, the land-
New Britain,and the Solomon Islands. "non-hazard" trees – those that are far re- owner takes care of the problem. When a
moved from any property or improvements– landowner refuses to cooperate, we send
"hin did it ai'nie in Hawaii? Hughes and others advised strongly against its notice to the attorney general,' Sigler said.
It was brought :o the islands in 1917 by use on trees that are in close proximity to ""Then it's out of our hands.My understand-
noted Hawaiian botanist Joseph Rock as homes,roads,or other infrastructure.One of ing is the attorney general will contact the
one of several species that were intended the factors that makes the method so cheap is owner, tell them about the law—and from
to reforest areas of Hawaii that had been the ttbilit5•to walk away and let the herbicide there,I'm not sure.It would have to go to the
denuded by livestock,logging,and other do its work. As the tree dies, it sheds its governor for review. see if he wants to send
human activities. branches: if ther fall in an uninhabited area, folks(inn)private property."
'r�r, many tries aracecftrate° ' no harm is done. If the tree is near any So far, he said, six cases have been for-
I`r;_�r i the early part of the 19005 to the improvements, the shedding branches can warded to the attorney general."If we have an
middle cfthe cennin�,territorial foresters cause substantial damage. owner we can't convince to mitigate, that
planted approx_mately 1 0,000 albizia 17 it trees that do pose a hazard,the experts goes into a`pending finding'file.This law is
trees on all islands. were unanimous in advising chat the trees be not funded. We have no money to go onto
removed only by trained, professional ar-- private property to cut down a tree, That's
How j,vst can it t7ou'' borists. The cost can run into the tens of where we're sitting until the Legislature de-
Albizia is considered the fastest-growing thousands of dollars for the largest trees, but cider to fund the law."
tree species in th, world,capable of grow- the damage they can cause–in terms of lost Although Act 76 may not have lived up to
ing? s centimeters(more than an inch)a property, or even loss of life – can be far all expectations,state and local governments
daps•. That translates to nearly a yard a greater. can take action on their own. Joseph
month.Rock praised the tree for its rapid Kamelamela, a deputy corporation counsel
growth,rioting that"trees nine years old An Unfztraded Law with the County of Hawaii,stated that the
had reached a height of over a hundred In an effort to give the state the ability to county was preparing to file a complaint
feet,a rapidity of growth almost unbeliev- address natural hazards more efficiently, the against a landowner in Hilo who had refused
able." Legislature passed a law in 2009 that gave the all requests to trim back an albizia tree that
Ho long does it live?
governor the power to authorize state em- posed a hazard to traffic on a public roadway.
Rock believed the tree to be short-lived, ployees to enter onto private property to Meanwhile, Hawaii County Council-
bur. "as it is an abundant seeder, there mitifiate hazardous situations before anemer- member Lendo Kern,who represents Puna.
should always be.a good stand of this tree
(tenet exists, after giving due notice to land- has introduced a bill that would amend the
} resent n fact, trees planted by Rock owners and tenants.The law also allows the definition of refuse to include"unsafe flora."
nearly a century ago are still going strong state to recover any expense incurred in doing According to his aide, Barbra Lively,the bill
an the grounds of the Lyon Arboretum, so. "establishes a process that would allow the
While in theory, the law could be used to removal of hazardous trees that threaten hu-
1 Mir is its ejlect Si!native firests? take down albizia trees(as well as other haz- man safery or private property.Property owwn-
Disastrous. t f i`a, perhaps the single ards),in practice,it hasn't quite worked out as ers who do not take action will he required to
most important plant in any Hawaiian planned. pay the costs of removal or have a lien placed
forest,dies out in the presence of albizia. That,says Steve Sigler,an emergence op- on their property to recoup removal costs."A
(For details. see":°albizia Makes Inroads erations planner with state Civil Defense, is council committee is expected to hear the bill
in Native Forest:of Puna,'in the Febru- because there are no funds to earn-our the sometime this month.
