US Senator Brian Schatz joins the long and growing list of people who are questioning the validity of Kaloko-Honokōhau National Historical Park’s petition to designate the Keauhou Aquifer. In a recent interview with Sherry Bracken on Island Issues (September 6, 2015,) Senator Schatz noted, “This is really becoming a challenge for us with federal, especially conservation-related agencies, declaring things that are not true and are not based on science.” “(W)ith the Keauhou Aquifer ... there is no hydrological reason to designate Keauhou Aquifer in that way ... I am a science person, I’m out on there on the Senate floor talking and criticizing Republicans for not paying attention to the science when it comes to climate.” “And so I think it is incumbent on me to be consistent and even though I think the folks at DOI are trying to do the right thing, in terms of the resource, they’ve got to have the science behind them, and they just don’t. . ... Them meddling in State and County water issues is just not useful to anybody.” Even the National Park has stated that existing pumping from groundwater wells has shown no evidence of harm: Paula Cutillo, Ph.D., Hydrologist for the National Park Service, concluded: “The water resources in the Park include the coral reefs, two fish ponds and a fish trap, over 185 anchialine pools and wetlands. … These resources are relatively healthy; we have no evidence that existing pumping has adversely affected these resources.” (August 27, 2014, Kona Water Roundtable) This was later confirmed by Tammy Duchesne, the Park Superintendent (who submitted the petition:) “We do not have any evidence that pumping wells have adversely affected water resources in the park.” (November 15, 2014, e-mail) Senator Schatz goes on to say, “The State water resource experts, the federal water resource experts, nobody really thinks the Keauhou Aquifer needs this level of management. And it’s going to dismantle our ability to have appropriate development in the Kona area.” “The Commission on Water Resource Management is a State agency and they have the final say. ... I’m quite confident that the Commission on Water Resource Management will continue to ... manage the resource appropriately but not shut down what everybody seems to think is the right kind of development in Kona.” (Mahalo to Sherry Bracken and Mahalo Multi Media for conducting the interview and allowing us to share it. The complete, unedited interview is online at www.lava1053.com, click on Island Issues.)

• published: 17 Sep 2015
• views: 36