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Home My WebLink About2025-02-19 PL-CRC-2023-000007 SHPO Determination DAWN N.S.CHANG JOSH GREEN,M.D. Q CHAIRPERSON GOVERNOR I KE KIA`AINA .(PF,,,.. N q BOARD OF LAND AND NATURAL RESOURCES Pf g 5 8 COMMISSION ON WATER RESOURCE MANAGEMENT SYLVIA LUKE / u n . LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR KA HOPE KIA`AINA /y . RYAN K.P.KANAKA`OLE FIRST DEPUTY ° T" I CIARA W.K KAHAHANE - ,I, Y DEPUTY DIRECTOR-WATER I •' ✓ AQUATIC RESOURCES k Vand aria ryas- �°w </ BOATING AND OCEAN RECREATION �< r` G'a� P .•• BUREAU OF CONVEYANCES �i F _�/ COMMISSION ON WATER RESOURCE MANAGEMENT CONSERVATION AND COASTAL LANDS CONSERVATION AND RESOURCES ENFORCEMENT FORESTRY A O STATE OF HAWAII I KA MOKU`AINA'0 HAWAI`I ENGINEERINGWH..., ND DLIFE ;1N DEPARTMENT OF LAND AND NATURAL RESOURCES HISTORIC EISLAN PRESERVATION KAHOOL AWE ISLAND RESERVE COMMISSION St, KA`OIHANA KUMUWAIWAI'AINA STATELAND re of Ha`O STATE HISTORIC PRESERVATION DIVISION KAKUHIHEWA BUILDING 601 KAMOKILA BLVD,STE 555 KAPOLEI,HAWAII 96707 February 19,2025 IN REPLY REFER TO: Richelle Takara,P.E. Project No.: 2021PR00849 Division Administrator Doc No.: 2502SH08 Federal Highway Administration,Hawaii Federal-Aid Division Archaeology United States Department of Transportation Architecture 300 Ala Moana Boulevard,Room 3-229,Box 50206 Honolulu,Hawaii 96850 Email Reply to: Richelle.Takara@dot.gov Electronic Transmittal Only,No Hard Copy to Follow Dear Richelle Takara: SUBJECT: National Historic Preservation Act(NHPA)Section 106 Review— Continued Consultation and Request for Concurrence with the Effect Determination Kawaihae Road Replacement of Waiaka Bridge and Realignment of Approaches Ref. HDA-HI,Federal-Aid Project No. BR-NH-019-1(045) Waimea,Lalamilo and Keanuiomano Ahupua'a,Kohala District,Island of Hawaii TMK: (3)6-5-001:015,(3)6-5-001:033,(3)6-6-001:011,(3)6-6-004:999(Kawaihae Road Right-of-Way),(3)6-6-009:999(Kohala Mountain Road Right-of-Way) The State Historic Preservation Division(SHPD)received a letter dated January 29,2025 from the United States Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) to continue the Section 106 historic preservation process, provide information previously requested (SHPD Doc. No. 2407SL03), and to request the State Historic Preservation Officer's (SHPO's) concurrence with the effect determination for the Kawaihae Road Replacement of Waiaka Bridge and Realignment of Approaches project on the island of Hawaii. The SHPD received this letter along with additional attachments including a draft Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) on January 29,2025 (HICRIS Submission No. 2021PR00849.007). The proposed State of Hawaii,Department of Transportation(HDOT)project will receive coordination and funding from the FHWA and is therefore a federal undertaking as defined in 36 CFR 800.16(y); the FHWA determined the proposed project is subject to compliance with Section 106 of the NHPA. Pursuant to the Programmatic Delegation of Authority (May 2016), the FHWA delegated Section 106 consultation to HDOT. The project also is subject to historic preservation review under Hawaii Revised Statutes(HRS) §6E-8. According to previous correspondence received, the project will demolish the existing 38-foot-long, 26-foot-wide Waiaka Bridge, including its center pier. A new bridge will be constructed in the same general location and will be 60 feet long and vary in width from 70 to 90 feet wide, with bridge abutments flanking the existing stream. A temporary bypass road and bridge will be constructed to maintain Kawaihae Road traffic during construction. Upon completion of construction, the temporary bypass road and bridge will be removed, and the area will be restored to previous existing conditions and returned to the landowner. The project is located in South Kohala,at the intersection of Kawaihae Road and Kohala Mountain Road in the town of Waimea. Waiaka Bridge is located at milepost 58.88 along Kawaihae Road(State Route 19). The FHWA reduced the Area of Potential Effects (APE) from previously revised 6.6 acres to a final APE of 4.7 acres in a letter dated Richelle Takara February 19,2025 Page 2 May 13, 2024, however, in the most recent letter received from the FHWA the final APE has been defined as the original 6.6 acres. The FHWA identified four cultural resources within the 6.6-acre APE. The FHWA has determined that two of the cultural resources are historic properties eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP): the Waiaka Bridge and a pre-contact to early historic period agricultural terrace complex assigned State Inventory of Historic Places (SIHP) Site 50-10-06-22632. The two other cultural resources identified are the former location of the 1865 Waiaka Catholic Church and the 1955 Keanuiomana Stream Guage. 