It wasn’t long ago that transitioning to hybrid gas-electric vehicles was seen as a better way to reduce greenhouse gas emissions on O‘ahu than going purely electric. Unlike the neighbor islands that generate more of their electricity from renewable sources, … Continued
The Big Island is on the verge of testing three hydrogen-fueled buses. It’s been sitting on that verge for more than five years, but, according to Riley Saito, with the Hawai‘i County Department of Research and Development, just a few … Continued
Waimea, ‘Anaeho‘omalu Aquifers Remain Separate in Updated Water Resources Plan After more than a decade, the Commission on Water Resource Management finally updated its Water Resources Protection Plan (WRPP) earlier this year. As adopted, the plan seems to put the … Continued
‘Aina Le‘a Stumbles: On August 26, Robert Wessels, who heads up ‘Aina Le‘a, Inc., forwarded to the Hawai‘i County Planning Department an environmental impact statement preparation notice (EISPN), prepared by Christian Renz, a Waikoloa landscaper. In the decade since Wessels … Continued
On June 27, 2013, the state of Hawai‘i deposited $4.165 million with the 2nd Circuit Court. The action was the first step toward condemning about an acre of land adjoining Maui’s Ma‘alaea harbor that the state had been leasing since … Continued
For the last two years, David Kimo Frankel has tried to get the Department of Land and Natural Resources and its board to stamp out what he saw as illegal commercial use of a state beachfront parcel rented since the … Continued
On June 14, the Land Board voted to increase mooring fees for the state’s small boat harbors. The vote was not unanimous and was made after the board rejected a contested case hearing request from members of the public. Increases … Continued
On August 23, the Land Board voted to accept a supplemental environmental impact statement for the Auwahi wind farm on Maui and approve a new Habitat Conservation Plan for the take of an additional 119 endangered Hawaiian hoary bats over … Continued
The Sand Island Wastewater Treatment Plant collects sewage from more than 400,000 residents and visitors in Honolulu and discharges 66 million gallons of effluent a day into the sea via along, wide underground outfall. The 84-inch-wide outfall extends a mile … Continued
Puccinia Rule: On August 27, the state Board of Agriculture (BOA) unanimously approved a rule intended to reduce imports of plants that could carry a fungus, Puccinia psidii, that poses a danger to ‘ohi‘a trees. As Environment Hawai‘i reported more than four … Continued