Makua: Wildfires and Military Toxins

Post Date October 05, 2011

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Author Laurel Mei-Singh

Category Action Alerts and Events, DMZ-Hawai'i / Aloha 'Aina In the News, Free Makua, Hawaiian Sovereignty, Land, Culture & Human Rights, Ho’ola Hawai’i – Environmental Justice

On September 28, a wildfire caused by an Army detonation of unexploded ordnance burned 100 acres in Makua Valley:

A fire burned about 100 acres of the Army’s Makua Valley training range Wednesday after it was started by workers who had detonated unexploded ordnance.

An Army spokesman said the detonation was part of a routine, ongoing cleanup operation. No one was injured. The fire was contained about 4 p.m.

No threatened or endangered species or native Hawaiian cultural sites were affected, according to an Army cultural resoucre official at the scene, the Army said.

This week, the court ruled that the Army failed to adequately study possible contamination of seaweed in the sea off Makua training area. The Civil Beat reports “Army Can’t say Whether Hawaii Seafood Is Safe”:

Waianae-area residents still can’t be certain whether seafood they harvest off their shore is safe from dangerous levels of arsenic and lead. A federal judge has ruled that Army tests of possible contamination have fallen short and advocates for the community say more tests likely will be necessary.

Contractors hired by the U.S. Army to test whether 80 years of military operations had poisoned local residents’ seafood attempted to test seafood including fish, limu, sea cucumbers and octopus without diving into the water to collect specimens, according to an environmental law firm that sued the Army.

But the contractors never left the beach and the testing was inadequate, said David Henkin, an attorney with Earthjustice representing Malama Makua, a local community organization.

[…]

“What’s really sad is for a community to have to get into federal court and spend over a decade to battle the military,” said Sparky Rodgrigues, president of Malama Makua and a Vietnam veteran. “I went to battle hoping I wouldn’t have to come home to battle.”

Bullets and unexploded ordnance are strewn throughout the Makua Military Reservation where the Army has been doing military exercises since the 1920s. Residents worry that chemicals such as arsenic, lead, chrome and uranium from the artillery could be leaching into the soil and entering the ocean through runoff. Rodrigues said that the chemicals could also be released into the air and absorbed into plants.

The court order supplements an October 2010 ruling in which Mollway also ruled that the Army had failed to adequately test marine resources. While the military found high levels of arsenic in a previous test of seafood, officials didn’t test whether it was inorganic arsenic, and thus highly carcinogenic, or organic, which doesn’t pose a human health risk.

The 2010 ruling also said that the Army violated a separate settlement obligation to complete archeological surveys to determine whether cultural resources could be damaged by stray shells and mortar rounds.

The military has been banned from doing live round firing since 2004 and is unlikely to be able to resume the activities until the testing is complete.

Rodrigues said the military wasn’t being good neighbors “by contaminating the water, food source and environment.”

“The military takes from our community and doesn’t really give back,” said Rodgrigues.

READ THE FULL ARTICLE

"The Army has no plans for the removal of the legacy DU"

Post Date July 01, 2010

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Author Laurel Mei-Singh

Category Depleted Uranium, DMZ-Hawai'i / Aloha 'Aina In the News, Ho’ola Hawai’i – Environmental Justice

Mahalo to Big Island Weekly for continuing to track the Depleted Uranium contamination in Hawai’i.

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http://www.bigislandweekly.com/articles/2010/06/30/read/news/news02.txt

Army official: We never meant to clean up DU

By Alan D. Mcnarie

Wednesday, June 30, 2010 11:08 AM HST

According to a high Army official, the Army never intended to remove depleted uranium ammunition remnants from Pohakuloa Training Area and Shofield Barracks, and it has no plans to do so for as long as the firing ranges at those facilities are still in use.

“The Army requested a license for possession, not decommissioning, of the legacy DU at the affected Army installations,” wrote Deputy Assistant Secretary to the Army Addison D. “Tad” Davis IV to Congresswoman Mazie Hirono on May 26 of this year. Davis added, “Currently the Army has no plans for the removal of the legacy DU. The ranges containing DU are still in use, and most, if not all, of these ranges also contain unexploded ordnance, which is significantly more hazardous than any DU that might be present on these ranges. Should those ranges be scheduled for closure at some future date, the Army will address the DU present as part of the range closure….”

The “legacy DU” referred to in the letter is believed to be fragments of spotting rounds from cold-war-era Davy Crockett nuclear artillery. In 2008, the Army submitted an application to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission for a permit to “possess” the DU; its original permit had expired in 1964. The NRC’s ruling on that application is still pending, though the NRC has criticized the Army’s plan to monitor the DU in the area as ineffective. (See “NRC to Army: DU Monitoring Plan Won’t Work” in the archives at http://www.bigislandweekly.com.) A sub-agency called the Federal and State Materials and Environmental Management Programs is entertaining a petition from Hawaiian activist Isaac Harp to discipline the army over the expired permit. Hirono had asked Davis what the army had done to address public concerns about “environmental, health and safety” hazards that the DU posed.

The Army has repeatedly contended that the DU does not present a significant hazard to the island’s population. Davis’s letter to Hirono continued to maintain the Army’s position. He claimed that the soil concentration of DU at the Army ranges was estimated at 1-4 pCi/g (picocuries of DU per gram of soil), which averaged “much less than the NRC decommissioning levels of uranium in soil (14 pCi/g of Uranium 238, the major constituent of DU), and are not much above soil concentrations of naturally occurring uranium.”

“The Army has collected numerous air and soil samples, none of which indicate that the DU at Hawaii’s ranges has migrated off-range…,” Davis contended.

Not so, says Dr. Lorrin Pang, a former Army doctor and frequent critic of the Army’s handling of the DU issue.

“That’s absolutely not true. Even their own tests at Waiki’i [on the Saddle Road near Pohakuloa] found it [DU] in dust at low levels. I think the correct scientific interpretation is, it was there,” Pang told the Big Island Weekly.

