Bill Text: HI HCR163 | 2021 | Regular Session | Amended


Bill Title: Requesting The Board Of Land And Natural Resources To Enter Into A Long-term Water Lease With The Waioli Valley Taro Hui For The Hui's Existing Use Of Water From Waioli Stream Via Direct Negotiation, Upon Its Completion Of Requirements Pursuant To Chapter 343, Hawaii Revised Statutes.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 16-0)

Status: (Passed) 2021-04-23 - Resolution adopted in final form. [HCR163 Detail]

Download: Hawaii-2021-HCR163-Amended.html

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.C.R. NO.

163

THIRTY-FIRST LEGISLATURE, 2021

H.D. 1

STATE OF HAWAII

S.D. 1

 

 

 

 

HOUSE CONCURRENT

RESOLUTION

 

 

REQUESTING THE BOARD OF LAND AND NATURAL RESOURCES TO ENTER INTO A LONG-TERM WATER LEASE WITH THE WAIOLI VALLEY TARO HUI FOR THE HUI'S EXISTING USE OF WATER FROM WAIOLI STREAM VIA DIRECT NEGOTIATION, UPON ITS COMPLETION OF REQUIREMENTS PURSUANT TO CHAPTER 343, HAWAII REVISED STATUTES.

 

 


     WHEREAS, for Hawaii's people, culture, and resources, ola i ka wai (water is life); and

 

     WHEREAS, the traditional cultural practice of loi kalo cultivation in Waioli Valley has fed Waioli Valley and neighboring ahupuaa for centuries; and

 

     WHEREAS, for over a century, the kalo farmers of Waioli Valley Taro Hui have worked to steward and maintain Waioli Valley's natural resources, and thereby the cultural lifeways and community identity that are reliant upon those resources; and

 

     WHEREAS, the traditional loi kalo irrigation system is an indigenous surface water system that has long been used to connect flowing water to kalo fields; and

 

     WHEREAS, Waioli's loi kalo have been thriving, dating to at least the fifteenth century; and

 

     WHEREAS, Waioli Stream is one of only six streams throughout Hawaii pae āina that the Hawaii Stream Assessment identified as having traditionally supported more than fifty acres of kalo cultivation; and

 

     WHEREAS, the water that flows through Waioli's ancient system is a lifeway that supports kalo cultivation traditions and perpetuates the native Hawaiian culture while feeding the community and preparing the next generation to carry on this vital practice; and

 

     WHEREAS, loi kalo cultivation in Waioli Valley uses water in a nonpolluting way, and the water that flows through the loi kalo is nonconsumptive, as it is returned to the same watersheds of origin and recharges related ground and surface water sources, including Waioli Stream and Hanalei River; and

 

     WHEREAS, this body supports the traditional and customary practice of kalo cultivation by the Waioli Valley Taro Hui in Waioli, Kauai; and

 

     WHEREAS, the unprecedented floods of 2018 destroyed the historic mānowai (traditional instream diversion structure) and severely damaged the auwai (irrigation ditch) in Waioli, Kauai, thereby impacting water flow to ancient loi kalo and reducing Waioli Valley Taro Hui's ability to restore its fields and feed its community; and

 

     WHEREAS, in response to this devastation, the Governor and Mayor of the County of Kauai issued emergency proclamations and extensions to the proclamations, that proclaimed Kauai County as a disaster area; and

 

     WHEREAS, the Legislature appropriated funds for disaster recovery efforts via Act 12, Session Laws of Hawaii 2018, and Act 35, Session Laws of Hawaii 2019, which included the repair of Waioli Valley Taro Hui's mānowai and auwai; and

 

     WHEREAS, during the disaster recovery and repair efforts, the Waioli Valley Taro Hui was informed that its traditional loi kalo irrigation system, including the mānowai and auwai, was located on state conservation land; and

 

     WHEREAS, the Waioli Valley Taro Hui worked closely with the County of Kauai and the State to understand and pursue the appropriate entitlements and exemptions to ensure the long-term viability of traditional loi kalo cultivation in Waioli Valley; and

 

     WHEREAS, the Board of Land and Natural Resources' unanimous approval of a perpetual easement for the Waioli Valley Taro Hui's continued use and maintenance of its traditional loi kalo irrigation system, including the mānowai and auwai, represents the first co-management of natural and cultural terrestrial resources between a community group and the Board of Land and Natural Resources; and

 

     WHEREAS, the Waioli Valley Taro Hui seeks to continue to steward this traditional system and practice by pursuing a long-term water lease from the Board of Land and Natural Resources; and

 

     WHEREAS, traditional loi kalo cultivation creates opportunities for community-based cultural and agricultural education while providing vital environmental benefits, such as flood mitigation and groundwater recharge; preserving native habitat for endangered and threatened water birds; advancing food security; and building community and cultural resilience in the face of the rising costs of imported food; and

 

     WHEREAS, loi kalo cultivation in Waioli Valley will not persevere without a long-term water lease from the Board of Land and Natural Resources; and

 

     WHEREAS, article XII, section 7, of the Hawaii State Constitution mandates the State to protect the traditional and customary practices of native Hawaiians, such as those perpetuated by the Waioli Valley Taro Hui members; and

 

     WHEREAS, a water lease to the Waioli Valley Taro Hui supports appurtenant, riparian, and traditional and customary native Hawaiian rights and practices; and

 

     WHEREAS, an environmental assessment of the Waioli Valley Taro Hui's continued traditional cultivation of loi kalo is in progress and will be published for public hearing, pursuant to section 171-58, Hawaii Revised Statutes; and

 

     WHEREAS, the Department of Land and Natural Resources' Office of Conservation and Coastal Lands did not require a conservation district use permit from the Waioli Valley Taro Hui, given that the Waioli Valley Taro Hui's use of water from Waioli Stream preceded the State's creation of conservation districts or related use permits; and

 

     WHEREAS, pursuant to section 171-58(e), Hawaii Revised Statutes, the Waioli Valley Taro Hui and Department of Land and Natural Resources developed a watershed management plan, and pursuant to section 171-58(g), Hawaii Revised Statutes, the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands consulted with the affected beneficiaries in November 2020 and did not request a reservation of water from Waioli Stream; and

 

     WHEREAS, a long-term water lease will help the Waioli Valley Taro Hui recover and thrive after the 2018 floods and perpetuate loi kalo cultivation as its spiritual foundation, culture, and lifeway into the future:  Make nō ke kalo a ola i ka palili (The taro may die, but lives on in the young plants that it produces); now, therefore,

 

     BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Thirty-first Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2021, the Senate concurring, that the Board of Land and Natural Resources is requested to enter into a long-term water lease with Waioli Valley Taro Hui for the Hui's existing use of water from Waioli Stream via direct negotiation, upon its completion of requirements pursuant to chapter 343, Hawaii Revised Statutes; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Chairperson of the Board of Land and Natural Resources, Mayor of the County of Kauai, and President of Waioli Valley Taro Hui.

Report Title:  

BLNR; Waioli Valley Taro Hui; Long-Term Water Lease

feedback