HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.C.R. NO.

182

THIRTIETH LEGISLATURE, 2020

 

STATE OF HAWAII

 

 

 

 

 


HOUSE CONCURRENT

RESOLUTION

 

 

REQUESTING THE Board OF LAND AND NATURAL RESOURCES TO ESTABLISH A MAKUA VALLEY TASK FORCE TO PREPARE FOR THE TRANSFER OF MANAGEMENT OF THE MAKUA MILITARY RESERVATION TO THE STATE FROM THE UNITED STATES ARMY UPON EXPIRATION OF GENERAL LEASE No. S-3848.

 

 

 


     WHEREAS, use of Makua Valley by the United States military dates back to the 1920s; and

 

     WHEREAS, during World War II, more than four thousand acres in the valley were converted into a United States military reservation and areas of Makua Valley were turned into live-fire training facilities subject to ship-to-shore bombardment; and

 

     WHEREAS, kuleana residents and other residents were required to leave Makua Valley once the United States military took over the area; and

 

     WHEREAS, in 1964, the Board of Land and Natural Resources signed a sixty-five-year lease with the United States Army for use of land in Makua Valley; and

 

     WHEREAS, the United States military continued live-fire training at Makua Military Reservation until 2001, when the United States Army agreed to nearly cease live-fire training at Makua pending a comprehensive Environmental Impact Statement; and

 

     WHEREAS, according to the findings of fact by a United States district court that temporarily enjoined the Army from conducting live-fire military training at Makua in 2001:

(1)  There are at least thirty-two listed endangered plants, two endangered birds, one endangered mammal, and one endangered invertebrate snail located in the Makua Military Reservation area;

 

(2)  There are records of ten plant species recognized as species of concern, five plant candidate species recognized for threatened or endangered species status, and one animal species of concern in the Makua Military Reservation area; and

 

     (3)  Makua Valley is associated with a number of Native Hawaiian legends and traditional Native Hawaiian deities, and has significant religious and social value to many Native Hawaiians; and

 

     WHEREAS, the Makua Military Reservation contains approximately one hundred sites that are eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places, including Hawaiian temples, shrines, and petroglyphs; and

 

     WHEREAS, the United States Army agreed to clear unexploded ordnance, with a focus on providing access to cultural sites in Makua; and

 

     WHEREAS, access to cultural sites was halted in 2015 after two grass-cutting contractors were injured when an unexploded ordnance accidentally exploded, resulting in a lawsuit against the United States Army to renew access to cultural sites; and

 

     WHEREAS, General Lease No. S-3848, the State's sixty-five-year lease to the United States Army for its use of Makua Valley, expires on August 16, 2029; now, therefore,

 

     BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Thirtieth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2020, the Senate concurring, that the Board of Land and Natural Resources is requested to establish a Makua Valley task force to prepare for the transfer of management of the Makua Military Reservation to the State from the United States Army upon expiration of General Lease No. S-3848; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the members of the task force are requested to examine and address the legal, historical, environmental, and cultural impacts from the decades-long use of Makua Valley by the United States armed forces, and serve without compensation; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the task force is requested to be comprised of the Chairperson of the Board of Land and Natural Resources and a representative of the House of Representatives to be selected by the Speaker of the House of Representatives; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Chairperson of the Board of Land and Natural Resources is requested to invite the following persons to be members of the task force:

 

(1)  A representative from the Office of Hawaiian Affairs;

 

(2)  A member of the Aha Moku Advisory Committee;

 

(3)  A representative of the families who were evicted from Makua Valley or whose lands in Makua Valley were condemned by the federal government;

 

(4)  One representative from each of three different non-profit organizations with expertise regarding Makua Valley; and

 

     (5)  A representative selected from a list of organizations compiled by Native Hawaiian organizations and submitted to the Chairperson of the Board of Land and Natural Resources; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the task force is requested to elect a chairperson from among its members; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the task force is requested to enter into specific discussions with the United States Army prior to the expiration of General Lease No. S-3848 to:

(1)  Facilitate the expedient return of the lands comprising the Makua Military Reservation;

 

(2)  Ensure the removal of unexploded ordnance in Makua Valley; and

 

     (3)  Ensure the expansion of opportunities for cultural access; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the task force is requested to submit progress reports of its findings and recommendations, including any proposed legislation, to the Legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of each regular session until the task force is dissolved on February 16, 2030, six months after the expiration of General Lease No. S-3848; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the United States Secretary of the Army, Chairperson of the Board of Land and Natural Resources, Chairperson of the Board of Trustees of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, and Chairperson of the Aha Moku Advisory Committee.

 

 

 

 

OFFERED BY:

_____________________________

 

 

Report Title: 

Makua Military Reservation; Task Force; Management Transition