Editorial: Weigh impacts of Army training

With the U.S. Army now seeking to secure a path for renewing four state land leases that expire in 2029, Hawaii residents should seize the rare opportunity to weigh in on the pros and cons of the military’s past, present and future use of land in the islands.

The largest parcel among the leases is 23,000 acres of Hawaii public trust land at Pohakuloa Training Area (PTA) on Hawaii island. In 1964 — five years after Hawaii became a state — this remote land, in the “saddle” between Mauna Loa and Mauna Kea, was leased for $1 to the Army for a term of 65 years.

The other parcels are on Oahu — including 1,170 acres at the Kahuku Training Area, 4,370 acres at the Kawailoa/Poamoho Training Area and 760 acres at the Makua Military Reservation. In the case of each land lease, thorough examination of track records for environmental stewardship and cultural sensitivity should rank as a priority.

The Army makes a strong point that as the U.S. military’s future is focused on the Indo-Pacific region, Hawaii is geographically situated to serve as a prime place for training grounds. However, matters of military readiness in the Pacific and national security must be balanced with the state’s rights. And checks should be in place to ensure that both the Army and the state uphold responsibilities tied to lease terms.

The military wants to extend the PTA lease because the land provides access to 110,000 acres of adjacent U.S. federal government-owned land at the largest U.S. military firing range. However, the site dubbed as the “Pacific’s premier training area,” has a troubled history of scant state oversight.

In a lawsuit filed by the Native Hawaiian Legal Corp., a pair of Native Hawaiian cultural practitioners claimed, compellingly, that the state Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR) failed in its duty to protect the land. Over a span for 55 years, just two inspections to ensure military compliance with lease terms occurred — in 1984, and 1994.

In 2018, a Hawaii judge ruled against the state. A year later, the state Supreme Court upheld a lower court finding that DLNR had breached its trust duties; and a non-binding requirement is now in place for the state develop a plan for cleanup of the leased PTA land.

Last year, the Army began prepping a required environmental impact statement (EIS) to assess the ecological, cultural and economic impacts of continued training on the Pohakuloa land. The Army recently announced the launch of the EIS process for retention of the three Oahu parcels. Any lease extension must be framed with conditions that avoid unnecessary and inappropriate land use.

An opportunity to speak up in-person about the Oahu leases is slated for 6 to 9 p.m. Tuesday and Wednesday, at an Army scoping meeting at Leilehua Golf Course. The event will air on youtube.com/usaghawaii/live. Recording services for comments will be available, 4 to 9 p.m., on both days at 808-556-8277.

Among cautionary tales involving problematic stewardship, there’s Makua Valley — a training range for nearly a century. It long wrangled with legal fights, including a 2001 court settlement over cultural access and a 2016 lawsuit over unexploded ordnance. There’s Kahoolawe, of course.

And there’s the aging underground Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility, perched a mere 100 feet above Oahu’s primary drinking-water aquifer. Seven years have passed since the Navy reported a 27,000-gallon jet fuel leak at one tank, yet the military and its state and federal environmental regulators have yet to agree on a viable plan for maintaining a facility to support military operations without threatening Oahu’s irreplaceable aquifer.

Public input is vital to driving a comprehensive discussion about best uses of land in Hawaii, and the overall size of the military’s footprint here.