Pang also challenged Davis’s assertion that “Many independent scientific studies of depleted uranium in the environment show that DU presents no significant ‘environmental, health and safety [hazard],’ especially at the soil concentrations of the DU on Hawaii’s ranges.” Pang noted that the NRC itself had criticized the Army’s monitoring protocols as inadequate; he maintained that the Army simply didn’t know, yet, how much DU was located at Pohakuloa.

“You don’t have a system in place to monitor and baseline, and then you’re gonna tell me the risks?” he asked skeptically. “Tad Allen isn’t a scientist. He’s an MBA from Harvard. If he makes these statements, he’d better refer to scientists who will defend them…

First of all, if you say, we never intended to clean it up, how much is there? You don’t even know.”

The proper scientific approach, he maintained was, “First tell me, how much [DU] is there. Then you’ve got to tell, me, what is the risk? Then you’ve got to tell me the response: if you’re going to clean it up or not.”

And the army’s own “friendly fire” studies on servicepeople exposed to DU were so badly flawed, he maintained, that the researchers hadn’t even recorded tumors, so the health risks were also not known. Without knowing either the quantity of DU or the health risk, the proper course of action was impossible to determine.

He added that that appropriate course of action might turn out to be something other than cleaning up the DU.

“Maybe they don’t have to clean it up,” he said. “Maybe they just promise never to use it again. Maybe they keep the dust down.”

Davis’s letter also provoked a response from Cory Harden, who has been monitoring the DU controversy for the Sierra Club. Harden noted that when Davis wrote , “the Army has collected numerous soil and air samples, none of which indicate that the DU…has migrated off range,” he didn’t mention testimony by geologist and radiation expert Dr. Mike Reimer, who had reviewed the Army’s proposed DU monitoring system and found that the holes in the filters on the Army’s detection devices were “ten times too large.”

She also questioned Davis’ statement that the DU disposal problem would be addressed when the firing ranges were finally decommissioned. She noted that after the military took over Kaho’olawe for a bombing range, Pres. Dwight Eisenhower had promised to return the island in habitable condition – but when it was finally returned 50 years later, massive bombing had cracked the caprock, draining the island’s freshwater supply, and most of the island’s land still had not been entirely cleared of ordnance.

What the Army actually does with the DU, however, may depend not on what it intended or intends to do, but on what the NRC tells it to do. Few expect the NRC not to grant the Army a permit to possess the DU – after all, the stuff is already in the ground – but it may well impose conditions on the Army, including a more viable monitoring program and possibly a cleanup strategy.

Army tries, but fails to pacify Native Hawaiians in Makua, Lihu'e and Pohakuloa

Post Date June 21, 2010

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Author Laurel Mei-Singh

Category 'A'ole Stryker, DMZ-Hawai'i / Aloha 'Aina In the News, Environmental Impacts, Free Makua, Hawaiian Sovereignty, Land, Culture & Human Rights

http://www.armytimes.com/news/2010/06/ap_army_hawaii_native_ties_062010/

Army seeks better ties with Native Hawaiians

By Audrey McAvoy – The Associated Press

Posted : Sunday Jun 20, 2010 14:14:17 EDT

HONOLULU — The people of Waianae believe the first Hawaiians were created in Makua, a lush valley about 30 miles from downtown Honolulu. The valley is also home to three large heiau, or ancient stone platforms used for worship. So it’s no surprise many Native Hawaiians consider the valley to be sacred.

The Army, though, sees Makua as a prime spot for soldiers to practice firing live ammunition.

These widely divergent perspectives illustrate the gulf between the Army and Hawaiians that have contributed to an often antagonistic and deeply distrustful relationship between the two.

Now the Army is trying to narrow the gap. In a series of firsts, the Army Garrison Hawaii commander hired a liaison for Hawaiian issues, formed a council of Hawaiians to advise him, and brought Army and Hawaiian leaders together to sign a covenant in which both sides vowed to respect and understand one another.

“Instead of going back and rehashing the past, I’m trying to make a fresh start, trying to make that relationship positive, make things better down the line,” said Col. Matthew Margotta.

But the Army did not invite several Hawaiians embroiled in ongoing disputes with the Army to join the council or sign the covenant, prompting critics to question how effective these initiatives will be.

“You want to work together but you only want to work with people who don’t disagree with you. How good is that?” said William Aila, whose uncle was ousted from Makua during World War II and who is fighting for the Army to return the valley.

The military took control of Makua in 1943 when Hawaii was under wartime martial law. Authorities told residents to leave, and the Army and Navy began using the valley for bombing practice.

The explosions damaged homes and the community’s church and cemetery. Interviews for a 1998 oral history commissioned by the Navy showed residents were embittered by the destruction and the takeover that severed their families, who had once fished and farmed in Makua, from the land.

Today the Army still controls Makua under a lease with the state that expires in 2029.

In recent years, the Army and Hawaiians have clashed over the Army’s restrictions on access to sites in the valley. The Army cites safety for the limits, although Hawaiians say they’ve long visited these sites and understand the risks.

Hawaiian anger also mounted in 2003 when the Army’s planned burn of brush raged out of control and scorched more than half of the 7-square-mile valley.

Elsewhere in the islands, Hawaiians and the Army have butted heads over the appropriate use of lands at Schofield Barracks, which is home to several thousand soldiers in the 25th Infantry Division, and Pohakuloa Training Area on the Big Island.

Last month, several Hawaiians objected when an army contractor leveling land for a new Schofield training ground unearthed an ancient bone fragment. They had opposed the construction of the training ground precisely because they feared human remains would be found if the soil was disturbed.

Hawaiian tradition says bones must stay in the ground until they’re dissolved so the deceased can complete his or her journey to the afterlife.

Margotta says the covenant, signed in March, will contribute to better relations by committing future commanders to partner and cooperate with Hawaiians. This should impose some consistency even as leaders rotate posts every two to three years.

“There’s been commanders out there who have embraced the Hawaiian community and partnered with them and worked with them. And there have been others who have been not so inclined,” Margotta said. “We wanted to codify it for successive generations.”

Col. Douglas Mulbury, who took over from Margotta in a change of command ceremony last week, agrees with the initiatives and hopes to build on them, spokesman Loran Doane said.

