Memorial reef idea gets cool reception

A local company has drawn largely negative public feedback after sharing more details of an artificial reef it proposes to build using concrete infused with cremated remains of people who want to rest on the floor of Maunalua Bay.

Hawaii Memorial Reefs LLC made a presentation to the Hawaii Kai Neighborhood Board on Tuesday night, hoping to gain some community support for the plan it claims will enhance coral and fish life in a largely lifeless area 40- to 60-feet deep about 1-1/2 miles off Paiko Peninsula in East Honolulu.

The presentation followed a Sunday Honolulu Star-Advertiser story about the endeavor in which company officials didn’t respond to requests for comment.

Richard Filanc III, a partner in the company, told the neighborhood board and an audience of about 60 people that the proposed artificial reef will enhance the marine environment at private expense.

“We care for our oceans,” he said. “We are trying to do this as a win-win-win for the environment, the community and the state of Hawaii.”

Yet public reaction at the meeting was mainly a mix of skepticism and opposition.

“It is absolutely impossible to accept this in any way,” said Jean Rasor, a longtime area resident who called the plan “hewa,” or wrong. “This bay has been my sacred grounds.”

Livable Hawaii Kai Hui, a group whose officers include neighborhood board members Elizabeth Reilly and Marian Grey, submitted written comments opposing the plan.

“The ocean is the sacred realm of our Hawaiian akua (god) Kanaloa,” the statement said. “We believe it is not pono (right) to encase cremated ashes in concrete balls to go into a man-made artificial memorial reef in the ocean waters of Maunalua Bay.”

The group also said that such a reef, which could attract dive boat operators, would conflict with existing ocean users including outrigger canoe paddlers, surfers and fishermen. “Who wants to canoe paddle over an underwater cemetery?” the statement said.

Ann Marie Kirk, a member of the group, said at the meeting that Hawaii Memorial’s plan would violate Hawaiian cultural beliefs about bones of the deceased disintegrating and being transferred back into the land and sea along with a person’s mana, or power.

“We don’t become a permanent fixture,” she said. “It absolutely totally violates our belief system.”

However, William Aila Jr., former director of the state Department of Land and Natural Resources, compared Hawaii Memorial’s plan with cremation that exists all over Hawaii.

Aila said that before Westerners made contact with Hawaii, burning someone’s bones was something Hawaiians did to their enemies. “The burning of the bones is the absolute worst thing you can do,” he said. Yet in modern Hawaii many Hawaiians have adopted other beliefs that include cremation. “I don’t believe it’s a place for Hawaiians to tell non-Hawaiians what they can and cannot do.”

Hawaii Memorial has asked Aila to be involved with its project, though Aila, deputy director of the state Department of Hawaiian Home Lands, said he isn’t a consultant to the company. He also didn’t endorse the company’s plan.

Jeannine Johnson, a member of the neighboring Kuliouou-Kalani Iki Neighborhood Board, said community leaders have the same message for Hawaii Memorial as they did for a proposed shark dive business in the bay: “This is what we’re saying to you: No. Go away.”

Hawaii Kai Neighborhood Board member Paige Altonn said it seems like the company decided to seek community input after it applied for permits and solicited customer reservations on its website, which calls the planned reef “Paradise Reef.” The company also envisions a second memorial reef dubbed “Aloha Reef” off Ko Olina in West Oahu.

Filanc said the company isn’t taking reservations or deposits and that the website is an informative shell.

The company, however, had applied for a conservation district use permit from DLNR for the Maunalua Bay site.

DLNR’s Office of Conservation and Coastal Lands rejected the application earlier this month because the application was incomplete, while another DLNR division governing aquatic resources has questioned whether a memorial reef would constitute a cemetery under state law and therefore have to comply with rules governing cemeteries.

DLNR noted in its rejection letter that it had requested that Hawaii Memorial consult with community groups, environmental organizations and users of the ocean site, and that it document the outreach efforts.

“Prior to re-submitting your (application) for this project, outreach to the community and general public needs to be conducted, documented, and included with your (application),” the DLNR letter said.

Filanc said the company started its research in 2011 to see whether an artificial reef is even possible, and proceeded to formulate plans after understanding that DLNR encourages artificial reef development and studying potential sites.

Eric De Carlo, chairman of the University of Hawaii Department of Oceanography’s Marine Geology and Geochemistry division, heads the company’s science advisory board, and said at the neighborhood board meeting that he is confident coral will grow in the proposed area on the concrete modules called reef balls.

De Carlo acknowledged that he was a bit skeptical of the memorial reef idea when first approached, but said he believes the company’s plan can be a way to pay for artificial reef development often inhibited by high costs.

“I’m pretty much in favor of this idea,” he said. “This project is a way to make reefs and pay for it through a private corporation rather than asking for resources from our state and federal agencies, although we’re going to still hit up the federal research foundations. As an educator, I view this as a great opportunity for doing research that will help us ultimately manage our reefs and maintain the sustainability of our coastal resources.”

De Carlo said the reef balls weigh 600 to 900 pounds each and have a low center of gravity that won’t be disturbed by even tropical storm waves. He added that coral growth after 100 years won’t affect waves that break closer to land, and that the amount of cremated ashes from one person, about 6 to 9 pounds, will be mixed with the concrete for one reef ball and not leach out.

If the project proceeds and coral grows on the reef balls, De Carlo said there could be 1 foot of coral covering the reef balls after 10 years, or 10 feet after 100 years.

Filanc estimated the cost to mix cremated remains into a reef ball and have divers lower it into the ocean with assistance of floats for a gentle guided descent would be one-third the cost of a traditional funeral, or about $5,000 to $7,000.

The company hopes to start operations in the third quarter of 2017 subject to publishing an environmental assessment, which will allow more public comment, and obtaining a conservation district use permit, which would involve a public hearing.