BLUE GOLD
IN
BLUE HAWAII
Sightings from The Catbird Seat
~ o ~
September 27, 2007
State Land Department Plans to Cut Off Water to More Than 20 Farms in Kilauea Ka Loko Reservoir
Owner James Pflueger Demands that the State Shut Down Kilauea Irrigation System, Which Distributes Water to 200 Acres of Kilauea Farm Land; Farmers are Furious Saying They Will Be Put Out of Business; State, Already Siding with Pflueger, in Part Because of an Insurance Issue.
By Malia Zimmerman, Hawaii Reporter
KILAUEA, KAUAI: Retired Automobile Dealer James Pflueger and his family’s estate, the Mary Lucas Trust, which own hundreds of acres of land in Kilauea encompassing Ka Loko Reservoir, are petitioning the state to block the Kilauea Irrigation Company from routing fresh water to more than two dozen Kilauea farmers -- a move area farmers fervently oppose.
Currently millions of gallons of fresh water flow every year into Ka Loko Reservoir from Puu Ka Ele Stream via the Ka Loko Ditch, which was built many years ago by the sugar cane growers. The water is then diverted three ways: to the Mary Lucas estate, to Pflueger’s property and through the Kilauea Irrigation System. The Kilauea Irrigation System, in turn, routes the water through a collection of pipes to more than 20 area farms that grow a wide variety of fresh produce on 200 acres of farmland.
David Whatmore, who grows a wide variety of crops from citrus, to mangoes, to exotic fruits on his 10-acre Hula Daze Farm since 1985, warns that if the Kilauea farmers lose this vital water source, they will be out of business. Whatmore, like most of the Kilauea farmers, bought his property years ago specifically because of the access to Ka Loko’s fresh water.
He says there is not enough county water in Kilauea to meet daily demands and in addition, the county water is considerably more expensive ($1.26 to $4 per 1,000 gallons for county water compared to 44 cents per 1,000 gallons for Kilauea Irrigation).
If the farms go, so will an estimated 1 million servings of fresh produce harvested there and distributed to hotels, restaurants, grocery stores and farmers' markets on Kauai annually, in addition to exports to the U.S. Mainland and Canada, Whatmore says.
But the state Department of Land and Natural Resources is apparently siding with Pflueger and against the farmers, recommending this week to the Board of Land and Natural Resources that it revoke Kilauea Irrigation System’s permit, citing an insurance issue. The matter will be addressed at the Board’s Friday, September 28th meeting beginning at 9 a.m. in room 132 of the Kalanimoku Building (1151 Punchbowl Street, Honolulu). The Kilauea farmers, many who just learned of the DNLR’s intention on Wednesday, plan to fly over from Kauai to testify against the recommendation.
Battle for Precious Water: An Ongoing Saga
This isn’t the first struggle over water rights in Kilauea. Farmers say the Kilauea Irrigation System and Pflueger battled over water from Ka Loko virtually since Pflueger bought the reservoir and dam in 1987. Documents in the Department of Land and Natural Resources show former Kilauea Irrigation Company owner C. Brewer and its current owner Tom Hitch complained about Pflueger’s refusal to give them access to the ditch and pipe system for maintenance purposes. Pflueger denies these allegations.
However, the tension between Pflueger and Kilauea Irrigation System rocketed to an all time high when the Ka Loko Dam breached in the early hours of March 14, 2006. Between 400 million and 500 million gallons of water raced down the mountain sweeping 8 people to their deaths. Also destroyed were millions of dollars in private and public property, hundreds of trees ripped from the dense forest, and the sparking waters of Wailapa River and the vibrant reef in Kahili Bay, now covered with mud, debris and black muck.
Pflueger takes no responsibility for the breach and mostly blames Kilauea Irrigation System for the costly disaster.
After Pflueger was sued by the families of the victims who died and the landowners along the dam water’s destructive path, Pflueger filed a lawsuit against the former and current owner of Kilauea Irrigation Company saying just that poor maintenance caused the breach. He also sued the state saying dam inspectors never gave Ka Loko a safety inspection as required by law.
Tom Hitch, who bought Kilauea Irrigation Company just months before the dam breached, and took care of the system for years before for C. Brewer Co., counters that lack of maintenance wasn’t the reason for the disaster and says he is not responsible.
