Hawaii’s Congressional delegation is calling on the U.S. Navy to justify its ongoing training on Kaula Island and explain the rationale behind its intent to double the number of inert bombing and gunfire training exercises at the site.
The lawmakers also urged the Navy to complete a full environmental impact statement for its plan.
“In Hawaii, there is a significant level of mistrust with the Department of Defense as a whole, and the Navy in particular,” the delegation stated in a letter to Navy Secretary John Phelan. “As the Navy has now determined it would like to double the inert bombing and gunfire training, it currently carries out on one of our smaller and uninhabited islands, we write to urge the Navy to provide more information about the impacts to Kaula to satisfy the concerns from Kauai residents and the state writ large. This additional due diligence by the Navy should include a national security justification for this expansion and explain to the public how this training is reasonable given the impacts to Kaula and the surrounding community. The onus is on the Navy to demonstrate this need with proper analysis.”
Kaula Island, also known as Kaula Rock, is a small, crescent-shaped island off Kauai.
In the letter, Sens. Brian Schatz and Mazie Hirono and Reps. Ed Case and Jill Tokuda assert that the Navy’s plan leaves too many unanswered questions regarding the impact on increased bombing activity at Kaula and the Navy’s plans, if any, for environmental remediation.
“Doubling the amount of training at Kaula is a significant step that warrants more information on the environmental impacts to the island,” the lawmakers wrote. “The state’s seabird sanctuary on Kaula is home to thousands of seabirds, and the island’s sea cliffs are a resting place for endangered species like monk seals. Despite these known populations of wildlife, the draft environmental assessment does not contain sufficient analysis that impacts on wildlife would be ‘less than significant.’ The public deserves a clear, comprehensive, and evidence-based EIS to demonstrate that the Navy has done its due diligence on the environmental impacts of these trainings.”
The lawmakers further raised concerns about the potential impact increased training would have on local fisherman and their access to prime fishing waters around the island.
Michael Tsai covers local and state politics for Spectrum News Hawaii. He can be reached at michael.tsai@charter.com.
