Hu Honua Permit: The Public Utilities Commission has given the green light to a power purchase agreement between Hawaiian Electric and Hu Honua, the 30-megawatt power plant under construction some 10 miles north of Hilo that proposes to use trees … Continued
September 2017
Over the last decade, Hawai`i County has approved Community Development Plans (CDPs) for most of the districts making up the Big Island. The Kona CDP was one of the first, adopted by the County Council in 2008, and resulted from … Continued
The first session of the 2017 Legislature broke little new ground in terms of environmental law-making. About a dozen bills that nibbled at the edges of meaningful action made it across the finish line with the signature of Governor David … Continued
Pepe`ekeo Access Closed: On June 26, Steven Strauss, attorney for Scott Watson, informed the Hawai`i County Planning Department that his client intended to “permanently close” the temporary public shoreline access along his property in Pepe`ekeo, about 10 miles north of … Continued
August 2017
Landscaper May Finally Pay State Its Nearly Half A Million Dollar Debt An ill-timed auction. An effort to give a Waimanalo animal shelter time to relocate after its lease expired. Alleged verbal instructions from state land agents to the new tenant … Continued
For the better part of the last three decades, every summer on the Big Island, Stanford University professor Peter Vitousek has hosted a meeting of researchers, resource managers, students, and others who have an interest in understanding ecosystem elements and … Continued
Kuka`iau Ranch Acquisition Wins Much of 2017’s Legacy Land Funds Breaking with a decade of past practice, the state Division of Forestry and Wildlife (DOFAW) in May supplanted funding recommendations from the Legacy Land Conservation Commission with its own. At the … Continued
Lehua Rat Project: The Department of Land and Natural Resources has been given the green light to award a contract to Island Conservation of New Zealand for preparation of a plan to eradicate rats from Lehua Island, located a few … Continued