So far, state experts seem to agree with Hitch, saying in a report at http://www.Kalokodam.net that Pflueger apparently covered the dam’s most important safety feature, its spillway, and that is mostly likely what caused the excess water to “overtop” and erode the dam’s wall.
Three civil lawsuits have been consolidated in Kauai Circuit Court with a trial set for 2009.
The state attorney general continues to consider whether the state will file criminal charges against the dam’s owner.
Disaster Wreaks Havoc Many Months After Breach
Farmers, although not hit directly by the dam’s waters, feel they are yet another set of victims of the Ka Loko dam breach. They have not consistently had water since the earthen dam broke in March 2006. The dam’s wall, which holds the reservoir's water in, has not been repaired in the last 1.5 years, so very little water can be contained. (The state DNLR says the dam owner is responsible for repairs.)
The Ka Loko Reservoir, which has funneled water consistently to the farmers for 60 years, even through the worst of drought conditions, has essentially run dry several times this year.
A visit to the Ka Loko Dam in July shows water levels as low as 17 inches -- the height where the Kilauea Irrigation’s intake pipes sit.
Because there has been very little rain this summer, the backup water source has been particularly important. But instead of easy water flow, farmers have often faced a sputtering water supply and sometimes no water flow at all.
Not only has the dam structure caused problems, so have sabotage and theft. Each farmer has permission to take water from the irrigation system via a diversion permit or water use permit, but there are people living along the Kilauea, Mooala and Wailapa rivers who don’t have either, yet because of the drought, they have lifted boards from the water ditches to divert water into private properties along the route.
Amy Moorhead, owner of Kauai Sunrise Farms and Whatmore’s neighbor, has watched in frustration as her eight fields of organic lettuce crops -- or 2,000 pounds per month -- withered and died this summer. The organic farmer, who for the last 9 years has also grown beets, potatoes and tropical fruit on her 13-acre farm, says while other crops can be sustained with less water, her lettuce needs water every day or it spoils. Phil Davies, owner of Kailani Farms, who has farmed 19 acres of lettuce and ginger in Kilauea for more than 16 years, producing between 500 and 1,500 pounds per week, also has lost lettuce crops this summer because of a lack of water from Ka Loko.
DNLR Cites Dam Owners’ Petition, Lack of Insurance
as Reasons to Halt Water Supply
Farmers on Kauai are in an uproar over the DNLR’s recommendation, not only to turn off their water, but to remove the Kilauea Irrigation System altogether. They want the continued access to the water they’ve had for 60 years, they want the dam repaired so water is available when they need it, and they want the state to repair the streams along Wailapa River that were destroyed last year.
But the state cites the petitions by Pflueger, including an August 24, 2007, letter from his attorney William McCorriston, and the Mary Lucas Trust to shut down Kilauea Irrigation Company, as one reason to go against the farmers’ wishes.
The DNLR also cites the fact that Hitch has not been able to find a company to insure the system before the lawsuits are settled in 2009. AIG was the only insurance company to agree to provide insurance, DNLR documents show, but that was for $25,000 annually -- an amount considerably above what Kilauea Irrigation Company paid in the past or its owner says he can afford now.
Because Hitch couldn’t get insurance, he was no longer able to obtain a bond and had to put his contractors license on inactive status. His financial situation spiraled downward from there.
Hitch left his family behind and in June went to work overseas in Thailand. Two Kauai irrigation experts employed by Hitch temporarily took over the maintenance of the Kilauea Irrigation System. Hitch wants the situation resolved so the farmers can continue to operate. But he needs help, and the DNLR says no one on the state level, including the Department of Agriculture and the Agribusiness Development Corporation is willing to get involved.
The county government set aside $75,000 for an engineering study of Ka Loko Reservoir and Dam and the irrigation system, which could be used to generate more state funds, but that might be moot if the state shuts down the system before the study is complete.
Although Laura Thielen, director of the DNLR, did not return calls to Hawaii Reporter, DNLR documents show that the agency is recommending immediate termination of Hitch’s permit, and with it all obligations of the state. The agency would also order the removal of all of the irrigation pipes, which have funneled water to the farmers for more than 60 years.
Steve and Janine Hunt, members of the Kilauea Farms Homeowners Association, who have lived and farmed in Kilauea for 25 years, are asking the state to reconsider or at least postpone the matter, until all the farmers are made aware of the state’s plans and have an opportunity to comment.