Neil Hannahs, the director for the land assets division of Kamehameha Schools, said the council and covenant may help ameliorate conflict by spurring dialogue.

“Let’s just get together and talk before we’re at a point of crisis and conflict,” Hannahs said.

Hannahs is on the advisory council. He also signed the covenant, although as an individual and not as representative of Kamehameha Schools, an education institution and trust established by the will of a 19th century Hawaiian princess.

Aila isn’t optimistic. He wasn’t invited to join the advisory council or to sign the covenant even though he has long clashed with the Army over access to Makua and, more recently, the treatment of human remains found at Schofield last month.

“It’s great for PR,” he said, “to give the impression that things are hunky-dory here in Hawaii. But it doesn’t reflect the reality on the ground.”

The Army would do more to improve relations by leaving Makua, Aila said. He argues soldiers can train elsewhere.

Annelle Amaral, the Hawaiian liaison for Army Garrison Hawaii, said she didn’t invite people to join the council who have “site specific” concerns. She instead gathered Hawaiians who represent fields including education, business, and religion.

She denied the council omitted people who disagree with the Army, noting it includes Rev. Kaleo Patterson. The minister has vocally opposed ballistic missile testing on Kauai and pushed for the “decolonization and total independence” of Hawaii.

For some Hawaiians, the covenant fails to address the fundamental problem as they see it: the Army is part of an illegal occupation that began when U.S. businessmen, supported by U.S. Marines, overthrew Hawaii’s queen in 1893.

“Instead of having a covenant that sort of says you know ‘we promise to be really nice and do our best to protect sacred places,’ I’d rather get a timetable for when they’ll actually stop and leave us,” said Jonathan Osorio, a University of Hawaii professor of Hawaiian studies.

Army desecration of burials angers Native Hawaiians

Post Date May 28, 2010

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Author Laurel Mei-Singh

Category 'A'ole Stryker, DMZ-Hawai'i / Aloha 'Aina In the News, Hawaiian Sovereignty, Land, Culture & Human Rights

Yesterday, a representatives of Native Hawaiian organizations and other supporters went on a site visit to the area in Lihu’e (Schofield range) where the Army desecrated the burials of at least two individuals, including an adult and a child. Poi pounders and other cultural implements were also found at the site.

The Army’s propaganda spin machine has sought to make the desecration into “protection” and a cultural access into “consultation”. The Honolulu Advertiser article at bottom is inaccurate. It states that “All work was immediately halted.” But this is a false statement.

After the first bone was unearthed, the contract archeologist working for Garcia and Associates (GANDA) ordered the earth moving work to continue for another half-hour until more bones were found, in violation of federal and state laws that require all activity to cease when bones are unearthed.

The desecration of the sites in Lihu’e is happening on a massive scale. But since these areas are in live fire ranges and off limits to civilians, the destruction is largely invisible to the public. Below is the press release from Native Hawaiians who visited the site and performed ceremony for the ancestors that had been unearthed by the Army.

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May 28, 2010

Hawaiian Community Angered by Desecration of Burials at Schofield Barracks

Lihuʻe, Oʻahu. Representatives from several organizations concerned over the U.S. Armyʻs recent disturbance of ʻiwi kupuna (ancestral remains) visited the site on Schofield Barracks where a cultural complex was disturbed by Stryker-related construction. They were told by Laurie Lucking, cultural resource manager for U.S. Army Garrison-Hawaii, that the area where the ʻiwi kupuna was unearthed would be “closed forever.” But military construction and training continue to destroy many other cultural sites in a large expanse of land sacred to native Hawaiians.

Leimaile Quitevis, former cultural monitor who documented many of the sites in Lihu’e and a member of the Oʻahu Island Burial Council comments on the significance of the cultural site complex. “Hundreds of archaeological site features have been identified in the immediate vicinity of Stryker Brigade construction. In addition, more than 300 surface artifacts were collected by Army representatives. The massive amount of cultural properties located in this area help to paint the picture of the pre-contact land use of Lihue. The significance and importance of this landscape to Kanaka Maoli is limitless. Lihuʻe was once the ruling center of Oʻahu, hosting famous rulers and infamous battles. This history is important when evaluating and assessing the historic properties that have been identified. These sites are not isolated ‘archaeological sites.’ They are features, pieces of a puzzle, and parts of a whole. These sites are part of a complex that laments and praises the history and culture of our ancestors. Several bone fragments have been documented throughout the project area. None of these bones have ever been positively identified by a qualified osteologist. In addition clusters of artifacts are treated as isolated finds rather than actual sites. To date this project has damaged numerous petroglyphs, desecrated a minimum of two individual’s graves and breached the site protective measures of Haleauau Heiau.”

“The Army failed to do adequate cultural site investigations and consultations before drawing up and proceeding with its Stryker brigade plans,” said Summer Mullins a representative from Kipuka, one of the three native Hawaiian groups involved in the 2004 litigation against Stryker expansion. This was the first time that she and many others were given access to the area once recognized as the seat of government for Oʻahu aliʻi. In the past, groups had made several requests for access that were ignored or denied by the Army.

She added, “This desecration was completely avoidable. It was not an ʻinadvertent discovery,’ as the Army claims. They need to be held responsible for their actions. The Army failed to listen to the strong concerns raised by cultural monitors and community members years ago about the cultural importance of the Lihu’e area. Our wahi pana and wahi kapu are not appropriate training areas.”

“When our Kanaka Maoli people say do not disturb an area but their advice is not heeded, this does not constitute ‘proactive dialogue.’ Desecration was predictable. We are faced with the problem that the Army occupies a vast area that physically retains important cultural sites and burial grounds. No matter what, access to these sites must be guaranteed to our kanaka maoli people. It is their traditional right to visit, care for and continue passing on history to the next generation,” said Terri Keko’olani of the American Friends Service Committee.

Representatives were angered by the Armyʻs initial claim that they were protecting the discovery, as their actions painted a completely different picture. “The assertion that ‘all work was immediately halted’ is false. The contract archaeologist for Garcia and Associates (GANDA) ordered digging and grading to continue after the first ʻiwi was found, a violation of Federal and State laws that call for all activity to cease. Earth moving activity stopped only after more bones were exposed,” added Leimaile Quitevis.