are 2003 biz,iro mcruHadei. The pro- program. Act 76 sets forth a process that Haw>ai`i already has a"tree law"that is the
digicus amount:(of nitrogen and phos- begins when a complaint is received about a envy ofmany other states,said Michael Kraus,
phorus that albizia adds to the forest floor potential hazard from a member of the public president of Tree Works. "In the last so
facilitate the growth of other invasive – say, a neighbor concerned that a branch rears,"he said,"more and more the Hawai`i
species as well. from an albizia tree on an adjoining tree law is quoted as a good pattern for other
Cl hanks to hlin- Hughes' testimony on landowner's lot will fall onto his roof When states.'•
SR at for much •fthe information in this Civil Defense receives the complaint, Sigler What hewas referring to is a state Interme-
hew, said,the agency will do a site visit or,if it has diate Court of Appeals opinion in 1981 in
no staff on the island where the complaint Whitesell t.,.Hronitnn..This"well-written deci-
luly 2...-)13 r Fnvironment Hawaii Page 5
si On,"he said, "gives a strong basis for the
t Th
. ,.'.',.'s' "( viously, there's a very specific relation-
responsibili ty,of the owner to mitigate the
ship" between the waiawi and the galling
risk."When a t-ee causes harm or poses an
insect.
Waiawi Control Agent
imialinem threat to adjoining property,
Even though the insect spreads slowly,it
neighbors may iequire the owner to pay for Is On the Move, Vely Slowly can have a significant impact over time."On
the damage and cut back the offending
trees in Brazil,two to three Years after infesta-
branches or rocas.It owner refuses to do n the words ofwaiawi warriorTracv Johnson, don,fruiting is reduced hyapproximately 90
so, he can be held liable for damages in "strawberry guava was on the radar of land percent,' Johnson said. A similar effect is
eurred by the neighbor. managers for many decades" before a tiny expected here;"the trees won't die,"he said,
What's more, under Whitesell, even if biocontrol agentwas finally released lastyear in "but they will produce a lower volume of
the tree poses no threat, "the landowner hopes of suppressing its fruit. fruits."
may always,at his own expense, cut away And, given the excruciatingly slow pace at The insect is being tested on three varieties
only to his property line above or below the which the agent — the gall-forming scale of strawbenT guava at each of the r%vo sites.
surface of the grc und any part of the adjoin- Tectococcus ova —spreads, it may be many The red-fruited variety of strawberry guava
ing owner's trees or other plant life.' more decades before the effects of its release are "doesn't do great at higher elevations,"
(IA/hires-ell did not, by the way, involve visible to the naked eye. Johnson said. "It grows an'd survives,but ifs
albizia.The offending tree was a banyan.) As Johnson, a researcher with the U.S. taken a long time, without much fruiting
Fore4tSeryicein Hilo,explained in a recent talk until the last couple of years. At the lower
Absentee Owners where he described what has occurred since elevation, it was taking off in two years,4vith
H the spread-out, often unimproved sub- about 3,o0o of the minuscule insects were let substantial fruit right off the bat."
divisions of Puna, albizia can quickly' be- loose into m'o small, fenced groves of straw- lihe yellow-fruited variety"wasn't too far
come a problem when absentee landown- berry-guava(Psidizon cattleianum) in Volcano behind," he added. "The yellow is the kind
ers,who probably number in the thousands, (high elevation)and Waiakea(low)."the slow you're most likely to encounter in wet forests tail to tend their lots, spread of Tectococrus from the release sites is and does well at low and high elevations....
b like Kraus slid that people who purr due to their limited mobility," Mature females Its the scariest we have"
chase lots will sometimes bulldoze the en- are "locked inside the galls and can't MOVC," A third variety, described by Johnson as
one acreage, wa.k away, "and come back Johnson said. "the spindle fruit variety," is more common
three years later to 40 foot trees." Juvenile"crawlers" must latch onto one of on (Taint and Kauai. "It has a robust stem
Real estate agent Mary Begier had yet the grossing sprouts of the strawberry guava and grows straight up,but it is reproducing
another rake on the problem of absentee plant and if a sprout isn't nearby, the crawler way more slowly,even under optimal condi-
owners. Far from s b eeins4 albizia as a prob- will die before it is able to develop,Althb ouch dons."