“The Kaloko water is important to the 25 or so farmers who need the water to survive. The source of water is also essential for the survival of the Waiakalua Stream and Reservoir, as Waiakalua is fed by Kaloko and is necessary to be preserved. Please do not allow the water to be stopped. We ask that the staff analyze the consequences of building a structure to stop the diversion of water into the Kaloko ditch and help find a way to mitigate the damages of drying up the Waiakalua Stream and Reservoir.”
Bill and Margo Flaherty, active members of the Kilauea Farms Community Association, asked the state to delay the decision making so all farmers can voice their opinions. Among their concerns, they say the drought that Hawaii has been experiencing over the last few years may continue for years to come.
“To dismantle or allow these critical Reservoirs and surrounding wetlands to dry up is very short sighted. … Due to the continued drought situation occurring in Hawaii it is essential these water resources be preserved for future emergencies.”
They add that beyond the obvious reasons to keep the water available to farmers, the aesthetic value of the Waiakalua reservoir, stream and surrounding wetlands are a habitat for native and endangered species “and beyond any dollar value and therefore must be preserved at all costs.”
Farmers also note it would only be fair to hold a meeting so important to their future, on their island, rather than in Honolulu, so all farmers can more easily attend.
Whatmore summed up his concerns: “Local agriculture, which is dependent upon water availability especially during drought, has many public benefits including produce, which is healthier by being fresher, food security, preservation of open spaces, and expansion of our such as farm tours, and farm bed and breakfasts. The state should be doing whatever it takes to help us, not shut us down.” ...
– Reach Malia Zimmerman, editor and president of Hawaii Reporter at mailto:Malia@hawaiireporter.com
East Maui Watershed Partnership
In late 1999, the Conservancy's Board of Governors chose the East Maui Watershed Partnership to receive the organization's highest honor: The President's Conservation Achievement Award. This award is given to an individual or organization that works in partnership with The Nature Conservancy to advance biodiversity protection. Out of all the partnerships in which the Conservancy is involved globally, only six receive this award annually.
The East Maui Watershed Partnership has pioneered a model for protecting large landscapes quickly and efficiently. Before this partnership, the Conservancy had helped protect 50,000 acres in Hawai`i. This one project alone brings active management to more than 100,000 acres of critical watershed and native forest habitat.
Our Approach
The East Maui Watershed Partnership (EMWP) was formed in 1991 through the joint initiative of the State Department of Land and Natural Resources, The Nature Conservancy, the County of Maui - Board of Water Supply, Haleakala Ranch Co., East Maui Irrigation Co., Ltd., Haleakala National Park, and Hana Ranch. Since its formation, the EMWP has made significant strides to control Miconia calvenscens and has built strategic, upper-elevation fences to control feral pigs.
"Perhaps the most important reason the Conservancy recognized the partnership is for its role as a model for similar partnerships throughout Hawai`i, including the West Maui Mountains Watershed Partnership, the East Moloka`i Watershed Partnership, and the Ko`olau Watershed Partnership on O`ahu," said Suzanne Case, Executive Director of the Hawai`i Chapter. "By working together as neighbors, under a unified management plan, we exponentially expand the effort that each group can make to protect East Maui's natural resources."
From the Hawaii Department of Land & Natural Resources website:
WATERSHED PARTNERSHIP PROGRAM
Forested watersheds provide us with nearly all of our state's fresh water.
Watershed Partnerships are voluntary alliances of public and private landowners committed to the common value of protecting large areas of forested watersheds for water recharge and other values.
More than 200,000 acres of important watershed areas in Hawai`i have been placed within these unique public-private partnerships...
~ ~ ~
West Maui Mountains Watershed Partnership
(50,000 acres)
Partners
Maui County Board of Water Supply
Kamehameha Schools
C. Brewer and Company Limited
Amfac/JMB Hawaii, LLC
The Nature Conservancy
Maui Land & Pineapple Co., Inc.
State Department of Land & Natural Resources
County of Maui ...
East Maui Watershed Partnership
(100,000+ acres)
State Department of Land and Natural Resources
The Nature Conservancy of Hawai'i*
The Maui County Board of Water Supply
Haleakala Ranch Co.*
East Maui Irrigation Co., Ltd.
Haleakala National Park
Hana Ranch
The County of Maui
Ko'olau Watershed Partnership
(97,100 acres)
Kamehameha Schools
State Department of Land and Natural Resources
State Department of Hawaiian Home Lands
Agribusiness Development Corporation
U.S. Army
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Honolulu Board of Water Supply
Queen Emma Foundation
Bishop Museum
Manana Valley Farm LLC
Tiana Partners
Dole Food Co., Inc.