According to Tom Lenchanko, spokesperson for lineal descendants of the area, “The families object to any process where our human remains are damaged, with no sensitivity to the lands of our Lo Aliʻi – Lihuʻe, Wahiawa and Helemano encompassing over 35,000 acres that is Kukaniloko. This is our national treasure. Our kupuna are all over that aina, and the military is blatantly disrespecting our ancestral burial sites.”

“This is Hawaiian land, we all know that the US military has no moral or legal authority over our lands or resources,” said Andre Perez of Hui Pu. “Relocating the bones of our ancestors for warfare training is unacceptable. It is the military who needs to relocate.”

Noelani DeVincent, kumu hula and member of the Wahiawa Hawaiian Civic Club was heartbroken to see this sacred place ripped apart, “It was a really emotional experience to see such a huge wrong being done towards our people. It is our kuleana to right this wrong, but how can we trust the Army will take care of this place?”

Leimaile Quitevis added “Our kupuna are calling us to look to the lands of Lihuʻe. We must kukulu kumuhana (pull our strengths) and work together to defend the bones of our ancestors and the rich history of this ʻāina.”

Other participants in the cultural access include Kai Markell and Kamoa Quitevis of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, William Aila of Hui Malama i Na Kupuna, Melva Aila of Hui Malama o Makua, and Kyle Kajihiro of the American Friends Service Committee.

Photo by Kai Markell at Lihu’e complex, Schofield Barracks. Many significant cultural sites are being destroyed by current Stryker-related construction.

Photo by Kai Markell at Lihuʻe complex, Schofield Barracks. Concerned Native Hawaiianʻs and community members inspect damage to cultural sites caused by Stryker-related construction.

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http://www.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/20100528/NEWS25/5280343/Army+consults+agencies++on+relocation+of+bones

Posted on: Friday, May 28, 2010

Army consults agencies on relocation of bones

Advertiser Staff

Army officials yesterday said they invited representatives from the State Historic Preservation Division, Office of Hawaiian Affairs, O’ahu Burial Council, ‘Ahu Kukaniloko and Hui Malama I Na Kupuna O Hawai’i Nei to visit a Schofield Barracks construction site where human remains were discovered earlier this month.

“Now that the remains have been found, the decision must be made whether the remains should stay where they were found, or whether they should be relocated to a more appropriate site where they would not be disturbed again,” Laurie Lucking, cultural resource manager for U.S. Army Garrison-Hawaii, said in a statement.

Lucking said the remains were found in an Army training area where military vehicles will be operating and performing exercises “and we are seeking recommendations from the representatives on this matter.”

The Army said it will publish a general notice to allow claimants an opportunity to consult with the Army on the final disposition of the remains once a decision is made on whether to move the remains from their location.

An Army-contracted cultural monitor from Garcia and Associates was on site when a single bone fragment was found on May 14 in a mound of earth that had recently been excavated. All work was immediately halted.

Live-fire over Makua valley

Post Date February 12, 2010

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Author Laurel Mei-Singh

Category DMZ-Hawai'i / Aloha 'Aina In the News, Environmental Impacts, Free Makua, Hawaiian Sovereignty, Land, Culture & Human Rights, Social and Economic Impacts

As the Honolulu Weekly reported below, the community turned out to protest the Army’s plan to establish an Asia-Pacific Fusion Counter-IED center at Makua. Like a pimp, the Army is soliciting other countries to use and abuse Makua. Stars and Stripes reported that in Thailand during “Cobra Gold” joint military exercises, “U.S. Army Pacific officials briefed the Thai brass on a new Asia-Pacific Fusion Counter-IED Center now starting up in Hawaii.” Time for the Army to get out of Makua.

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http://honoluluweekly.com/feature/2010/02/live-fire-over-the-valley/

Live-fire over the valley

Citizens ask why the Army needs Mākua at all

Chris Nishijima
Feb 10, 2010

Image: Chris Nishijima

Tension was high at the Waianae Neighborhood Community Center as Waianae Neighborhood Board Chair Jo Jordan opened the Feb. 2 meeting by leading a restive crowd in Hawaii Ponoi. When the song reached its traditional conclusion and most of the room started to sit, many in attendance carried on through the deeper verses of King David Kalakaua’s national anthem.

Before the meeting, Jordan offered condolences to the family and friends of her fellow board member, Michael Anderson, who died during a hiking accident the previous week. Anderson’s empty chair set a somber tone, as did the main business of the evening–the Army’s presence in Makua Valley.

Makua Valley spans more than 4,190 acres and has been the site of military training since World War II. In recent years, Native Hawaiians and environmentalists have been pressing the Army to reduce its impact in Makua, and to halt live-fire training in particular.

“Makua is a want of the Army, not a need,” said William Aila Jr., a Hawaiian cultural practitioner who is active in the community’s attempts to reduce the Army’s presence in the valley. Aila points out that the Army has not trained in Makua at any point during the past five years.

“This is the greatest indication that they don’t need Makua,” he said. “It is a need of the community.”

Others echoed Aila’s concerns, and said that the Army is not properly respecting the area as a sacred part of Hawaiian heritage.

But Army officials insist they understand the community’s concerns.

“We are not some big evil organization,” said Col. Matt Margotta, who represented the Army’s 25th Infantry Division. “We are attempting to better understand the Hawaii community.”

Margotta explained that Makua provides a unique setting which allows the Army to simulate a war zone without taking soldiers stationed on Oahu away from their families for an extended period of time. Margotta also pointed to ways in which the Army’s presence has helped improve the community. He said that the military has spent some $7 million toward repairing roads and $10 million toward protecting Hawaii’s endangered species, 41 of which can be found in Makua Valley.

“The Army recognizes that we have an impact on the community,” he said, “We are trying to change that.”

But many of those in attendance were not satisfied, and voiced concerns over the military turning the area into what they said amounts to a munitions trash heap.

“What you need to do is go back to Kahoolawe and clean it up!” said Shirley Nahoopii of Waianae. “You have not fulfilled your promise to clean up there after you were finished with it! Is Makua going to end up the same way?”

