Posted on: Thursday, August 5, 2004
Residents seek total Waikane cleanup
By Eloise Aguiar
Advertiser Windward O'ahu Writer
WAIKANE — As the federal government embarks on a project to assess and possibly clear ordnance from a portion of an old military training ground, area residents called for the cleanup of the entire site at a meeting last night at Waiahole Elementary School.
The Department of Defense has placed 874 acres of the Waikane Training Area under the jurisdiction of the Defense Environmental Restoration Program for Formerly Used Defense Sites, which is administered by the Army Corps of Engineers.
The original training area covered 1,061 acres. The project will not include an 187-acre parcel that was owned by the Kamaka family and condemned in 1993 by the Marine Corps, which at the time cited public safety and an inability to absolutely eliminate the danger of unexploded ordnance.
Members of the Kamaka family, neighborhood board representatives and others insisted that the Department of Defense should do the entire training ground and return the land to the "rightful" owners.
"The government has to pono and do what's right, clean it up and give it back to the Hawaiians," said Henry Roberts, the owner of a small portion of the old training field.
About 50 people attended last night's meeting, during which they learned more about the project and the process to assess it and make recommendations for clearing.
The old Kamaka property isn't included in the project because the property is still under the jurisdiction of the Marine Corps, said Chuck Streck, Army Corps of Engineers program manager for ordnance studies. The restoration programs are for properties that have not been under military jurisdiction since 1983, when the program began.
Streck said he could not add the Kamaka property to the project, but he said residents could lobby legislators and the military to include it in a cleanup. He also indicated that he could become an advocate as a member of the Restoration Advisory Board.
Residents were invited to join the board that would act in an advisory capacity to the project contractor and the DOD.
Some at the meeting were concerned that the government might declare that the area could not be cleared, condemn the land and purchase it, as had happened with the Kamaka property.
But Helene Takemoto, senior program and project manager, said the program does not buy land.
"We try to remove the hazard or ordnance, but we cannot guarantee a 100 percent cleanup," Takemoto said.
The Army leased the Waikane Valley land for military training in 1942 and retained it until 1953, when the Marines took control. The Marines used the property until 1976.
For the federal assessment, ZapataEngineering will perform the work at a cost of about $1 million.
Eric Brundage, general manager of the company's Pacific division, said he will hire local residents to do preliminary work on the property.
Reach Eloise Aguiar at eaguiar@honoluluadvertiser.com. or 234-5266.
