Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 21, Number 7, 1 Iulai 2004 — Navy use of DLNR-granted Kauaʻi lands under watchful eye [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Navy use of DLNR-granted Kauaʻi lands under watchful eye

The Pacific Missile Range Facility (PMRF) is the largest instrumented multienvironment test range in the world. It is also the only base to offer simultaneous training and testing in the four areas of combat: sea, land, air and space. Key tenants on the property include the Navy, the State of Hawaii'i Air National Guard, the Missile Defense Agency, NASA, the National Institutes of Standards and Technology, and the Department of Energy/Sandia National Laboratory. The Navy contends that PMRF contributes about 800 jobs and $130 million per year to Kaua'i's economy. The Navy has been trying since October 2001 to obtain a buffer zone adjacent to PMRF to ensure that any development in the area, whieh is zoned for agriculture, would be compatible with Navy use of the land, and comply with security and operational requirements. According to the Ceded Lands Inventory of the Department of

Land and Natural Resources (DLNR), all of the lands in the Mānā plain are ceded lands. On May 6, I met with Captain Jeff Connelly, commanding officer of the Pacific Missile Range Facility (PMRF) at Barking Sands Kaua'i, to learn about the Navy's command presentation. I presented the following eoncerns to Captain Connelly: 1. I was concerned that the Navy pays only $156 per year for 1,800 to 2,000 acres of ceded land whieh is now PMRF. 2. I did not argue against PMRF leasing 300 acres, whieh includes the pump area. The lease allows federal funds to pay for permits and maintenance of the drainage system, saving the state and farmers about $500,000 a year for energy costs and pumps. 3. I expressed deep eoneem that no harm is done to any ancient Hawaiian burial sites. 4. As for the 6,000 acres of ceded lands called Mānā flats, there are

two concems: A. That your easement not be to perpetuity, and B . That the Navy pays fair market value. I also attended a meeting at the War Memorial Convention Hall in Līhu'e on May 24, where the DLNR recommended that the board approve the Navy's request. Approximately 250 people attended, and more than 50 speakers gave testimony, some for and some against the proposal. Heidi Kai Guth, OHA's policy analyst, did an outstanding job presenting testimony expressing OHA's eoncerns with the lease. Also, Kaua'i Councilwoman JoAnn Yukimura and Sen. Gary Hooser helped tremendously. The Navy did not get all it asked for — the Navy did not get the land to perpetuity. DLNR agreed to establish a buffer zone on 5,641 acres of land adjoining the missile range, protecting the Kaua'i missile range from encroachment by developers to the

year 2029 and retains the right to review the agreement every 10 years. The agreement gives the Navy 270 acres of state land between Kūhiō Highway and the base for free and places an easement of 5,371 acres of land mauka of the highway to keep the land undeveloped for security reasons. DLNR refused the Navy's request for the power to grant or reject subdivision applications, but the Navy will be informed of any subdivision applications to the county or the state. Kaua'i's Land Board representative Lynn McCrory, who negotiated with the Navy, said, "It's not like anything we've ever done before." In the past, an easement to hloek development has never been granted by the state. You may be assured that close scrutiny will continue on how the Navy uses the acreage granted by DLNR and that our original eoncerns are met. ■

Donald B. Cataluna Trustee, Kaua'i and Ni'ihau