Associate (non-landowning partners)
U.S. Forest Service
U.S. Geological Survey
Natural Resources Conservation Service
Environmental Protection Agency
Department of Health
The Nature Conservancy of Hawai'i
Kauai Watershed Alliance
(142,000 acres)
Kauai Department of Water
Kamehameha Schools
State Department of Land and Natural Resources
Alexander and Baldwin Properties, Inc.
Kauai Ranch LLC
Gay and Robinson, Inc.
McBryde Sugar Company,Ltd.
Lihue Land Company
Lanai Forest and Watershed Partnership
(20,000 acres)
Castle & Cooke*
Maui County Board of Water Supply
Hui Malama Pono O Lanai
State Department of Land and Natural Resources
US Fish & Wildlife Service
USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service
Molokai-Lanai Soil and Water Conservation District
The Nature Conservancy of Hawai'i*
East Molokai Watershed Partnership
(25,000+ acres)
Kamehameha Schools
Kapualei Ranch
Ke Aupuni Lokahi Enterprise Community
Governance Board
EPA
Hawai'i Department of Health
State Division of Forestry and Wildlife
Kalaupapa National Historical Park
Maui County
Maui Board of Water Supply
Moloka'i-Lana'i Soil and Water Conservation District
USDA Natural Resource Conservation Services
US Fish & Wildlife Service
US Geological Services
The Nature Conservancy of Hawai'i
Ola`a-Kilauea Partnership
(420,000 acres)
US Fish & Wildlife Service
State Department of Land and Natural Resources
Biological Resources Division of the U.S. Geological Survey
U.S. Forest Service
Kulani Correctional Facility
Kamehameha Schools
Leeward Haleakala Watershed Restoration Partnership
(43,175 acres)
Department of Hawaiian Home Lands
James Campbell Estate
Haleakala National Park
Haleakala Ranch
Kaonoulu Ranch
Nu`u Mauka Ranch
State Department of Land and Natural Resources
Ulupalakua Ranch
John Zwaanstra
*Also a participant in the DLNR Natural Area Partnership Program
Kohala Forest Management Group
(32,573 acres)
Parker Ranch, Inc.
Kahua Ranch, Ltd.
Ponoholo Ranch, Ltd.
The Queen Emma Foundation
Kamehameha Schools
Laupahoehoe Nui, LLC
State Department of Land & Natural Resources
State Department of Hawaiian Home Lands
Hawai‘i County Department of Water Supply
The Nature Conservancy
http://www.state.hi.us/dlnr/dofaw/wpp/page2.html
April 30, 2007
A piece of a larger plot
Submitted by Alan8 on Mon, 2007-04-30
The silencing of our national media is just one small piece of a larger conspiracy for a worldwide dictatorship by the wealthy, who own the multinational corporations.
I know this statement sounds like rhetorical exaggeration, but here's a link to some articles that fill in some of the details: http://web.archive.org/web/20060515143119/http://www.the-catbird-seat.net/BlueGold.htm
I found this link on AlterNet in the discussion on the worldwide corporate theft of water resources through privatization: http://www.alternet.org/envirohealth/50994/
Apparently (as explained in the AlterNet discussion) this collection of articles was originally posted at "The Catbird's Forum", BUT WAS CLOSED DOWN BY THE UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE, ALBERTO GONZALES, U.S. ATTORNEY GENERAL, OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES TRUSTEE, JAMES B. NICHOLSON, TRUSTEE, by Order of JUDGE DAVID ALAN EZRA.
I mention this here because cutting off peoples' knowledge of what's happening by eliminating a free press is essential to their operations of shocking economies and stealing nations' national resources in the chaos that follows. They are now attempting to do this in the US, with the enthusiastic support of the Bush Administration.
Look at that first link; it's fascinating reading!
From their web-site (www.amwater.com):
ALOHA, and welcome to
Hawaii- American Water Company
East Honolulu Community Services is now
Hawaii-American Water Company
In 1998 Hawaii-American Water Company began operations and a new chapter in Hawaii's utility landscape was written.
East Honolulu Community Services, Inc. (EHCS) became Hawaii-American Water Company in April 1998 when EHCS was purchased by American Water Works Company, the nation's largest investor-owned water and wastewater utility providing service to more than 10 million people in 23 states.