1. The Waiaka Bridge was constructed in 1932 by Charles H. Will as the first bridge to be funded by federal money on Hawaii.The bridge is considered eligible for listing in the NRHP under Criterion C.The FHWA has determined the proposed undertaking will have an adverse effect on the Waiaka Bridge. The SHPO agrees and will coordinate with the FHWA and HDOT to develop the MOA to address the adverse effects. 2. SIHP Site 50-10-06-22632 was determined eligible for listing in the NRHP under Criteria A,C,and D. The FHWA maintains that this site will not be impacted or adversely affected by the proposed undertaking since it is not in an area where any construction activities are proposed. The FHWA commits to the placement of orange construction fencing prior to the start of ground disturbing activities for the undertaking, to mark the southern edge of the area proposed for road improvement be placed and to keep machinery from leaving the construction area and inadvertently impacting any features of Site 22632. The SHPD requests a commitment in the Memorandum of Agreement to 1) mark the construction plans and paperwork that will be used in the field with a 15 foot circumference around the boundary of SIHP 50-10- 06-22632 with instructions that the area is to be avoided and 2) The orange construction fencing shall be at least 15 feet from the boundaries of SIHP 50-10-06-22632 and HDOT/FHWA shall document the proposed placement of orange construction fencing with photographs taken prior to the start of work and submit those photographs to SHPD HICRIS number 2021PR00849 with a notification that the project has started. 3. The FHWA also identified the former location of the 1865 Waiaka Catholic Church. According to FHWA, the 1865 Waiaka Catholic Church, built by Father Damien and dedicated to St. John the Evangelist, is depicted on a map prepared in 1887 (Hawai`i Registered Map No. 637) as being located in the vicinity of the final 6.6-acre APE on the north side of Kawaihae Road, perhaps within the Hawaii Preparatory Academy (HPA) campus (TMK: (3) 6-5-001:033). Consultation conducted as part of the current undertaking indicates that unmarked burials were also present near the former location of the 1865 Catholic Church. The church burned down in 1900 and was rebuilt in 1916, and eventually relocated to a new location near the intersection of Kawaihae Road and Lindsey Road. The FHWA has determined the 1865 Waiaka Catholic Church is not eligible for the NRHP since the location of the former structure is unknown and the church lacks all aspects of integrity. While the SHPO agrees the absent church structure is not eligible for listing in the NTHP, the SHPO has concerns that while the church structure is not present, there may an archaeological site and unmarked burials or a cemetery at its location and within the APE for which there has been no identification efforts such as archaeological testing. Therefore,the SHPO requests whether the undertaking involves ground disturbance in the in and around the vicinity of the grounds where the 1865 Waiaka Catholic Church may have once stood. If there is ground disturbance proposed in this area, the SHPO requests archaeological testing and a findings report before the start of the proposed undertaking or,at minimum,archaeological monitoring under a SHPD accepted archaeological monitoring plan(AMP)be carried out during the project in the area(s)where the church may have once stood. 