THE SENATE	S.R. NO.	59
THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2025
STATE OF HAWAII

SENATE RESOLUTION

 

 

URGING THE DEPARTMENT OF LAND AND NATURAL RESOURCES TO CONSULT WITH THE KAHANA BAY STEERING COMMITTEE, THE COUNTY OF MAUI, AND THE UNITED STATES ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS REGARDING A PATH FORWARD FOR THE PROPOSED KAHANA BAY EROSION MITIGATION PROJECT.

 

 

     WHEREAS, at the urging of the County of Maui Department of Planning, the owners of units in the nine condominium projects, through their owners' associations, and one residential kuleana parcel on Kahana Bay, are members of, and have provided funding for, the Kahana Bay Steering Committee to develop and implement the Kahana Bay Erosion Mitigation Project, which is a proposed regional project to restore the eroded beaches on Kahana Bay; and

 

     WHEREAS, the Kahana Bay Steering Committee retained Oceanit to assist in the engineering, planning, permitting, and implementation of the Kahana Bay Erosion Mitigation Project; and

 

     WHEREAS, by 2019, Oceanit had engaged in extensive community and agency consultation, prepared an environmental impact statement preparation notice, and held scoping meetings; and

 

     WHEREAS, Oceanit published the Kahana Bay Erosion Mitigation Project Second Draft Environmental Impact Statement on November 8, 2021; and

 

     WHEREAS, unfortunately, the Kahana Bay Erosion Mitigation Project has been stalled, and no final environmental impact statement has been prepared; and

 

     WHEREAS, the Kahana Bay Steering Committee proposed to fund the Kahana Bay Erosion Mitigation Project, at an estimated cost of $26,000,000 to $40,000,000, through community facilities district financing pursuant to Chapter 3.75, Maui County Code, which would require public ownership of the rock groins necessary to hold the replenished sand in place; and

 

     WHEREAS, the County of Maui has indicated that it is unwilling to assume the liability risks of owning the groins; and

 

     WHEREAS, the Office of Conservation and Coastal Lands of the Department of Land and Natural Resources informed the Kahana Bay Steering Committee that it will not discuss a path forward for the Kahana Bay Erosion Mitigation Project; and

 

     WHEREAS, the Office of Conservation and Coastal Lands of the Department of Land and Natural Resources has not acted on applications to repair the emergency sandbag structures that serve many condominium properties as the only source of protection against severe erosion of the Kahana Bay shoreline; and

 

     WHEREAS, the Board of Land and Natural Resources has urged condominium associations along Kahana Bay to develop a collective solution to protect public resources; and

 

     WHEREAS, the United States Army Corps of Engineers might be willing to assume control of the Kahana Bay Erosion Mitigation Project if requested to do so by the State, the County of Maui, or an agency of the State or the County of Maui; now, therefore,

 

     BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Thirty-third Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2025, that the Department of Land and Natural Resources is urged to consult with the Kahana Bay Steering Committee, the County of Maui, and the United States Army Corps of Engineers regarding a path forward for the proposed Kahana Bay Erosion Mitigation Project; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the aforementioned parties are urged to consider:

 

     (1)  Legal options for the ownership of the rock groins;

 

     (2)  Whether the United States Army Corps of Engineers would undertake an evaluation of the Kahana Bay Erosion Mitigation Project under Section 103 of the River and Harbor Act of 1962;

 

     (3)  The path forward, timeline, and roles of the Kahana Bay Steering Committee, the County of Maui, and the Department of Land of Natural Resources if the United States Army Corps of Engineers, following the requested evaluation, assumes control of the Kahana Bay Erosion Mitigation Project; and

 

     (4)  Financing options for the Kahana Bay Erosion Mitigation Project, both with and without United States Army Corps of Engineers' participation; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Department of Land and Natural Resources is urged to submit to the Legislature, no later than December 31, 2025, a report on the Department's progress in moving the Kahana Bay Erosion Mitigation Project forward; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the Chief of Engineers and Commanding General of the United States Army Corps of Engineers, Chairperson of the Board of Land and Natural Resources, Mayor and Planning Director of the County of Maui, and Chair of the Kahana Bay Steering Committee.

 

 

 

	OFFERED BY:	_____________________________

 

 

 

Report Title: 

Department of Land and Natural Resources; Kahana Bay; Erosion