Concerns about the dangers of unexploded ordnances, or UXOs, left over from Army training are widespread in areas surrounding the Makua Valley. That’s why Apple, Inc., is donating more than 300 Apple MacBook computers, each equipped with a unique question-and-answer system, to select public schools.

“The students will be required to answer one question regarding UXOs before signing in,” said Tom Burke of the Hawaii Veteran’s Society, who announced the program at the meeting.

Despite these efforts, some found the program itself, which features a caricatured version of a Native Hawaiian, to be controversial.

“If this is a native, I think it is rather tasteless,” said Johnnie-Mae Perry, a member of the board.

The Army has yet to release a date to resume training in Makua. Another meeting with representatives of the 25th Infantry will announced by the Waianae Coast Neighborhood Board within 60 days.

Judge sustains Makua complaint

Post Date November 21, 2009

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Author Laurel Mei-Singh

Category DMZ-Hawai'i / Aloha 'Aina In the News, Environmental Impacts, Free Makua

http://www.starbulletin.com/news/20091120_Judge_sustains_Makua_complaint.html

Judge sustains Makua complaint

The ruling reveals doubt about whether Army environmental surveys were sufficient

By Gregg K. Kakesako

POSTED: 01:30 a.m. HST, Nov 20, 2009

A federal judge has sided with Hawaiian activists who want the Army to stop training in Makua Military Reservation, putting the military on notice that it will have to show that maneuvers in the Leeward valley would not contaminate ocean resources or damage cultural sites.

U.S. District Chief Judge Susan Oki Mollway’s actions keep alive a request by the organization Malama Makua to have the court set aside the Army’s environmental impact statement until it completes more marine contamination studies and archaeological surveys.

The Army completed the EIS in June, and in August filed a motion seeking to dismiss Malama Makua’s complaint.

In denying the Army’s motion Wednesday, Mollway wrote that the Army does not have the sole right to determine what qualifies as a survey.

“Taken to its logical conclusion, the Army’s argument would allow the Army to satisfy its burden by poking a stick into the ground and calling that action a ‘survey,'” the judge wrote.

Earthjustice attorney David Henkin, who has represented Malama Makua since 2000, said that he hopes that Mollway will act early next year to permanently bar further training in Makua before the Army resumes any operations using live ammunition.

The Army, which conducted both a survey of cultural sites and several scientific studies on possible water and soil contamination, has said it had met all terms of their October 2001 settlement agreement with Malama Makua.

Under the terms of the agreement, the Army was required to conduct studies to determine the potential for training activities to contaminate fish, shellfish, limu and other marine resources off Makua beach. The Army was also required to prepare subsurface archaeological surveys to identify cultural sites that could be damaged or destroyed by training.

“At the hearing on this motion, the Army argued that it was entitled to summary judgment because the settlement agreement only required it to do a study, which it did,” Mollway wrote. “The Army contended that what kind of study it did was in its sole discretion. At the hearing, the Army went so far as to argue that it could have satisfied the ‘study’ requirement by simply having a luau, serving food from the area and seeing whether anyone got sick.”

Malama Makua President Sparky Rodrigues said: “For years we’ve been insisting that the Army tell the community the truth about the threats that training at Makua poses to irreplaceable subsistence and cultural resources. Now the court has told the Army that it can’t get away with junk science.”

Said Earthjustice attorney Henkin: “To make a rational decision about whether to allow training at Makua, it’s vital that decision-makers and the public have accurate information about the harm to public health and cultural sites that resuming training at Makua could cause. This ruling puts the Army on notice that the court will not allow the Army to pass off woefully inadequate studies as meaningful.”

Dennis Drake, an Army spokesman, yesterday said it is Army policy not to comment on ongoing litigation: “We will abide with the dictates of the court.”

In August Col. Matthew Margotta, commander of U.S. Army Garrison Hawaii, said the Army hoped to resume live-fire training before the end of summer since it believed that the environmental statement completed in June fulfilled its legal obligations. However, no training with live-fire ammunition has taken place.

The Army has said that it needs to rebuild several dirt roads and firing ranges in the training area damaged by heavy rain last year. The Army stopped live-fire training in the 4,190-acre valley in 2004, pending completion of the EIS.

Schofield Barracks hosting suicide awareness event

Post Date August 31, 2009

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Author Laurel Mei-Singh

Category GI rights/resistance

Updated at 6:25 p.m., Monday, August 31, 2009

Schofield Barracks hosting suicide awareness event

Advertiser Staff and News Services

The Army in Hawai’i will recognize National Suicide Prevention Month tomorrow on Sills Field at Schofield Barracks with events intended to promote awareness of the impact suicide has not only has on family members, but also on the “Army family,” officials said.

The day starts at 6:30 a.m. with a two-mile fun run, followed by opportunities for soldiers and family members to visit booths staffed by behavioral health experts, Army counselors and military chaplains.

Army programs are available not only for suicide prevention but also drug and alcohol prevention and domestic violence prevention, officials said.

In 2008, 143 soldiers Army-wide committed suicide, the highest number in the three decades that the Army has kept records. The service is on track to surpass that number this year.

“The most frustrating thing is trying to find a cause,” Gen. Peter W. Chiarelli, the Army’s vice chief of staff, told the Senate Armed Services Committee on July 30.

To reverse the increase in soldier suicides, the Army has implemented a number of programs and put Chiarelli in charge of the service’s suicide prevention efforts.

Among those efforts, which included a service-wide stand down and a series of chain-teaching sessions, is a $50 million, five-year study on suicide conducted in conjunction with the National Institute of Mental Health.

“It’s not that the Army lacks programs to confront the problem of suicide,” said Brig. Gen. Colleen McGuire, Director, Army Suicide Prevention Task Force. “The long-term challenge is determining which programs are most effective for our soldiers, and ensuring Army leaders, from junior noncommissioned officers to the most senior leaders, know how to help their soldiers take advantage of these programs.”

Officials are trying to reduce the stigma of seeking help, a key obstacle in a warrior culture that prizes physical and mental toughness.