Hawaii-American Water Company is a wholly-owned subsidiary of American Water Works Company....
We provide wastewater service to residents of East Honolulu and process an average of 3.8 million gallons of wastewater per day. The wastewater is treated using state of the art techniques and is thoroughly tested before wastewater is discharged.
A portion of the wastewater we treat every day can be diverted, and reused for landscape irrigation in places like the Hawaii Kai Championship Golf Course.
This is just one example of the care and commitment our employees show for the environment everyday.
* * *
(Catbird Note: Much of East Honolulu is owned, and/or controlled,
by the Trustees of Kamehameha Schools.)
* * *
For related issues, GO TO > > >
www.hawaii.gov/dcca/areas/dca/dno/dca/dno/dno2006/22359.pdf
* * *
From Hoover’s Online:
Water, water, everywhere -- and American Water Works wants to own it.
The company, which has been acquired by Thames Water (the water unit of German utility giant RWE), is one of the largest water utility holding companies in the US. Its regulated utilities serve 2.5 million customers, or about 10 million people, in 20 states.
American Water Works also provides wastewater treatment in some of its service areas. Nonregulated subsidiary American Water Services provides contract management for water and wastewater systems that serve another 5 million people in the US and Canada; American Water Resources offers related products and services.
* * *
From their website:
American Water Works Company is the parent company of subsidiaries that provide water and wastewater services to more than 10 million people in 23 states. With coast-to-coast operations, including Hawaii, the Company is the United States' largest publicly-traded utility enterprise devoted exclusively to water and wastewater business opportunities. American Water Works provides options to communities that are realistic and workable...contract management, public/private partnerships, asset acquisition and a variety of service alternatives that can help a community achieve better results.
Special Interests:
Debt Management, Environment, Infrastructure, International Affairs, Privatization, Public Works, Utilities Issues, Waste Water Treatment.
* * *
Ray J. Groves - Incoming chairman and CEO of Marsh, Inc.; director of American Water Works Company, Inc., Boston Scientific Corp and Gillette Co.; former director of Allegheny Technologies, Inc.
October 2, 2002
MARSH CHAIRMAN & CEO JOHN T. SINNOTT
TO RETIRE IN 2003
Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (MMC) announced today that John T. Sinnott, chairman and chief executive officer of Marsh Inc., the company's risk and insurance services business, will retire from the firm in July 2003.
Ray J. Groves, president and chief operating officer of Marsh Inc., will succeed Mr. Sinnott as chief executive officer in January and as chairman in July 2003....
Mr. Groves has been a member of MMC's Board of Directors since 1994, when he retired from Ernst & Young after serving 17 years as chairman and chief executive officer. He joined MMC's management team as a senior advisor in August 2001 and was appointed president and chief operating officer of Marsh Inc. in October 2001....
Source: Marsh & McLennan Companies, Website: www.marshmac.com
For more, GO TO > > > The Marsh Birds; P-s-s-t, wanna buy a good audit?
October 17, 2002
Kamehameha floats
stream study plan
The landowner offers to conduct
research in lieu of paying a fine
By Diana Leone, Star-Bulletin
Kamehameha Schools has proposed to fund studies of streams on three islands in lieu of paying the state Water Commission a $453,000 fine for improper diversion of water from the Big Island's Lalakea Stream.
The water used to be used by Hamakua Sugar Co., which sold its land to Kamehameha Schools in 1994.
The school was unable to demonstrate to the Water Commission that a lessee's aquaculture project was a proper use of the water, triggering the proposed fine in February.
At a meeting yesterday, the commission preliminarily approved Kamehameha's proposal to gather new scientific information about Lalakea Stream, as well as Waipa Stream on Kauai and Punaluu Stream on Oahu.
Each of the studies will "acquire meaningful, relevant scientific data for the benefit of the commission, the communities and for Kamehameha Schools," said Neil Hannahs, director of Kamehameha Schools' land assets division.
"We think this is a step in the right direction," said Kapua Sproat, an attorney for EarthJustice, the law firm that represents Waipio Valley farmers who want the diverted Lalakea Ditch water returned to Lalakea Stream.
Sproat said the environmental law firm is supportive of the stream studies on Oahu and Kauai, but wants to make sure the work in Waipio Valley is not redundant with work that has already been done there.
Between now and the Dec. 19 Water Commission meeting, Kamehameha will meet with community members at each of the study sites and with scientists to specify what will be studied and how.
