Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 11, Number 2, 1 Pepeluali 1994 — State Kahoʻolawe reserve commission meets [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

State Kahoʻolawe reserve commission meets

by Jeff Clark The return of Kaho'olawe, onee a "struggle," has now heeome a "process." "We never thought that we woulei get this far," said Dr. Noa Emmett Aluli, a longtime Protect Kaho'olawe 'Ohana member who has been working for

Kaho'olawe's retum for 18 years. Aluli added that it's been "important from the 'Ohana perspective that we were able to work within the system after the occupations. ... to be able to finally sit down and in a sense grow up and leam from the politicians" about ending the bombing, conveying

Kaho'olawe to the state and establishing the Kaho'olawe Island Reserve Commission (KIRC). Aluli, who acknowledged Sen. Daniel Inouye and the rest of Hawai'i's congressional delegation as well as Gov. John Waihe'e for their kōkua, was voted chair-

man of the KIRC during the commission's first meeting Jan. 6 in the OHA board room. OHA trustee A. Frenchy DeSoto was named vice-chair. Because the state Senate had yet to eon^firm Gov. Waihe'e's appointments to the commission, the meeting was unofficial. The gathering was called to ensure the commissioners "are all going on the same alanui and marching to the same pahu," said DeSoto. It was also a ehanee for the eommissioners to introduce themselves to eaeh other and the public,

and for Norma Wong, deputy director of the Office of State Planning, to brief them on the commission's role and workings. The federal government, through an amendment added by Sen. Daniel Inouye to last year's defense appropriations bill, eommitted $400 million over 10 years for Kaho'olawe's rehabilitation. Of that amount, the state will receive no less than 1 1 percent, or $45 million. In 1994 the federal govemment will provide $60 million of the total amount; the state will get $6 million of that, with the remaining $54 million going to the Navy so they ean begin rehabilitation. The federal legislation states that the island will be conveyed to the state by May 9, but elean-up responsibility will remain with the Navy. The commission will oversee the Navy's efforts. As of May 9, anything that happens on Kaho'olawe or in its surrounding waters is the responsibility of the KIRC. The law establishing the island reserve and the KIRC, Act 340, endows the commission with

funds to cover operational costs. Wong said additional state legislation would be introduced, likely as part of the govemor's administrative package, to create a special fund within the Department of Land and Natural Resources that would receive and make available the state's portion of the federal funding. The legislation would also exempt staff from civil service provisions and initiate funding for the next year. Wong said the state law says the commission must adopt mles to permit fishing, but prohibits all commercial activity, so fishing is "one of the more ticklish issues" the KIRC must address early on. Keoni Fairbanks, a Maui County planner and Protect Kaho'olawe 'Ohana member, was named executive director. Dawn Chang, an attomey with the state Attorney General's office, will serve as the KIRC's legal eounsel. OHA chairman Clayton Hee told the commissioners, "We want to assure you that OHA is steadfast in its support" of the commission and its work.

KIRC members, left to right, Craig Neff, Nālani Kanaka ole Zane and A. Frenchy DeSoto gather around OHA's boardroom table for the eommission's first meeting. Not pictured: Noa Emmett Aluli, DLNR director Keith Ahue, Colette Machado, Brian Miskae. photo by Patrick Johnston