Source: http://www.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/20090831/BREAKING01/90831073/0/RSS0103source=rss_breaking/Schofield-Barracks-hosting-suicide-awareness-event

'Blowing in the Wind' – Kona speaks out against DU

Post Date August 28, 2009

Comments 1 Comment

Author Laurel Mei-Singh

Category Depleted Uranium, Projects and Campaigns

http://www.bigislandchronicle.com/?p=8314

‘The Answer My Friend Is Blowing In The Wind’; Depleted Uranium At Pohakuloa And How The U.S. Military Seeks To Further Contaminate The Island

27 Aug 2009

By Megan Magdalene

A meeting with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) in Kona last night, Aug. 26, 2009, brought out concerned citizens who testified before the Commission. Testimony from the public will be heard tonight, Aug. 27, 2009, at the Hilo High School Cafeteria from 6-8 p.m.

If it isn’t YOUR business what goes on our mountain top, then whose is it? Consider coming to Hilo’s meeting to testify tonight! Mahalo to the excellent work of Big Island Live who will be streaming a live broadcast of the Hilo meeting. To listen in to live streaming audio broadcast from 6pm please go here: http://www.bigislandlive.com/

Written testimony can still be submitted via email at OPA.Resource@nrc.gov to request that the NRC investigate further community concerns regarding the licensing process for nuclear waste on Pohakuloa. Also, call NRC at (301) 415-8200 to air concerns.

“Nobody likes being on a bummer” was the explanation someone gave for the the small but lively meeting between the public and a panel of NRC employees, to discuss the unsavory subject of nuclear waste on the base of Pohakuloa. She was referring of course, to contrast between this meeting and the the much more well-attended meeting earlier this week concerning the closure of the Natural Energy Lab of Hawaii Authority (NELHA).

Clearly, it seems that it is easier to get 400 to 500 people out about “beach access,” with various council members, former council members and politicians showing up to be “champions” of this cause. It seems that it is harder for citizens to face up to the now well-established fact of nuclear contamination on the island.

A lively meeting was hosted last night in Kona by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission involving 60 well informed citizens. The task of the NRC was to explain to the public the process they have initiated since receiving an application from Pohakuloa Training Area (PTA) for a license to store nuclear waste on the mountain training base.

This license is to be granted to the PTA to manage an area contaminated by Depleted Uranium (DU). The meeting hosts delivered the PR message of the evening: This panel is in charge of taking public comment and showing us that they are “very concerned'” to know the community input. It was made clear that once the license is granted, there are supposedly “experts” that the NRC will be sending in to observe and monitor the licensing and implement the “plan” that is delivered (by the NRC) for the PTA to implement. It was spelled out to the audience that this pretty much is a standard procedure that results in a license being granted.

Through the course of asking questions of the panel, it was established that this Nuclear Regulatory Commission has a very detailed “plan” that they explain to communities about the process they go through before they grant a license to a military base to have nuclear waste on their base. They have never actually refused a military base a license once the licensing process begins.

The basic format was that the entire evening was introduced by a woman who identified herself as Hawaiian and explained that she would be facilitating the meeting. She led a pule, saying she was going to chant to “call in the Ancestors.” The pule was followed by a ‘power-point’ presentation which was around 30 minutes long. The power-point presentation was presented in sections, each presented by a member of the panel and it was interrupted twice with a question. It seemed that the panel went to answer those questions but both times the facilitator stopped them. Basic tenets of the ‘science’ around radiation were put up on the screen. Considering all the facts available about Depleted Uranium, this seemed a glaringly obvious case of ‘glossing over the facts’ and ‘over simplification of the facts’. It was pointed out by several speakers throughout the evening that the people attending seemed to know more about the hazards of DU than the panel did.

Many testifiers who spoke, brought up the fact that DU is known to be a hazardous waste that they cannot possibly contain on the base because it is extremely ‘pyphoric’ (ie it burns spontaneously or at below room temperatures). For this reason any military activity up on Pohakuloa is going to increase the spread of DU because it will disturb DU on the base, causing it to ignite and turn into fine dust that travels on wind currents off base and to populated areas on the island.

Given this key scientific fact concerning DU, the idea that Pohakuloa Training Area will be granted a license to ‘contain DU contamination’ on the base, is of course ridiculous. It means that the Nuclear Regulatory Commission is nothing more than a ‘rubber stamp’ that says the military don’t have to clean up the DU and can continue to drop bombs on the area and engage in live-fire training that will continue to spread the contamination of the radioactive dust.

If one were to summarize this meeting, I think that it would be appropriate to say, This panel of NRC representatives seems like it is made up of a bunch of people who feel conflicted and miserable about their job and they cover it over with a lot of repetitive meaningless phrases such as ‘The NRC is an independent organization and is not a part of the Department of Energy of the Department of Defense’. Also we heard a lot ‘We take our job very seriously’ ‘We take your concerns very seriously’. ‘You should know that we consider all of the information you are giving us very seriously.’ etc. The testimony that the public provided was informed by current research, statistics and scientific findings. Testimony ranged from the ironic and humorous to the angered and outraged.

The following is a summary of the key points of testimony given at the meeting:

The Land doesn’t belong to the USA

Several Hawaiian Kupuna spoke and challenged the legality of the NRC hosting such a meeting because of issues never resolved between Hawaiian Kingdom and USA. One was asked if the meeting were ‘formal’ or ‘informal’ in a legal sense and he was told it was ‘informal’ but it was at this point that they identified the attorney present. Several Hawaiians who spoke, brought up issue of liability on the part of the panel for issuing permits in a process that is not legal because of land claim issues. Each time the legal question of whether USA was entitled to be in negotiation over annexed sovereign land, members of panel referred to the ‘political process’ that was outside of their scope. One uncle made fun of the ‘Hawaiian Translator’ hired by the NRC for the evening by making a sexual reference which the young female translator wasn’t able to translate. “See they don’t teach you the real Hawaiian, up at that college you go to”.