lem, she said ties often are drawn to males have wings,Johnson said,they don't live Although reaococcus may perform as ex-
purchase a lot precisely because of the pres- long and what's more,they don't appear to be peered,Johnson stressed that it would work
en ix of albizia. "you would probably find necessary to the insect's life cycle.The females even better if combined with another
that 5o percent of the people who buy a lot can reproduce on their own,he noted. biocontrol agent. "It can increase the effec-
with albizia buy it precisely because of the Winen the insects find a growing sprout, tivenessofothercontrol methods by reducing
albizia trees,"she said, they attack the leaves and cause the plant to re'sprouts and the spread of seeds.It has good
O'Hara, a member of the community invest its own energy into forming the gall potential for synergistic effects,"he mid,
association for the Hawaiian Shores subdi- tissue. Johnson said. In this way, "they slow Johnson and colleagues have been looking
vision in Puna, pointed out yet another down the growth of the stem, limiting the at other canddates for controllingstrawberry
dimension—the u ad e rground dimension— amount of fruit produced," he added. "The guava, including a stem girdler,a defoliator,
to the problems posed by ilhizia."We have gall tissue is plant tissue—the plant is making a and several other types of gall forming in-
a well and dist ribt te water to all 1,300 lots" home for the galls instead of making normal sects. Finding one that is host specific—that
through underground pipes laid in 1971, tissue." is,it is infest other species of trees—is the
she said "ir hey an'now being con toned by As for concerns that the strawberry guava big challenge.
albizia roots, whit Ii are breaking through scale insect will find its way to common guava, 'The rosette gall is probably the best see-
the pipe and plugging it."Although owners Johnson said that in the home range—Brazil•— ond choice,"Johnson said,creatingdeformed
are supposed to keep the waterline ease- of strawberry guava. the two plants are often leaves at the tip of the stem. "It's a terminal
menu clear, "that doesn't always happen," found growing together. But the galling "is condition for that stem tip,which will dry up
she said,and the p-oblem"is especially had never seen on common guava," he noted, and die and is dead from that point on.It's a
with absentee owners."Up to 25 percent of "to .45 ,4 -..Ez. Aig.., .... . ..,t4 big energy sink and causes a good amount of
the absentee o\vners arc Japanese and it is ,1-. '. It!,1,:4..i:...' 4i ..-...,4747 damage." The rosette gall is caused by a
difficult to explair the issues to them,she -Z...- 1.777.1 .4 ,,;,,:,?::0:::.).. midge,he said,"but there's a lot of unknown
ei - y ,-- , :,,, ;1,1,,, '4 .2.N!'. biolosfv—it's a challenging insect."
noted.
444 :: ,. •., •Galling insects.
On the same morning that community lit 0, ,47,t; . .... ,.', ^ , Galling Insects in general are good cand.1-
members gathered in Hilo to discuss albizia, i. —.4.11' j„..,,,,j'' .nj..4..........;:,:;:'-.,:.' , dates for Nocontrol since they are all tightly
val
the state Department of Land and Natural I700;:„. '",,J', , 4044 c4,.., . associated with a given plant, and therefore
Resources announced the impending do- fe*.a'' f... .ft" -,‘,.-.-:.„,,., ‘?4 i.,..:' highly specific,Johnson said.And, because
sure of the Lava Tree State Monument in 4'.''. :,,'"'"*"0.,,i 4 4::- ..... ,ftl.:"..,‘ they limi t stem growth or the amount of fruit
44:-.:llt:1! -'44 4. (41,4-:i4...,...:''i,- 'flii. -
Puna, to allow for remcw'al of albizia.The '7::,11,4,,,,I.:.,,t.,,H-.17..,,,i'u1,'./.f, j l .. . .... ....,.„.e.:.:.ji produced the to rdeokiisnsdloowf caliolm,itileal
work was expected to take several weeks,at ....... ....., . ,..44.10.,'",s4 i. 4 w at '
t,
a cost of s4L000,'.ecording to the DLNR. Gail or s 7,1wbcrry guava formed by the tectococcIs ithecE. —Patricia Tummons
,yroa‘g,,,ecnht,:if