Hawai‘i County Councilmember Rebecca Villegas has proposed a resolution requesting that the military cease all bombing and desecration activities at Pōhakuloa Training Area.
Resolution 234-25 will be discussed during the Policy Committee on Environmental and Natural Resource Management at 2 p.m. on Tuesday.
“This resolution is a collaborative effort born from decades of dedication and unwavering advocacy by community activists, cultural practitioners, environmentalists and lineal descendants of this ‘āina,” Villegas said Monday.
If the committee, which encompasses the nine council members, supports the resolution, it will move to the regular council meeting for approval.
The Army doesn’t intend to submit testimony on the resolution, said Lani O. Pascual, public affairs officer at the U.S. Army Garrison-Pōhakuloa Training Area.
The proposed resolution comes about two months after the State of Hawaiʻi Board of Land and Natural Resources rejected the U.S. Army’s final Environmental Impact Statement to extend its 65-year lease for the Pōhakuloa Training Area, also referred to as PTA. The lease is set to expire in 2029.
Villegas said she didn’t notify the Army about the introduction of this resolution.
“Unfortunately, under this current national administration, trust for government is at an all-time low and our island is even more vulnerable to its nefarious agenda,” the councilwoman said.
Villegas said the state’s rejection of the statement “provides a perfect opportunity for Hawaiʻi County to reconsider its position on this volatile issue. We now have an opportunity to reconsider the $1 lease agreements agreed to decades ago.”
She added: “Now is the time to make our voices and collective passion for protecting our precious ‘āina heard.”
The Army has 60 days to appeal the Board of Land and Natural Resources’ decision to the state’s Environmental Advisory Council.
The resolution specifically asks to end activities that include the use of white phosphorus and depleted uranium, which have caused severe environmental contamination that poses ongoing risks to public health and safety.
“Military activities at PTA have also caused or exacerbated wildfires, which have destroyed thousands of acres of ranch, agricultural and homestead lands,” the resolution states.
The resolution also cites the 2019 Hawaii Supreme Court, in Ching v. Case, where the judge found that the state breached its constitutional duty to inspect and monitor the land at the training area to ensure the military complied with lease terms and cleanup obligations, which have been neglected since the lands were leased.
The resolution said the Army has never conducted the required Ka Pa‘akai analysis to protect Native Hawaiian cultural practices and resources.
The Ka Pa‘akai analysis is a legal framework established by the Hawai‘i Supreme Court in 2000 in the case Ka Pa‘akai O Ka ‘Āina v. Hawaiʻi Land Use Commission to evaluate projects that may affect Native Hawaiian traditional and customary rights.
“The desecration of burial and cultural sites, occupation of lands under the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands, and the perpetuation of harm through militarization directly conflict with Hawai‘i’s values and trust obligations,” the resolution states.
The resolution also asks the state to reject land swaps and lease renewals unless stipulations are established to address comprehensive cleanup, restoration and bioremediation at PTA; and conduct a full Ka Pa‘akai analysis at the training area to ensure the protection of Native Hawaiian cultural practices and resources.
Since 1968, no training has been conducted at the base with munitions that contain depleted uranium, according to an email from Pascual.
According to Pascual’s email, the Army conducts regular testing to ensure no hazard exists from any already existing depleted uranium in the soil.
Pascual’s email also outlined where the military had conducted research, testing and surveys of the land for depleted uranium rounds and radiation levels. There is no depleted uranium on state-owned land.
“Current land use does not post a risk of human health for users and off-site population,” the email stated. “DU (depleted uranium) monitoring plan requires ongoing sampling.”
For more details on depleted uranium use, click here.
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