There is a Hawaii County Council resolution in place already requiring the Military to “cease and desist” and this has been ignored

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission was informed by several testifiers that the council of Hawaii County has passed a resolution that required the military to stop training & live-fire until DU hazard is remediated. They were told that this resolution has been ignored by the US Military and the command personnel that are stationed there and given responsibili\ty for handling Depleted Uranium contamination issue. Hawaii’s county council has requested that a medical doctor, Dr. Pang and the nuclear physicist Dr Rainer be included in their meetings and procedures, to date, they have not been included and willful obstructions on the part of the military to include them have been noted by Hawaii County Council during hearings on the subject. Public involvement in the process was also requested and to date, this also has been obstructed

The science is poorly presented by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission

A man who works in the field of medicine says he’s researched the facts about DU. Complained that they didn’t name specific compounds associated with the DU. Specifically they didn’t talk about Alpha radiation and how harmful that is when a particle of DU dust is lodged right next to the cell tissue.

DU is dangerous because it is highly flammable and can easily become airborne

A testifier spoke further to the fact that the science presented in the Powerpoint was lacking substance. “The people out here know more about this than you do”. He raised the issue of the pyphoric nature of DU and the likelihood of Du igniting and spreading off base that was extremely high. He cited an instance where a group of residents had gathered to protest the opening of the new Saddle Road in May 2007. While there, along with a group of dignitaries including U.S. Sen. Daniel Inouye and Mayor Harry Kim, the group of residents observed a spike in radiation readings recorded by a handheld radiation device. An explanation of this has been needed said the speaker but could best be explained by understanding the fact that DU easily burns and once ignited, forms aerosol-ized particles which become airborne. The distinction was made for the public record between large visible chunks of DU in it”s metal form (fragments of weapons) and the microscopic particles of aerosol-ized dust. “These are microscopic, smaller than a virus that can travel a long way from the base. In understanding how easily DU burns, we can understand how easily it causes a hazard for the whole island.”

The Animals on the base are sick and have tumors

A man who identified himself as Hawaiian and speaking for Hawaiian hunters on the island, said that he noticed a number of animals and birds that appeared to have tumors on their bodies. “Sometimes we have to throw aside the carcass because it cannot be used. It’s been too damaged.” He requested an explanation for the kinds of deformities he and other hunters were observing in the animals on and around the Pohakuloa base.

Cancer Clusters in Kona and other illnesses for “down winders” in Kona

Sen. Josh Green, an emergency room doctor, was present at the meeting and raised concern about “cancer clusters” in Kona. Further testimony backed this up. A woman expressed concern that she had been diagnosed with “trigeminal neuralgia,” a rare neurological disorder affecting 1 in 35,000 people. She says she knows of twenty two people in her immediate neighborhood who have reported some kind of condition with symptoms of ‘shocks to the face’ and is still looking for the answer as to why this disease is showing up in a ‘cluster pattern’. Another testifier spoke of the need for the NRC to test residents who live downwind of Pohakuloa for traces of Depleted Uranium. There are tests available and she said one resident returned a positive test for DU in their body but the results couldn’t be conclusive because this was not a lifelong resident. The lab conducting the test has since been shut down so it is not clear where such a test could be obtained. Tests are needed because there are unexplained patterns of illness in the Kona community. “Now purportedly, we have seen a 1992 study of the Hawai’i cancer map, by the State Public Health Dept. that shows Kona to have one of the two, highest cancer rates in the state, the other being Pearl Harbor; a giant ‘Superfund’ site. We have no heavy industry here to account for this high rate and no official wants to talk about it.” This testifier also went on to say:

“The highly reputed study that I read of recently talked of U238 (99.8% of DU) as heavy metal alpha emitter. It will concentrate in bones where it will bombard bone marrow leading to leukemia and can mutate genes and make them cancerous. Alpha particles are 20-30 times more biologically damaging per unit of energy than beta or gamma radiation. ..I know of an inordinate amount of adults and young people in our little town suffering from leukemia and other cancers. Nearly every month lately, it seems I see a couple of ads in our local paper for “benefits” for people with leukemia. I personally know of six people who have died in the past couple of months, three of them, twenty five years old from the same school, along with their principal, who all had leukemia. I’m no expert but I think something is very wrong here.”

Further testimony came from a woman who was also involved in the citizen protest at the Saddle Road. She had witnessed the spike on the radiation monitor and since that time, she says she has had”‘leukemia-like” symptoms and believes that her illness is as a result of the radiation she was exposed to at the Saddle Road in May 2007.

Can you protect us from those crazy maniacs with bombs?

Humor, be it of a dark, ironic sort, was ever-present at the meeting. A man asked the panel who the public should actually contact if a violent fundamentalist group with a distorted world view were to take over the top of the mountain and start setting off bombs and spreading DU. “Will the Nuclear Regulatory Commission come out to save the community if this is the case? I don’t think they will so can you please tell us who we should talk to who can protect us?”

If you aren’t a “rubber stamp,” then what are you?

The panel of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission was asked, was there an instance that they could cite of a military base being denied a license? The “manager” of the NRC panel, Keith, turned to his whole panel and asked if they knew of any because he didn’t. Nobody could think of an instance where that had ever happened. This brought forth lots of laughter from the public attending the meeting because in that moment it was made crystal clear that the NRC would be granting a license to Pohakuloa Training Area no matter what evidence was brought against them. One testifier made a complaint for the record that the format of the evening was to provide a smokescreen to hide from identifying themselves. She objected to what she said was “The fake ‘Aloha’ of a Hawaiian facilitator who has the job of leading a Hawaiian prayer, and cutting people off after 4 minutes.” She noted that it was culturally insensitive to ask a Hawaiian and a translator to make it seem like this was a genuine process when clearly it is a rubber stamp for a “license” that is going to be granted anyway.

“Wake up and realize the truth”

A man in his forties identified himself as a member of the “next generation” … “Since our Kupuna are passing on, I’m stepping up.” He gave the most powerful delivery of the evening and pretty much wrapped up the night. He took the microphone and stood before them, making eye contact with each of the panelists. He spoke to them of their responsibilities to their creator, to their children. “You know this is wrong. But everybody’s got to eat eh?.. You just doing your job, aren’t you?” His tone was sometimes loud and sometimes soft and he covered a range of emotions and fears that were present in the room. He spoke about the fear generated from the lies being told by the government to the people. He spoke clearly and delivered to them this message: “This mountain is not your mountain. It’s the most sacred mountain. It’s not your place to allow it to be contaminated.”

