Malama Makua report: 12/15/98

[KYLE KAJIHIRO <afsc@pixi.com>]

>The meeting today went very well. Long. It ended up going from 9:00-4:00.
> EPA and the State of Hawai`i have agreed to look into testing for
>contamination (primarily lead) in the muliwai (brackish ponds) on the state
>park property, outside of the military reservation. Initial discussions
>were also begun in securing a critcal analysis of the testing done by the
>Army back in 1994, upon which the EPA has based its analysis. Furthermore,
>both the EPA and the State Departmeent of Health have indicated that, based
>on the public input from the September 30, 1998 meeting, they are
>reconsidering their earlier position to delay clean-up of the
>Open-burn/Open-Detonation site. Most important of all, further discussions
>on the future of Makua will continue.
>
>Malama Makua has also been informed that the US Army has filed papers with
>the US Fish and Wildlife Service to begin the process of complying with the
>Endangered Species Act. Malama Makua takes this as a sign that the US Army
>is conceeding at least one half of our lawsuit. 
>
>Mahalo,
>
>Roger Furrer
>
>
>PRESS RELEASE
>For Immediate Release
>December 13, 1998
>
>For further information contact Malama Makua through:
> Sparky Rodrigues, 696-2823 or 
> Roger Furrer, 695-5317
>
>Malama Makua and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will tour Makua
>Military Reservation on Tuesday, December 15, 1998. The site visit will be
>followed by an informal meeting of community representatives, the EPA, the
>State Department of Health (DOH), and a senior military official. The
>site visit will begin at 9:00 am with the meeting scheduled to begin at
>1:00 pm at the Makua Range headquarters conference room. 
>
>The site visit is a follow-up to the September 30, 1998 meeting between the
>EPA, the DOH, and community representatives regarding the clean-up and
>closure at the Open-Burn, Open-Detonation (OBOD) site at Makua Military
>Reservation. At that time, the EPA proposed indefinitely delaying the
>closure of the OBOD site, contrary to the request of the US Army. The EPA
>recommendation also met with strong opposition from the Wai`anae Community,
>which called for the clean up of the valley and the closure of the military
>reservation at Makua.
>
>Malama Makua and the Earthjustice Legal Defense Fund are currently suing
>the US Army over their failure to complete an environmental impact
>statement covering their use of Makua valley, and for their failure to
>comply with the US Endangered Species Act. Makua is home to over 30
>endangered plants and animals, many of which are known only to exist in
>that valley.
>
>Malama Makua is a community-based organization seeking to protect Makua
>valley, clean up almost 70 years of military debris, and to return it to
>civilian control.