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
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HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES |
H.C.R. NO. |
163 |
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THIRTY-FIRST LEGISLATURE, 2021 |
H.D. 1 |
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STATE OF HAWAII |
S.D. 1 |
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HOUSE CONCURRENT
RESOLUTION
REQUESTING THE BOARD OF
LAND AND NATURAL RESOURCES TO ENTER INTO A LONG-TERM WATER LEASE WITH THE WAI‘OLI VALLEY TARO HUI FOR THE HUI'S EXISTING USE OF
WATER FROM WAI‘OLI STREAM VIA DIRECT NEGOTIATION, UPON ITS COMPLETION OF REQUIREMENTS PURSUANT
TO CHAPTER 343, HAWAII REVISED STATUTES.
WHEREAS, for Hawai‘i's people, culture, and resources, ola i ka wai (water is life); and
WHEREAS, the traditional cultural practice of lo‘i kalo cultivation in Wai‘oli Valley has fed Wai‘oli Valley and neighboring ahupua‘a for centuries; and
WHEREAS, for over
a century, the kalo farmers of
Wai‘oli Valley Taro
Hui have worked to steward and maintain Wai‘oli
Valley's natural resources, and thereby the cultural lifeways and community identity
that are reliant upon those resources; and
WHEREAS, the traditional lo‘i kalo irrigation system is an indigenous surface water system that
has long been used to connect flowing water to kalo fields; and
WHEREAS, Wai‘oli's lo‘i
kalo have been thriving, dating to at least the fifteenth century; and
WHEREAS, Wai‘oli Stream is one of only six streams throughout Hawai‘i pae ‘āina that the Hawai‘i Stream Assessment identified as having traditionally supported more than fifty acres of kalo cultivation; and
WHEREAS, the water that flows through Wai‘oli'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, lo‘i
kalo cultivation in Wai‘oli
Valley uses water in a nonpolluting way, and the water that flows through the lo‘i
kalo is nonconsumptive, as it is returned to the same watersheds of origin and recharges
related ground and surface water sources, including Wai‘oli Stream and Hanalei River; and
WHEREAS, this body supports the traditional and customary practice of kalo cultivation by the Wai‘oli Valley Taro Hui in Wai‘oli, Kaua‘i; and
WHEREAS, the unprecedented floods of 2018 destroyed the historic mānowai (traditional instream diversion structure) and severely damaged the ‘auwai (irrigation ditch) in Wai‘oli, Kaua‘i, thereby impacting water flow to ancient lo‘i kalo and reducing Wai‘oli 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 Kaua‘i issued emergency proclamations and extensions to the proclamations, that proclaimed Kaua‘i 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 Wai‘oli Valley Taro Hui's mānowai and ‘auwai; and
WHEREAS, during the disaster recovery
and repair efforts, the Wai‘oli
Valley Taro Hui was informed that its traditional lo‘i
kalo irrigation system, including the mānowai and ‘auwai, was located on state conservation
land; and
WHEREAS, the Wai‘oli Valley Taro Hui worked closely with the County of Kaua‘i and the State to understand and pursue the appropriate entitlements and exemptions to ensure the long-term viability of traditional lo‘i kalo cultivation in Wai‘oli Valley; and
WHEREAS, the
Board of Land and Natural Resources' unanimous approval of a perpetual easement
for the Wai‘oli Valley
Taro Hui's continued use and maintenance of its traditional lo‘i 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 Wai‘oli 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 lo‘i
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, lo‘i kalo cultivation in Wai‘oli
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 Wai‘oli Valley Taro Hui members; and
WHEREAS, a water lease to the Wai‘oli Valley Taro Hui supports appurtenant, riparian, and traditional and customary native Hawaiian rights and practices; and
WHEREAS, an environmental assessment of the Wai‘oli Valley Taro Hui's continued traditional cultivation of lo‘i 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 Wai‘oli Valley Taro Hui, given that the Wai‘oli Valley Taro Hui's use of water from Wai‘oli 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 Wai‘oli 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 Wai‘oli Stream; and
WHEREAS, a long-term water lease will help the
Wai‘oli Valley Taro
Hui recover and thrive after the 2018 floods and perpetuate lo‘i 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 Wai‘oli Valley Taro Hui for the Hui's existing use of water from Wai‘oli 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 Wai‘oli Valley Taro Hui.
BLNR; Wai‘oli Valley Taro Hui; Long-Term Water Lease
