Kaʻū News Briefs, Monday, April 1, 2019

     The Sierra Club and Hawaiʻi Farmers Union United and several other groups oppose the extension, focusing on large tracts of former sugar land on Maui, where the state Supreme Court has ordered the return of water that formerly irrigated sugar plantations. The water would go back to the streams where it nourished wildlife and plantings along the natural waterways, including taro and other food crops centuries ago.

     Swept up in the issue are the small ranchers and farmers in Kaʻū who say they fear they will lose access water for livestock, orchards and food crops. Most of their water comes from manmade horizontal wells, dug into the side of Mauna Loa by the sugar companies, rather than diversions of streams.

     Supporters of the extension of existing water permits include John Cross of Kaʻū Soil & Water Conservation District, who testified that revocable permit holders in the Kaʻū Agricultural Water Cooperative District have worked toward long term water leases since 2007. They have "invested vast amounts of money to improve the systems and tunnels" built by the old sugar companies. "The water from these sources support macadamia nut orchards, cattle ranching, coffee cultivation, and a growing expansion of vegetables and produce… food for the community and state of Hawaiʻi. The lands of the Kaʻū District are bountiful, but only so with water." He asked for more time to work out the long term leases.

     Michelle Galimba, member of the state Board of Agriculture and Mountain House Agricultural Water Cooperative, supports the bill. She noted that Mountain House Agricultural Water Co-op is comprised of water users of the Mountain House overflow system in Kaʻū. They include "Kuahiwi Ranch, MJ/Andrade Ranch, Nāʻālehu Ranch, Aikane Coffee Plantation, the Hanoa ranch, and the Johannsen ranch. These ranchers and farmers depend on the Mountain House Overflow agricultural water systems for their livelihoods, to support their families, to provide food for local markets and to continue to create employment in our rural community," wrote Galimba.

     "This is a complex issue with far-reaching consequences, not just for water permits but for Department of Land & Natural Resources permits as well. Coming up with a good solution may well take time… I would ask that each of the stakeholders in this discussion take the time to understand the other stakeholders in depth, rather than to harden into factions and sides. This will be good practice for a future in which water becomes an increasingly limited resource. I sincerely hope that we can all work together to develop an appropriate policies as quickly as possible."

     The Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Democratic Party of Hawaiʻi, and several groups and individuals testified that large water user Alexander & Baldwin and subsidiary East Maui Irrigation Company are unfairly benefiting from a public resource. They contended that smaller water users will not be negatively impacted.

     Sierra Club of Hawaiʻi testified, that ranchers of Kaʻū and other small farmers with revocable permits "should return to the permitting process they followed in 2015." They would apply every year for month-to-month permits, "receiving a categorical exemption from state environmental reviews, and paying a small fee. Because these water users have not been sued for abusing water permits like A&B was, they have no court-imposed prohibition on their water use." Sierra Club also contended that the extension "does not protect public trust resources from exploitation."

     OHA testified that the smaller ranchers and farmers' concerns "are based on a purely speculative extension of a circuit court order specific only to A&B, and there is no clear legal barrier to preventing the issuance of annual revocable permits to any other entity." OHA stated that the extension would reward A&B and the Board of Land & Natural Resources "for their failure to conduct an environmental review of A&B's continuous and ongoing diversion of over 100 streams and tributaries on 17,000 acres of public watershed lands in East Maui, 12 years after one had been first ordered by the Circuit Court."

     Department of Hawaiian Home Lands testified with "serious concerns" over the extension, stating that the agency should receive 30 percent of revenue generated by long-term water leases. 

     Susan Campbell of Hawaiʻi Farmers Union United and Food Security Hawaiʻi testified against the bill: "If water rights are not held up for the public domain, then our Senators are corrupt. This is actually outrageous."

     HB 1326 HD2 goes before the Senate Committees on Water & Land and Ways & Means at 10:35 a.m.tomorrow morning. Read the bill and testimony, and submit testimony. Testimony submitted less than 24 hours before the hearing will be marked late but may be considered by committee members.

To read comments, add your own, and like this story, see Facebook. Follow us on Instagram and Twitter. See our online calendars and our latest print edition at kaucalendar.com.

SEN. BRIAN SCHATZ WILL CHAIR DEMOCRATIC SPECIAL COMMITTEE ON CLIMATE CHANGE. He calls climate change the "crisis of our generation." He said the purpose of the committee is to have in place "a predicate for action if and when" Democrats regain control of the Senate. Its formation comes a week after Republican Sen. Mike Lee took the Senate floor and used placards to promote his claim that the Green New Deal would end air travel. He showed a cartoon seahorse, Ronald Reagan using a machine gun to take on a velociraptor, and Luke Skywalker riding a tauntaun. He proclaimed the way to solve climate change was to let the next generation solve it.

     Schatz took to the Senate floor in response: "I get that we want to make jokes and we want to be clever and we want to get clips to put on Facebook or Instagram or whatever, but that was appalling. This is the crisis of our generation and it is not a joke."

     The Green New Deal – which makes no mention of air travel – was voted down in the Senate last week. During an interview with MSNBC, Schatz said Trump, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, and other Republicans "are literally making fun of climate action" which is problematic in light of recent flooding in the Midwest, California wildfires increasing in severity, and increasing floods and storms in costal regions. "This is serious business," and only one party is taking it seriously, he said. "They are sort of outsmarting themselves. They are very impressed with their own cleverness… But the truth is, we are right on climate change."

     Schatz said people from all political backgrounds "want climate action," and that "young people are decisively in favor of doing something about this planetary crisis." He referred to "tens of thousands" of "young people" who marched about climate change in the Capitol a few weeks ago. "We in the Congress have to follow their lead, and take care of the future."

     Schatz also sent a message to his supporters: "For the past two years, Mitch McConnell and Congressional Republicans have dragged our country from crisis to crisis. They have championed the priorities of the richest people in this country and stood in the way of policies that would help all of us.

     "The only way to change this is to win the Senate. That means we have to be ready to mobilize across the country to make sure great Democrats win. We have to spread our message of progress, and fight for the things that matter to us like affordable health care, climate change, and education."

     Schatz specified in a Tweet: "Doing nothing about climate change is expensive and dangerous."

To read comments, add your own, and like this story, see Facebook. Follow us on Instagram and Twitter. See our online calendars and our latest print edition at kaucalendar.com.

HAWAIʻI RANKS NINTH FOR RETURN OF TAX INVESTMENT in Health, a recent WalletHub report states. Overall, return on tax investment in Hawaiʻi ranked as the worst of all 50 states and Washington, D.C. Analysis of the quality and efficiency of state and federal government services in Hawaiʻi takes into account the very different rates at which citizens are taxed in each state and D.C. The study also noted that, unlike state taxes, federal income-tax rates are uniform across the nation. However, some states receive more federal funding than others.

     WalletHub's Taxpayer Survey reports 55 percent of U.S. adults feel they pay too much in taxes and 90 percent don't think that the government uses tax revenue wisely. Different states have dramatically different tax burdens. This report seeks to find out if people in high-tax states receive superior government services, and if low-tax states are more efficient or do they receive low-quality services?

     Percentage of Residents in Poverty was where Hawaiʻi ranked the best, at 5th. The AlohaState ranked 14th in Economy, 20th in Safety, 22nd in Overall Government Services. Hawaiʻi ranked 37th in both Education and Infrastructure & Pollution.

     Hawaiʻi ranked last in both Total Taxes per Capita for those 18 and older, and Overall Return on Investment.

     For the full report, visit wallethub.com/edu/state-taxpayer-roi-report/3283/.