Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 34, Number 8, 1 ʻAukake 2017 — Red flags raised over Maui sand dune mining [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Red flags raised over Maui sand dune mining

By Office of Hawaiian Affairs Staff Sand dune mining in central Maui is an issue of major eoneem, the Office of Hawaiian Affairs Board of Trustees heard during their eommunity meetings on Maui in June. During puhlie testimony, several beneficiaries shared concerns that mining sand dunes in central Maui disturbs iwi kūpuna. The dunes are mined for construction materials, with millions of tons shipped to O'ahu. In response, the Office of Hawaiian Affairs calls upon Maui Lani Partners to

cease all sand and other resource extraction and grading to allow: • The Maui Department of Planning to determine if sand extraction violates the Maui Zoning Code; • The Maui Department of Puhlie Works to determine whether revocation or suspension of the Phase IX grading permit is appropriate; and • The State Historic Preservation Department and the Maui Lāna'i Islands Burial Council to properly investigate the discovery of burials and whether historic preservation laws and conditions have been fully eomplied with and enforced. ■

Beneficiaries say sand mining activity on Maui is disturbing iwi kūpuna. - Photo: Courtesy Sierra Club Maui