{"id":15792,"date":"2024-03-04T08:14:51","date_gmt":"2024-03-04T18:14:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.environment-hawaii.org\/?p=15792"},"modified":"2024-03-04T08:14:51","modified_gmt":"2024-03-04T18:14:51","slug":"board-talk-mosquito-control-kahala-pipes-ala-wai-parking","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/environment-hawaii.org\/?p=15792","title":{"rendered":"Board Talk: Mosquito Control, Kahala Pipes, Ala Wai Parking"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Board Approves Contracting Process<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

For Kaua\u02bbi Mosquito Control Project<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n
\n
\"\"<\/a>
\u02bbAkikiki. Credit:Robby Kohley\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

At its February 23 meeting, the state Board of Land and Natural Resources unanimously approved the use of a request for proposals for the use of the incompatible insect technique on Kaua\u02bbi to control populations of mosquitoes that spread avian malaria.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With warming temperatures, the spread of malaria-carrying mosquitoes to areas that were once refuges for native forest birds has brought many of them to the brink of extinction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Paul Radley of the Department of Land and Natural Resources\u2019 Division of Forestry and Wildlife told the board that there is believed to be only one \u02bbakikiki (Kaua\u02bbi creeper) left in the wild, and the \u02bbakeke\u02bbe (Kaua\u02bbi \u02bb\u0101kepa) is \u201cdestined to be gone within the next couple of years.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He did note that a number of birds from both species have been taken into captivity for husbandry and are being held on Hawai\u02bbi Island.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In addition to approving the use of an RFP process, DOFAW asked the Land Board to delegate to its chair the authority to award, execute and extend agreements with the successful applicant, which the board also approved.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Deputy attorney general Miranda Steed informed the Land Board that a lawsuit had been filed in 5th Circuit Court against the board\u2019s acceptance last October of a final environmental assessment for the project, but the complaint had not been served on the DLNR. \u201cIt\u02bbs just a complaint that\u02bbs sitting out there,\u201d she said. It was filed on November 22 by Michael Flynn and Ray Songtree who are representing themselves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Steed added that in a separate but related case regarding the use of the ITT in East Maui, the circuit court granted the state\u02bbs motion for summary judgment on February 6, having determined that the environmental assessment that had been done for the project \u2014 which is similar to the one of Kaua\u02bbi \u2014 was adequate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Radley said there had been two experimental releases of Wolbachia-infected mosquitoes on Kaua\u02bbI so far, and there may be another release this summer. He said those releases suggest that the mosquitoes are staying fairly close to where they were released.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to DOFAW\u02bbs report to the board, up to $6 million in federal funding will be made available to procure the mosquitoes for the Kaua\u02bbi program.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“The proposed action consists of repeatedly releasing incompatible male mosquitoes to reduce the reproductive potential of wild mosquitoes. When conducted repeatedly over time, releases of incompatible mosquitoes would suppress the wild mosquito population by at least 90 percent. The primary tool proposed for release of mosquitoes on the landscape is drones and, to a lesser extent, helicopters, fixed-wing aircraft, and ground-based methods,\u201d states a summary of the project EA published in the state\u2019s Environmental Notice<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Radley told the board that the mosquitoes would be released weekly, all year round.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The board received written testimony both supporting and opposing the project. No members of the public testified in person or on Zoom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

Kahala Discharge Pipes<\/strong> Remain in Limbo<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