The Qualifications of members of the Panel were in question

Several people attending spoke to the procedural “errors” of the evening. The panel members never introduced themselves and identified their qualifications. Eventually, at the end of the meeting, they did so and it was established that the panelists’ qualifications consisted of either a Bachelor degree or a doctorate in fields of nuclear engineering, environmental science, geology, chemical engineering – plus a bunch of years experience in a government agency and with the NRC. The man in charge of the process is a man named Keith and he said, “I’m no longer a practicing geologist. I’m a manager.” He noted that he had been with the NRC about 20 years. There were no qualified medical doctors represented on the panel. At a certain point in the meeting, a man introduced himself as an attorney who had been employed by NRC for about 10 years.

Summary of Meeting:

A well informed group of citizens turned out for the meeting. They came affiliated loosely with a number of groups, like the Kingdom of Hawaii, or simply as interested citizens representing themselves and their concerns. People who testified were sometimes funny and sometimes had an angry and indignant tone. The fact that many of the testifiers who spoke wanted particular surveys and scientific findings entered onto the record made it clear that this was a well informed citizenry.

Over and over people testified that the proceedings didn’t seem legitimate because it had failed to address legal issues over the US entitlement to use of land at Pohakuloa and that the science they were presenting didn’t seem valid or thorough. The conclusion testifiers made repeatedly was that this process was not a genuine inquiry as to the merits of granting a license, but a routine checklist of procedures that would result in a license being granted.

It was noted that there were no Hawaii County Council representatives present. This truly was a missed opportunity to look out for the interests of the community as this license is about to be issued and the DU matter literally “dispersed to the winds.”

This lack of interest on council members’ part is a little out of character, since last year they passed a resolution stating that there are well-documented health hazards relating to DU requesting that the Military cease all bombing and live-fire training until the DU contamination is thoroughly identified and the DU is cleaned up.

Council members Brenda Ford, Emily Naeole, Dominic Yagong and Pete Hoffman are all on record as showing they were very concerned to know of the DU hazards. Brenda was on record as saying that she wanted a meeting with Pete Hoffman and the military. Unfortunately, when we contacted her about that this week, she didn’t seem to remember this fact and reported that no such meeting had occurred. It seems as though the fear and concerns raised by council members, when they listened to testimony from an informed public and from key witness Dr Lorin Pang, have now been forgotten.

As Bob Dylan would say, “How many times can a man turn his head, pretending that he just doesn’t see? The answer my friend is blowing in the wind… ” It will take a lot more than just 60 citizens paying attention to see that we are protected. Amazingly, it is still not too late to become involved. You have until October to contact the NRC and let them hear you say “…not in my backyard.”

Megan Magdalene is a resident of Hilo concerned about depleted uranium and a number of other issues our island community faces.

Two Army hotels to be privatized

Post Date August 19, 2009

Comments 0 Comments

Author Laurel Mei-Singh

Category Militarization of Society, The Military in Hawai'i (All Islands)

Updated at 2:31 p.m., Wednesday, August 19, 2009

Two Army hotels in Hawaii in privatization program

Advertiser Staff

Military hotels at Tripler Medical Center and at Fort Shafter are among the facilities included in the first-ever privatization program for U.S. Army lodging.

Actus Lend Lease said it has embarked on the program by assuming ownership and operation of 62 lodging facilities at 10 U.S. Army installations. Actus Lend Lease, which also has been involved in privatization of military housing, and will invest about $125 million into the 3,200-room portfolio.

IHG, the owner of hotel brands that include Holiday Inn Hotels, InterContinental, Crowne Plaza and Holiday Inn Express, is also part of the agreement. The majority of the facilities to operate under IHG brands.

The hotels here include a 90-room facility behind Tripler, and a 7 suite facility at Fort Shafter.

Source: http://www.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/20090819/BREAKING03/90819062/Two+Army+hotels+in+Hawaii+in+privatization+program+

Army on track to surpass 2008 suicide numbers

Post Date August 15, 2009

Comments 0 Comments

Author Laurel Mei-Singh

Category GI rights/resistance, War and Peace

Army on track to surpass 2008 suicide numbers

By Michelle Tan – Staff writer

Posted : Friday Aug 14, 2009 18:40:55 EDT

As many as 12 soldiers killed themselves in July, the Army announced today, and the service remains on course to setting a record for suicides in a single year.

Of the 12 deaths, eight were active-duty soldiers and four were National Guard or Army Reserve soldiers who were not on active duty at the time of their deaths.

All 12 deaths are possible suicides and remain under investigation.

Typically, about 90 percent of these investigations are ruled suicides, Army officials have said.

In June, there were 13 confirmed or possible suicides; nine were active-duty soldiers and four were soldiers who were not on active duty. As of Aug. 13, four of those 13 deaths had been confirmed as suicides.

Between Jan. 1 and July 31, there have been 96 reported active-duty suicides. Of those, 62 have been confirmed as suicides and 34 are still under investigation.

There were 79 suicides among active-duty soldiers for the same period in 2008.

Among soldiers who were not on active duty, there have been 17 confirmed and 28 possible suicides so far this year. During the same period last year, there were 32 suicides among reserve component soldiers who were not on active duty.

The Army reported 140 suicides in 2008 and is on track to surpass that number this year.

To reverse the increase in soldier suicides, the Army has implemented a number of programs and put Vice Chief of Staff Gen. Peter Chiarelli in charge of the service’s suicide prevention efforts.

In addition, the Army’s Suicide Prevention Task Force has put in place a number of improvements to the army’s health promotion, risk reduction and suicide prevention programs. They include major revisions to the Army’s health promotion policy and augmenting behavioral health staff at many installations to enhance access to counseling services for soldiers and families.

Source: http://www.armytimes.com/news/2009/08/army_suicides_081309w/