Bill Text: HI HR182 | 2022 | Regular Session | Introduced

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Bill Title: Requesting The Department Of Land And Natural Resources To Conduct Public Forums To Solicit Input From The Community Regarding The Lease Of State Lands To The Military.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 10-0)

Status: (Passed) 2022-03-29 - Resolution adopted in final form. [HR182 Detail]

Download: Hawaii-2022-HR182-Introduced.html

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HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.R. NO.	182
THIRTY-FIRST LEGISLATURE, 2022
STATE OF HAWAII

HOUSE RESOLUTION

 

 

Requesting the DEPARTMENT OF LAND AND NATURAL RESOURCES TO CONDUCT PUBLIC FORUMS TO SOLICIT INPUT FROM THE COMMUNITY REGARDING THE LEASE OF STATE LANDS TO THE MILITARY.

 

 

 

     WHEREAS, Article XI, section 1, of the Hawaii State Constitution provides that:

 

For the benefit of present and future generations, the State and its political subdivisions shall conserve and protect Hawaii's natural beauty and all natural resources, including land, water, air, minerals and energy sources, and shall promote the development and utilization of these resources in a manner consistent with their conservation and in furtherance of the self-sufficiency of the State.

 

All public natural resources are held in trust by the State for the benefit of the people[;]

 

and

 

     WHEREAS, public lands should be managed in the spirit of malama aina and that the military's use of public land has been inconsistent with that spirit; and

 

     WHEREAS, the legacy of Kahoolawe, Waikane, Makua, Pohakuloa, and Red Hill are tragic; and

 

     WHEREAS, the Navy failed to clear all unexploded ordnance from Kahoolawe; and

 

     WHEREAS, a federal court concluded that the Army "failed to use good faith efforts to develop a plan and secure funding for [clearing unexploded ordinance] from the high priority sites that the Army was supposed to identify" in Makua pursuant to a settlement agreement; and

     WHEREAS, portions of the state land at Pohakuloa are, according to a state circuit court, heavily contaminated on the surface with material potentially presenting an explosive hazard that pose a significant danger to public health and welfare; and

 

     WHEREAS, multiple fuel leaks at the Red Hill underground storage facility contaminated Oahu's water supply; and

 

     WHEREAS, with sixty-five-year leases to the military due to expire shortly, it is time to evaluate whether those leases should be renewed or whether the lands should be returned to the people of Hawaii; now, therefore,

 

     BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Thirty-first Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2022, the Department of Land and Natural Resources is requested to conduct public forums in communities adjacent to large parcels of state lands that are currently leased to the military and that have leases that are scheduled for renewal or expiration within the next ten years; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Chairperson of the Board of Land and Natural Resources is requested to invite representatives from the military and other members of the Department of Defense, area legislators, and adjacent landowners to attend the public forums; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the public forums include input from members of the community on:

 

(1)  The positive and negative impacts the military leases have on the surrounding communities;

 

(2)  Preferred future uses of the parcels, including continued use by the military or other uses; and

 

(3)  Restrictions or conditions that should be added to a lease if that lease to the military is renewed, extended, or otherwise renegotiated; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Department of Land and Natural Resources is requested to allow people who are unable to attend the public forums to submit their input through live videoconference, mail, email, or an online submission process; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Department of Land and Natural Resources is requested to summarize the input gathered from the public forums into a report and submit the report to the Legislature no later than twenty days before the Regular Session of 2023; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a certified copy of this Resolution be transmitted to Chairperson of the Board of Land and Natural Resources.

 

 

 

	OFFERED BY:	_____________________________

Report Title: 

DLNR; Military Lands; Lease Renewal; Public Forums; Report