The basic plan is to study:
>> Lalakea Stream both before and after an estimated 1 million gallons a day of water now diverted to Lalakea Ditch are returned to the stream.
The study will cost $220,000 and take three years, with the Bishop Museum as a principal scientific partner.
>> The ecological effects of diverting some water for taro plots at Waipa Stream, near Hanalei.
The study will cost $160,000 and take two years, with Adam Asquith, Sea Grant Extension researcher, as a principal scientific partner.
>> The impact of changing stream flow at Punaluu, on Oahu's Windward side.
The study will cost $75,000, last a year and involve the U.S. Geological Survey's Steve Anthony.
http://starbulletin.com/2002/10/17/news/index8.html
October 7, 2002
Kamehameha Schools Out
of Waiahole Water Battle
In Brief: Kamehameha withdraws permit application and agrees to leave Windward O`ahu water in its streams.
In January 1998, the Kamehameha Schools Bernice Pauahi Bishop Estate filed a water use permit application for 4.2 million gallons per day from the Waiahole Ditch system, primarily for golf course irrigation, dust control, and landscaping uses in connection with a massive 20,000-home development in central O`ahu.
Although Kamehameha Schools is an educational institution, it is also the largest private landholder in the state and the wealthiest private trust in the nation. If granted, the permit would have further drained windward streams, taking water necessary to support native stream life, the Kane`ohe Bay estuary and fishery, rights of Native Hawaiians to exercise traditional customs and uses, and Windward agriculture and aquaculture.
As a result of opposition from Earthjustice, our clients and other community groups, on May 31, 2000, Kamehameha Schools agreed to work with Native Hawaiian and environmental interests to formulate an integrated water use plan that would examine alternative sources of water, such as reclamation.
In light of the Hawai'i Supreme Court's decision in the Waiahole Ditch appeal, on November 29, 2000, the Commission ordered Bishop Estate to file a report on alternative sources of water for the Waiahole Ditch system. We received this report in May 2001, and hired an environmental resources engineer to prepare an engineering and economic analysis of Kamehameha School's report on alternative sources.
Because the expert's analysis identified practical and feasible alternative sources of water for Kamehameha Schools to utilize, we used this as a basis for amending a petition requesting that the Commission deny Kamehameha School's water use permit application immediately.
In May 2002, a hearing was held before the Commission on this issue, which was well-attended. Over 100 people testified at the all-day Commission meeting, and over 1,000 people sent in fax or email testimony supporting the Windward Parties' petition and urging the Commission to deny Kamehameha School's permit application.
Building on this outpouring of community support to protect windward streams, Earthjustice launched an intensive media and email campaign exposing the environmental and cultural consequences of Kamehameha's quest for more windward water.
Our efforts were successful in convincing Kamehameha Schools in August 2002 to withdraw both its application for more windward water and its Hawai'i Supreme Court appeal of the Water Commission's most recent decision regarding the Waiahole Ditch.
Kamehameha Schools Out of Waihole Water Battle
February 28, 2002
Catfish project nets big fine
Kamehameha Schools is cited
for neglecting to file water reports
By Rod Thompson, Star-Bulletin
HONOKAA, Hawaii >> Kamehameha Schools was fined $453,000 yesterday by the state Commission on Water Resource Management for its failure to provide a series of reports on a proposed Big Island catfish aquaculture project.
The fine is the largest ever imposed by the water commission, said commission member Herbert "Monty" Richards.
The project was to be carried out at the Lalakea Ditch irrigation system near Waipio Valley by lessee Lawrence Balberde of Hilo. But landowner Kamehameha Schools was responsible for documenting the project.
Kamehameha gave little heed to the commission, Richards said. "They blew us off for a long time," he said.
The project was opposed by the Earthjustice Legal Defense Fund, which said that Kamehameha was illegally wasting the water by taking it from certain streams, failing to properly document its use in catfish ponds and then "dumping" it in another stream.
In the absence of any documents from Kamehameha, the commission agreed with Earthjustice that Kamehameha was wasting up to 2.5 million gallons per day, Richards said. The fine represents up to $1,000 a day for a series of violations going back to Dec. 1, 2000, he said.
The commission gave Kamehameha 60 days to propose stream and watershed studies it may perform instead of paying the fine, he said.
Kamehameha spokesman Neil Hannahs said the commission really wants the information from those studies, not the fines. Since Kamehameha has planned or is already doing some of the studies, the effect of the fine could be greatly lessened, he said.
