THE SENATE

S.C.R. NO.

212

TWENTY-SECOND LEGISLATURE, 2004

 

STATE OF HAWAII

 
   


SENATE CONCURRENT

RESOLUTION

 

REQUESTING THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT TO CONDUCT A THOROUGH EVALUATION OF THE CONDITION OF THE 187-ACRE PROPERTY SITUATED IN WAIKANE VALLEY THAT WAS USED BY THE UNITED STATES MARINE CORPS FOR ORDNANCE TRAINING UNTIL 1976, PLAN FOR AND CONDUCT AS THOROUGH A CLEAN-UP AND REMOVAL OF ORDNANCE AS IS TECHNOLOGICALLY POSSIBLE, CONDUCT AN ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT OF THE POTENTIAL RISK TO HUMAN HEALTH AND SAFETY, AND RETURN THE LAND TO THE STATE OF HAWAII.

 

WHEREAS, Waikane Valley contains undeveloped land in the ahupuaa of Waikane on Oahu's windward side; and

WHEREAS, 33 years ago, the United States Marine Corps obtained 187 acres in Waikane Valley, commonly referred to as the "Waikane Training Area," for military jungle and live ordnance training; and

WHEREAS, the United States Marine Corps has announced its intention to close the Waikane Training Area, but as recently as last year, the United States Marine Corps has sought to use Waikane Valley for more military jungle training; and

WHEREAS, ironically, Waikane Valley was abandoned as a training site by the United States Marine Corps because of safety concerns over the use of high explosive anti-tank and bazooka rounds used in the past and the insufficient data to determine the exact number of ammunition rounds fired in the valley; and

WHEREAS, the United States Marine Corps originally obtained the right to use the Waikane Training Area by a lease from the McCandless Estate and Waiahole Water Company in 1953 and subsequently by a lease from the same parties and the heirs of John Kamaka; and

WHEREAS, the Kamaka heirs acquired title to the Waikane Training Area by quitclaim deed in June of 1972 and terminated the lease with the United States Marine Corps in 1976; and

WHEREAS, between 1976 and 1993, the United States Marine Corps conducted several investigations and ordnance removal efforts on the property and concluded that the Waikane Training Area could never be certified as being clear of ordnance; and

WHEREAS, the United States Navy and Marine Corps acquired title to the Waikane Training Area in 1993 by condemnation as a means to address the problem of not being able to fulfill their lease obligations to return the property to the Kamaka heirs in an ordnance-free and safe condition; and

WHEREAS, land in Hawaii, and particularly agricultural and conservation land, is Hawaii's most precious and limited resource; and

WHEREAS, Waikane Valley has served historically as important agricultural area for the island of Oahu and contains precious archaeological and historic sites; and

WHEREAS, regardless of the 1993 condemnation, members of the Waikane community believe that the United States Marine Corps should live up to their commitment of cleaning up the land, and they have expressed their desire to have the Waikane Training Area restored to a condition that will permit them to return to the aina and engage in farming and other agricultural activities that would be appropriate based on the condition of the remediated property; and

WHEREAS, the federal government and military have previously demonstrated their will and capacity to honor their obligations to remediate and restore other equally or more severely contaminated installations upon closure under the Formerly Used Defense Site Program, Defense Environmental Restoration Program, Installation Restoration Program, other Department of Defense initiatives and programs, and with special appropriations from Congress; and

WHEREAS, the current official position of United States Department of Defense is that no ordnance-contaminated site can ever be certified as being clear of unexploded ordnance; and

WHEREAS, based on the inability to certify the Waikane Training Area as being clear of unexploded ordnance, the United States Navy and Marine Corps are considering permanent closure of the property to the general public by erecting a security fence around the area; and

WHEREAS, the permanent closure of the Waikane Training Area would be a devastating loss of precious agricultural, historical, cultural, and natural resources to Hawaii; and

WHEREAS, with sufficient funding from existing restoration programs or special appropriations from Congress, or both, the United States Navy and Marine Corps have the means to clean-up the Waikane Training Area to a condition that is reasonably safe for certain restricted uses, provided long-term monitoring and guidelines are established; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Twenty-Second Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2004, the House of Representatives concurring, that the federal government is requested to conduct a thorough evaluation of the condition of the Waikane Training Area, particularly with regard to environmental and ordnance-related hazards that exist on the property; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the federal government is requested to plan for and conduct as thorough a clean-up of the Waikane Training Area as is technologically possible, including the remediation or removal of all environmental hazards and contamination and removal of all practice and live ordnance; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the federal government is requested to conduct a post-clean-up environmental assessment of the Waikane Training Area evaluating the potential risks to human health and safety, for the purpose of determining the types of uses and activities that could appropriately be conducted on the property with minimal risk to potential users and the community at large; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the federal government is requested to return the Waikane Training Area to the State of Hawaii upon completion of the clean-up; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the federal government is requested to appropriate sufficient funds to plan for, implement, and complete the rehabilitation and transfer of the Waikane Training Area; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the members of Hawaii's congressional delegation are requested to assist in seeking and obtaining the relief sought above; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to President of the United States, President of the United States Senate, Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, members of Hawaii's

congressional delegation, the Commandant of the Marine Corps, and the Secretary of the Navy.

 

 

 

OFFERED BY:

_____________________________

Report Title:

Requesting the federal government to evaluate, clean up and conduct an environmental assessment of the Waikane Training Area, appropriate funds for those actions, and return the land to Hawaii.