BLNR Rejects the Army’s FEIS for Pōhakuloa

On May 9, the Department of Land and Natural Resources’ (DLNR) Board of Land and Natural Resources (BLNR) rejected the U.S. Army’s Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) for 23,000 acres of state land within the 133,000-acre Pōhakuloa Training Area (PTA) on Hawaiʻi Island after an emotional day-long meeting.

The Army’s proposed retention of the land it leases from the state at Pōhakuloa has generated widespread opposition. Hundreds of community members, cultural practitioners, and environmental advocates from across the pae ʻāina gathered ahead of the 9:00 a.m. meeting to demand that the BLNR reject the FEIS.

The land within the PTA is one of four parcels of public “ceded” lands currently leased to the Army by DLNR that are set to expire in 2029. The other three are on Oʻahu.

Community advocates contend that the FEIS is inadequate and fails to address decades of documented environmental destruction, cultural desecration, and serious health risks associated with military use. For decades, the Army’s use of Pōhakuloa has been opposed by the community – including formal opposition by conservation groups, cultural practitioners and Native Hawaiian organizations presenting both expert legal and scientific critiques.

Specific concerns include the confirmed presence of depleted uranium in the soil of the impact zone, failure to remove unexploded ordnance and other toxic munitions from the impact zone and surrounding areas, as well as the 892 wildfires that military activities at PTA have caused between 1975-2024. Notably, the August 2022 “Leilani Fire” that started at Pōhakuloa burned about 17,700 acres – 12,400 acres of which were outside of the boundaries of PTA and were habitats for endangered species.

A Statement of Solidarity signed by more than 200 Native Hawaiian organizations, environmental groups, and individuals, was submitted to the BLNR calling on the board to uphold its responsibility to protect trust lands, cultural resources, and public health.

The Office of Hawaiian Affairs (OHA) also called on BLNR to reject the Army’s FEIS, noting in its testimony that Pōhakuloa comprises part of the ceded lands base stating, “as a trustee of the ceded lands base, and of the Native Hawaiian people’s unrelinquished claims to self-governance, OHA is concerned with the failure of the FEIS to clearly set out the Army’s compliance with clean up measures included in the current lease and required to safeguard the land’s long-term use and accessibility for civilians.”

OHA also supported calls from the State Historic Preservation Division for an archaeological inventory survey (AIS) that covers the entirety of state-owned lands at Pōhakuloa.

In 2014, Maxine Kahaulelio and Clarence “Ku” Kauakahi Ching filed a lawsuit (Ching v. Case) against DLNR for its failure to monitor the Pōhakuloa lands the state leased to the U.S. Army back in 1964. In April 2018, First Circuit Court Judge Gary Chang ruled in favor of the lawsuit noting the state’s failure to “mālama ʻāina.” The Hawaiʻi State Supreme Court later affirmed Chang’s ruling.

The Army’s FEIS omitted key environmental and cultural information including surveys for endangered species and Native Hawaiian burials and archaeological sites in large portions of the proposed lease area. It also failed to provide an enforceable wildfire mitigation plan or evaluate contamination risks to ground water. Pōhakuloa sits less than 2,000 feet above a massive aquifer.

“We need the Board of Land and Natural Resources to decide whether to stand with the people of Hawaiʻi or enable further military desecration of our ʻāina,” Kahaulelio said.

BLNR’s decision to reject the Army’s FEIS was rendered in the early evening following the meeting.

“This decision reflects a thorough review of the document’s legal, environmental, and cultural deficiencies, many of which OHA and others identified in public testimony,” said OHA Board of Trustees Chair and Hawaiʻi Island Trustee Kaialiʻi Kahele.

A joint statement issued by the Native Hawaiian Legal Corporation (NHLC), the Center for Biological Diversity (CBD), and the Sierra Club of Hawaiʻi noted that the board’s rejection effectively halts the Army’s attempt to secure a new lease for the time being. However, the fight is not over. Under Hawaiʻi law, the Army may resubmit a revised FEIS that addresses BLNR’s concerns.

“This decision is a win for truth, for science and for the people of Hawaiʻi,” said CBD Hawaiʻi and Pacific Islands Director Maxx Phillips. “The board recognized that you can’t make informed decisions about protecting endangered species, sacred sites or clean water when you refuse to even do baseline surveys.”

“Pōhakuloa has been bombed, burned and polluted for over six decades. [The] rejection of the FEIS gives us a fighting chance to restore and protect this sacred place,” added Sierra Club of Hawaiʻi Director Wayne Chung Tanaka. “The board’s decision upholds its constitutional and fiduciary obligations to Native Hawaiians and the general public, including both present and future generations.”

“The state has a legal duty to honor the public trust and the rights of Kānaka Maoli,” noted NHLC senior staff attorney Ashley Obrey. “The decision reflects well-established Hawaiʻi law that prioritizes the health of Hawaiʻi lands and Native Hawaiian cultural practices over military convenience.”

For more than 75 years the military has used the 133,000-acre PTA for military exercises despite Pōhakuloa’s designation as a conservation district, its “ceded” lands status, and its cultural significance to Native Hawaiians.

Should the State of Hawaiʻi ultimately reject the Army’s request to extend its lease once it expires in 2029, Pōhakuloa will not be shut down – but there will be less land available to the military, and more lands returned to Hawaiʻi’s public land trust inventory.

“OHA is committed to ensuring that any future course of action honors the unique legal status of these lands and the trust obligations they carry,” Kahele added. “These lands are not ordinary – they are part of an unrelinquished legacy. OHA will continue to prioritize protecting the rights and interests of the Native Hawaiian people and preserving the integrity of the public land trust.”