Hannahs said Kamehameha made a good-faith effort to get various state agencies to provide documentation that the commission required last year, but the agencies were slow to provide it or did not do it at all.
The Lalakea ditch and reservoir were built in 1900 to irrigate sugar, legally taking water from Lalakea Stream and others. Kamehameha bought the ditch along with thousands of acres from the defunct Hamakua Sugar Co. in 1994. In 1989, before the purchase, the sugar company illegally diverted Hakalaoa Stream flowing into Waipio Valley to protect a damaged tunnel of the separate Hamakua Ditch.
The tunnel is now being repaired. Once that is done, Lalakea and Hakalaoa waters will be returned to their original streams into Waipio Valley, and the Lalakea ditch and reservoir will be dismantled.
Balberde will lose $200,000 of "sweat and money" invested, he said. "It proves it's hard to do business in Hawaii," he said.
Kamehameha will attempt to find a new location for his catfish project, Hannahs said.
http://starbulletin.com/2002/02/28/news/index13.html
November 10, 1997
Bishop Estate tried to defeat other Hawaiian
interests in the tumult over Waiahole Ditch,
putting a housing development ahead of taro,
stream restoration and cultural renewal
in the bid for the life-giving water.
Profits or the People?
By Ian Y. Lind, Star-Bulletin
"...OHA views the efforts of Bishop Estate in its current water use permit application for water flowing through the Waiahole Ditch as insensitive to the long-term needs of the Hawaiian community, particularly with respect to its argument that it has an ownership interest in the water merely because the water percolates through its property.
"The education of Hawaiian children requires not only that they be provided with classrooms, books, computers and inspirational teachers but also that they be able to live in an environment where the traditions and culture of the Hawaiian community are maintained and where verdant valleys and running streams can support taro growing, restoration of fishponds and the gathering of traditional foods from the streams, such as oopu, hihiwai and opae. The short-term payoffs generated by the development of golf courses and suburban residential housing units will in the long run be destructive of those previously enumerated values that are essential to the total educational mission of the Bishop Estate.”
~ ~ ~
"If the Hawaiian people are to survive and build a sovereign Hawaiian nation, they must maintain their ties to their history and culture and to the aina (earth or land) and kai (sea). This would include maintaining subsistence lifestyles in rural Hawaiian communities."
-- Excerpt from an objection to Bishop Estate's application to the Commission on Water Resource Management for 4.2 million gallons per day of water to support the "Waiawa by Gentry" development, filed by attorneys Jon Van Dyke and Elizabeth Pa Martin, March 1995.
~ ~ ~
Kamehameha Schools/Bishop Estate was criticized by the Office of Hawaiian Affairs in 1995 for putting land development and short-term profits ahead of cultural survival, according to records of the Commission on Water Resource Management.
OHA attorneys charged that the estate was "insensitive to the long-term needs of the Hawaiian community" during the Waiahole Ditch water case, still awaiting final disposition by the water commission. The estate opposed efforts by other Hawaiian organizations to make more water available for taro growing, stream restoration and cultural renewal in the valleys of windward Oahu.
The criticism highlights the difficulty faced by the estate in reconciling its role as an investor, landowner and developer, with concern for preserving Hawaiian culture.
The water commission has spent more than two years determining the future distribution of Waiahole water, which for most of this century has been diverted to the island's dry side for irrigation of now-closed sugar plantations.
Bishop Estate argued that enough water should be set aside for a 3,600-acre development planned by the Gentry Companies on estate land in Waiawa. That site on the dry Leeward side is projected to include over 13,000 housing units, 112 acres of commercial-industrial businesses, two golf courses and over seven miles of roadway landscaping, commission records show.
The estate asked for 4.2 million gallons a day of water to be reserved for the development, and said it should be given priority because income from the project will support Kamehameha Schools.
To defend the "Waiawa by Gentry" project, the estate hired lawyers and experts to undermine water claims being made by other Hawaiian groups, including OHA, the Native Hawaiian Advisory Council, Native Hawaiian Legal Corporation, Waiahole-Waikane Community Association and Ka Lahui Hawaii.
These organizations argued that greater water flow in windward streams and increased taro cultivation is critical to preserving Hawaiian culture and strengthening Hawaiian communities, and is essential to traditional and customary practices that Hawaiians have a right to enjoy.