On January 26, the Board of Land and Natural Resource withdrew an agenda item regarding a proposed 25-year easement for water discharge pipes extending from the Kahala Hotel & Resort, under an adjacent parcel of state land under permit to the resort\u2019s owner, and into the ocean.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to a report by the Land Division, the pipes were installed as part of the original hotel development in the 1960s, but no disposition for the resort\u2019s use of state land was ever issued.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Back in October 2022, when the Land Board was renewing revocable permits administered by the Department of Land and Natural Resources\u2019 Land Division, the division recognized that the current resort owner, Resorttrust Hawai\u02bbi, needed to apply for a land disposition for the pipes. The company holds a revocable permit to use the state parcel for recreation and maintenance purposes. However, resort representatives objected to tying the pipeline disposition to the revocable permit renewal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In July 2023, Resorttrust Hawai\u02bbi applied for permission to use state land for two outfalls for its air conditioning cooling system that uses brackish well water, and for a third outfall for storm water.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The companies states in its application that the effluent from the air conditioning cooling system originates in the hotel lagoon, which supports porpoises and reef fish. \u201c[S]o the quality of the water discharged from the lagoon outfalls is compatible with the reef environment,\u201d it states.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The two air conditioning system outfalls are covered by a discharge permit from the state Department of Health, which has advised the DLNR that no similar permit is required for the storm water outlet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Land Division had proposed that the board, at its January 26 meeting, approve the easement and declare that it will have minimal or no significant effect on the environment and is, therefore, exempt from the need to prepare an environmental assessment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If approved by the board, the easement would also require approval from the Legislature and the governor. Resorttrust would be required to make a one-time payment for the easement to be determined by an independent appraisal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s unclear when or whether the matter will be brought back to the board. The matter was withdrawn at Resorttrust\u2019s request, after long-time opponents of its revocable permit, Tyler Ralston and David Kimo Frankel, submitted their written testimony shortly before the January 26 meeting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

Board Dismisses Contested Case Petitions<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

For Ala Wai Parking Concession, Permit<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Opponents of Secure Parking Hawai\u02bbi, LLC\u2019s management of public parking at the Ala Wai small boat harbor in Waikiki met with more disappointment at the Land Board\u2019s February 23 meeting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The board unanimously denied requests by Kama\u02bbaina Boaters, Margaret Hallahan, and Karen Boyer for contested case hearings on the board\u2019s August 2023 approval of a revocable permit to the company, as well as its December decision to continue the RP and issue a three-year concession contract.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kate Thompson, representing Kama\u02bbaina Boaters, argued that the towing of cars in the harbor lot for expired parking meters was excessive, to say the least.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Data obtained from a document request from the DLNR showed that the company Secure Parking was working with, Mr. Tow, was pulling cars from the lot at a rate of 207 per month. Owners would have to pay the company $160 to get their car back, and at that rate, Thompson said, the company was making nearly $400,000 a year at the Ala Wai.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What\u2019s more, the cars were almost never being towed after the owners were issued citations for expired parking meters. She said that the data she collected showed that less than 1 citation was issued for every 200 tows.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s predatory. \u2026 that the tow truck is sitting in the parking lot,\u201d she said, adding that the parking penalties at the Ala Wai \u201care not equitable compared to other parking areas,\u201d where tickets for $20-$40 are issued for expired meters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Land Board chair Dawn Chang repeatedly reminded those who had requested a contested case hearing that the board was not deciding that day on the merits of Secure Parking. It was only deciding whether or not the petitioners were entitled to a contested case hearing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In its reports to the board on the contested case hearing requests from Kama\u02bbaina Boaters and Margaret Hallahan, the DLNR\u2019s Division of Boating and Ocean Recreation concluded that they had no constitutionally protected property interest in parking concession or RP renewal. The division found that Boyer had not complied with rules governing contested cases, which require that the initial request be made at the Land Board meeting where the item was heard. She did not do that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although the board denied their petitions, Chang asked DOBOR to make sure it monitored Secure Parking and all of the components of its contract. The Land Board was deferring to the division on the best way to manage parking at the Ala Wai, \u201cbut I will ultimately be held accountable,\u201d Chang told DOBOR assistant administrator Meghan Statts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“DOBOR you have heard [the public concerns]. They are not going go away, nor are their comments going to change,\u201d Chang added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2014 Teresa Dawson<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Board Approves Contracting Process For Kauaʻi Mosquito Control Project At its February 23 meeting, the state Board of Land and Natural Resources unanimously approved the use of a request for proposals for the use of the incompatible insect technique on … Continued<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":15793,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13,11,26,25,338,522],"tags":[3],"class_list":["post-15792","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-board-talk","category-climate-change","category-endangered-species","category-invasives","category-land-use","category-march-2024","tag-teresa-dawson"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/environment-hawaii.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15792","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/environment-hawaii.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/environment-hawaii.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/environment-hawaii.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/environment-hawaii.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=15792"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/environment-hawaii.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15792\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/environment-hawaii.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/15793"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/environment-hawaii.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=15792"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/environment-hawaii.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=15792"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/environment-hawaii.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=15792"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}