4. Lastly,the FHWA identified the 1955 Keanuiomana Stream Guage is located in Keanuiomano Stream and was established in 1955 as one of approximately 100 stations installed between 1950 and 1964 by the United States Geological Services (USGS). The site was evaluated within the historical context of USGS Stream Gaging in Hawaii,with a period of significance of 1909-1964.According to the report prepared by ASM affiliates in support of the subject undertaking, the USGS installed a stream gauge just above the Wai`aka Bridge in Keanu`i`omano Stream in 1955 during its post-war expansion of gauging stations, and that gauge is in operation today (Barna; 36). The site was previously evaluated to be significant under Hawaii Revised Statutes (HRS) Chapter 6E under Criterion d for information yielded relative to historic land use,however ASM finds the site is not significant under HRS Chapter 6E and is not eligible for listing in the NRHP. The FHWA has determined that SIHP 50-10-06-23313 (Keanu`i`omano Stream Gage Station Richelle Takara February 19,2025 Page 3 foundation) is not significant under any criterion, and therefore is not eligible for inclusion in the NRHP. The SHPD concurs. One additional historic property is within the APE, the Mamalahoa Historic District for which the Waiaka Bridge is a contributing feature. The FHWA identified this historic property in previous correspondence,but no assessment of how the undertaking will,or will not,impact the Historic District has been provided. The FHWA determined the proposed undertaking will result in an adverse effect. The SHPD opines the proposed project will have an effect on the Waiaka Bridge, the Mamalahoa Highway Historic District, and could impact an archaeological site should remnants of the 1865 Waiaka Catholic Church and its cemetery be present. Additional information is needed as follows to reach concurrence on the effect determination for the undertaking: 1. Waiaka Bridge is a contributing feature to the Mamalahoa Highway Historic District. The SHPD requests the FHWA assess the impacts this undertaking will have on the Mamalahoa Highway Historic District and if determined there will be an adverse effect on the District, the Memorandum of Agreement shall include sufficient mitigation for the impacts to this historic property. 2. The SHPD maintains its request for a letter from the County of Hawaii Cultural Resource Commission summarizing their recommendations and comments following the site visit with the HDOT project team. 3. The SHPD maintains its request for Construction Plans. Please provide a set that includes the boundary of the SIHP number 50-10-06-22632 marked off with a boundary of 15 feet around the site boundaries and instructions to avoid the area. 4. SHPD previously requested excavation of archaeological test units to verify the presence or absence of subsurface archaeological historic properties. The FHWA responded by saying, "Archaeological monitoring will be proposed as part of the Chapter 6E compliance for the proposed project". The SHPO notes, these are separate regulatory processes, and should archaeological monitoring be warranted for this undertaking, to comply with the Section 106 process, the commitment will need to be made under Section 106. Please submit all forthcoming information and correspondence related to the subject project to SHPD via HICRIS under Project No. 2021PR00849 using the Project Supplement option. The HDOT and the FHWA are the offices of record for this undertaking. Please maintain a copy of this letter with your environmental review record for this undertaking. Please contact Mary Kodama, Acting Architecture Branch Chief at Mary.Kodama@hawaii.gov, for matters regarding architectural resources. Please contact Stephanie Hacker, Historic Preservation Archaeologist IV, at Stephanie.Hacker@hawaii.gov or at(808)692-8046 for matters regarding archaeological resources or this letter. Aloha, Dawn N. S. Chang,Esq. DLNR Chairperson State Historic Preservation Officer cc: Matthew Walker,FHWA(Matthew.Walkerl@dot.gov) Meesa Otani,FHWA(Meesa.Otani@dot.gov) Andrew J. Hirano,HDOT(Andrew.J.Hirano@hawaii.gov) Lawrence M. Laus,HDOT(Lawrence.M.Laus@hawaii.gov) Henry Kennedy,HDOT(Henry.Kennedy@hawaii.gov) Holly Yuen,HDOT(Holly.Yuen@hawaii.gov) Trisha Watson,Honua Consulting(Watson@honuaconsulting.gov) Kevin Sullivan,County of Hawaii(Kevin.Sullivan@hawaiicounty.gov) Darin Chinen,WSP USA Inc. (Darin.Chinen@wsp.com)