The state Board of Land and Natural Resources has rejected an environmental review that would have brought the U.S. Army a step closer to retaining nearly 6,000 acres on Oʻahu for military training.
On Friday, the land board voted 5-1 against the Army's final environmental impact statement for the Kahuku Training Area, the Mākua Military Reservation and the entirety of the Kawailoa-Poamoho Training Area.
The leases for those areas end in 2029.
Hours of public testimony and board discussion on Friday centered on information from the Army on its possible impacts to cultural and environmental resources — information that the board ultimately considered to be insufficient.
“The board did have to weigh the facts … for purposes of determining whether the (FEIS) met the standards, and at the end of the day a majority of the board members felt that it fell short. It did not provide us with all of the information to make an informed decision,” BLNR Chair Dawn Chang told reporters following Friday’s decision.
Testimony from the public also revealed ongoing frustrations with the military's presence on the islands.
One testifier said those at a recent town hall in Kahuku discussing the military's bid to retain its training areas found bullet casings, barbed wire and unexploded ordnance along paths despite the Army saying it was cleaning up after itself.
Others agree that the military hasn't properly cared for the land they've used.
“This ʻāina should have never been given to the army in the first place, but what's done is done. What's important now is that you don't let them continue. They have not been good stewards of this ʻāina”, and nothing in this FEIS suggests that (they will) change,” said testifier Leo Nahe Smith.
State Department of Land and Natural Resources staff looked over the environmental review, which recommended that the board reject it.
The Army leases about 18,000 acres total on Oʻahu for the three areas, and about 6,300 acres are state-owned — about 1,200 acres at KTA in the Kahuku area, 4,400 acres at Poamoho near Wahiawā, and 780 acres on Oʻahu’s west side.
The Army has said that the land helps it “continue to meet ongoing military training and combat readiness requirements on Army-managed lands in Hawaiʻi.”
The land board rejected the FEIS despite the Army offering to give back more than 90% of the state land it’s currently leasing — about 5,800 acres. It did want to keep about 450 acres at KTA for military training.
“The Army is committed to continuing its environmental and cultural stewardship in support of the U.S. Army Pacific training strategy while maintaining an enduring partnership with Oʻahu communities,” said Col. Rachel Sullivan, U.S. Army Garrison Hawaiʻi commander, in a statement.
Gov. Josh Green in a statement said the vote "underscores the need for continued dialogue and shared responsibility when it comes to the future of state lands."
The board’s lone opposing vote was by member Riley Smith, who said he opposed because he was worried that rejecting the environmental review would slow down the transfer of the land back to the state.
Last month the land board also rejected the Army’s FEIS for the Pōhakuloa Training Area on Hawaiʻi Island.
