Injunction stops funding for Ala Wai flood control project

A judge Tuesday issued an injunction stopping the city and state from funding a controversial flood control project that would build walls and berms around the Ala Wai Canal and put huge flood-control structures in the upper reaches of the watershed.

The federal government has offered to pay $220 million of a $345 million Army Corps of Engineers project designed to protect Waikiki and the upper reaches of the Ala Wai watershed from flooding. Supporters have argued that current modeling indicates that a 100-year event would result in damage to more than 6,000 structures with approximately $1.14 billion in structural damage and damage to critical infrastructure.

But seven out of eight neighborhood boards in the affected districts, save for Waikiki, passed resolutions urging government officials to delay the project. Their efforts were part of the reason that the state Legislature didn’t allocate funding last session. They also helped persuade Honolulu City Council members Ann Kobayashi, Carol Fukunaga and Tommy Waters to form a permitted interaction group, which paid engineering consultant Oceanit $100,000 to conduct community outreach and gather preferred alternatives to the corps’ plan.

Even with the lack of community consensus, the city and state signed a memorandum of agreement, effective Sept. 19, committing the state to pay the project’s $125 million cost share by Nov. 30 and the city to maintain the project. The state had planned to raise the money by selling certificate of participation (COP) bonds, which don’t require legislative approval like general obligation bonds. The nonprofit Protect Our Ala Wai Watersheds, a recently formed community group of mostly Palolo and Manoa residents, filed a lawsuit Sept. 18 to stop the city and state from initiating the project.

In his ruling, Judge Jeffrey Crabtree, senior Environmental Court judge for the 1st Circuit, ruled that the state cannot commit state funds to the Ala Wai project before an environmental impact statement (EIS) has been accepted. His order also prohibited placing the COP funds in an escrow account.

“The envisioned 100-year flood could be devastating. On the other hand, the impact on our streams, on irreplaceable historical features and on traditional cultural practices could also be devastating if the project is implemented in violation of the law,” Crabtree wrote. “The further along the project is before an EIS is accepted, the more likely this harm is to occur. It cannot be fixed with money. In balancing these public interests, absent an accepted EIS, the court finds the scales tip towards injunctive relief.”

David Frankel, Protect Our Ala Wai Watersheds’ attorney, called the judge’s ruling “a solid victory.”

“The order blocking the funding is a big deal. It will prevent the governor and mayor from shoving the Ala Wai project down our throats,” Frankel said. “Protect Our Ala Wai Watersheds hopes that the court’s decision will encourage city and state officials to work with the community to develop environmentally friendly solutions. No more shibai community engagement.”

It’s unclear how the judge’s ruling will ultimately affect the project, which has endured more than a year of staggering pushback from the community. The city and state have both said that if the project’s funding is not secured soon, they feared that the federal government would take back the funds and put them to other use.

The city’s acting corporation counsel, Paul Aoki, said Tuesday in a statement, “We are very concerned that by preventing the state from generating funds to meet our local share, we may lose the entire $224 million in federal funds for this project.”

“That means we could lose a valuable opportunity to provide crucial flood protection in communities that really need it,” he said. “The city will work with the state and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to determine the appropriate next steps based on the court’s ruling.”

Krishna F. Jayaram, special assistant to the state attorney general, said, “We are reviewing the decision, its impact on the project, and determining the appropriate next steps.”

Jeff Herzog, the corps’ Ala Wai flood project manager, said the agency could not comment because it was not part of the litigation, but would “continue to support and work with our City &County of Honolulu and State of Hawaii partners.”

Sidney Lynch, president of Protect our Ala Wai Watersheds, said the nonprofit is “glad that this will put a pause on the project to provide time for other alternatives to be considered.”

Lynch said the nonprofit will continue to work with stakeholders toward a more palatable, environmentally and culturally sound solution.