HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.C.R. NO.	163
THIRTY-FIRST LEGISLATURE, 2021
STATE OF HAWAII

HOUSE CONCURRENT

RESOLUTION

 

 

REQUESTING the Board of Land and Natural Resources to enter into a long-term water lease with Wai   oli Valley Taro Hui for THE HUI'S existing use of water from Wai   oli Stream via direct negotiation, upon completion of the ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT PROCESS.

 

 

 

        WHEREAS, this body supports the traditional and customary practice of kalo cultivation by Wai   oli Valley Taro Hui in Wai   oli, Kaua   i; and

 

WHEREAS, the unprecedented floods of 2018 destroyed the historic m  nowai, the traditional instream diversion structure, and severely damaged the    auwai, the irrigation ditch, in Wai   oli, Kaua   i, thereby impacting water flow to ancient lo   i kalo and reducing Wai   oli Valley Taro Hui's ability to restore its fields and feed its community; and

 

WHEREAS, in response to this devastation, the Governor and Mayor of the County of Kaua   i issued emergency proclamations and extensions to the proclamations, and the Legislature appropriated funds for disaster recovery efforts via Act 12, Session Laws of Hawaii 2018, and Act 35, Session Laws of Hawaii 2019, which included the County of Kaua   i's repair of Wai   oli Valley Taro Hui's m  nowai and    auwai; and

 

WHEREAS, during the disaster recovery and repair efforts, Wai   oli Valley Taro Hui was informed that its traditional lo   i kalo irrigation system, including the m  nowai and    auwai, was located on state conservation land; and

 

WHEREAS, Wai   oli Valley Taro Hui worked closely with the County of Kaua   i and the State to understand and pursue the appropriate entitlements and exemptions to ensure the long-term viability of lo   i kalo cultivation in a traditional manner in Wai   oli Valley; and

 

WHEREAS, the Board of Land and Natural Resources unanimously approved a perpetual easement for Wai   oli Valley Taro Hui to continue to use and maintain its traditional lo   i kalo irrigation system, including the m  nowai and    auwai, which represents the first co-management of natural and cultural terrestrial resources between a community group and the Board of Land and Natural Resources; and

 

WHEREAS, Wai   oli Valley Taro Hui seeks to continue to steward this traditional system and practice by pursuing a long-term water lease from the Board of Land and Natural Resources; and

 

        WHEREAS, for Hawai   i's people, culture, and resources, ola i ka wai, "water is life"; and

 

WHEREAS, the traditional cultural practice of lo   i kalo cultivation in Wai   oli Valley has fed Wai   oli Valley and neighboring ahupua   a for centuries:  the kalo farmers of Wai   oli Valley Taro Hui have collaborated informally for over a century to steward and maintain Wai   oli Valley's natural resources, cultural lifeways, and community identity, which are reliant upon those resources; and

 

WHEREAS, the traditional lo   i kalo irrigation system is an indigenous surface water system that has been used since time immemorial and connects flowing water to kalo fields:  Wai   oli's lo   i kalo have been thriving, dating to at least the fifteenth century; and

 

WHEREAS, Wai   oli Stream is one of only six streams throughout Hawai   i pae      ina that the Hawai   i Stream Assessment identified as having traditionally supported more than fifty acres of kalo cultivation; and

WHEREAS, the water that flows through Wai   oli's ancient system is a lifeway that supports kalo cultivation traditions and perpetuates a living Native Hawaiian culture while feeding the community and preparing the next generation to carry on this vital practice; and

 

WHEREAS, lo   i kalo cultivation in Wai   oli Valley uses water in a nonpolluting way, and the water that flows through the lo   i kalo is nonconsumptive, as it is returned to the same watersheds of origin and recharges related ground and surface water sources, including Wai   oli Stream and Hanalei River; and

 

WHEREAS, lo   i kalo cultivation in a traditional manner continues to create opportunities for community-based cultural and agricultural education while providing vital environmental benefits, such as flood mitigation and groundwater recharge; preserving native habitat for endangered and threatened water birds; advancing food security; and building community and cultural resilience in the face of the rising costs of imported food; and

 

WHEREAS, continuation of lo   i kalo cultivation in Wai   oli Valley will not persevere without a long-term water lease from the Board of Land and Natural Resources; and

 

        WHEREAS, Article XII, section 7, of the Hawaii State Constitution mandates the State to protect the traditional and customary rights of Native Hawaiians, such as those perpetuated by Wai   oli Valley Taro Hui members; and

 

WHEREAS, a water lease to Wai   oli Valley Taro Hui honors and supports appurtenant, riparian, and traditional and customary Native Hawaiian rights and practices; and

 

        WHEREAS, pursuant to section 171-58, Hawaii Revised Statutes, which authorizes the disposition of water rights by lease at public auction, an environmental assessment of Wai   oli Valley Taro Hui's continued cultivation of lo   i kalo in a traditional manner is in progress and is about to be noticed for public hearing; and

        WHEREAS, the Department of Land and Natural Resources Office of Conservation and Coastal Lands did not require a conservation district use permit given that the Hui's use is "existing" because it preceded the State and creation of conservation districts or related use permits; and

 

        WHEREAS, pursuant to section 171-58(e), Hawaii Revised Statutes, Wai   oli Valley Taro Hui and Department of Land and Natural Resources staff jointly developed a watershed management plan, and pursuant to section 171-58(g), Hawaii Revised Statutes, the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands consulted with the affected beneficiaries in November 2020, but did not request a reservation of water from Waioli Stream; and

 

        WHEREAS, a long-term water lease will help Wai   oli Valley Taro Hui recover and thrive again after the 2018 floods and perpetuate lo   i kalo cultivation as its spiritual foundation, culture, and lifeway into the future:  make n   ke kalo a ola i ka palili, "the taro may die, but lives on in the young plants that it produces"; now, therefore,

 

        BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Thirty-first Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2021, the Senate concurring, that the Board of Land and Natural Resources is requested to enter into a long-term water lease with Wai   oli Valley Taro Hui for the Hui's existing use of water from Wai   oli Stream via direct negotiation, upon completion of the environmental impact statement process; and

 

        BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Chairperson of the Board of Land and Natural Resources, Mayor of the County of Kauai, and President of Wai   oli Valley Taro Hui.

 

 

 

	OFFERED BY:	_____________________________

Report Title:  

BLNR; Wai   oli Valley Taro Hui; Long-Term Water Lease