Hawaii water panel member at center of litigation resigns
COURTESY PHOTO V.R. Hinano Rodrigues COURTESY PHOTO V.R. Hinano Rodrigues A special member of the state Commission on Water Resource Management, whose appointment by Gov. Josh Green in October led to litigation, has resigned.
V.R. Hinano Rodrigues stepped down from his position as the commission's traditional Native Hawaiian water management expert, according to the state Department of Land and Natural Resources.
DLNR, which oversees the water commission, said Rodrigues notified the Office of the Governor that he decided to withdraw from what is known as the commission's loea, or expert, seat, for the reason of 'healing with this community and our people.'
The seven-member commission governs the state water code, which can include determining how the public-trust resource is divided by competing interests such as developers, industrial agriculture, small farmers and natural ecosystems.
Rodrigues is a Native Hawaiian who grows his own taro and previously served as the History and Culture Branch chief at the State Historic Preservation Division of DLNR.
However, the way Rodrigues was selected for the water commission's loea position generated concern and conflict among some Hawaii environmental and Hawaiian cultural organizations.
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Green picked Rodrigues in October from a list of three candidates recommended by a nominating committee after a prior committee had recommended a different slate of four candidates in February 2024.
The governor asked for the do-over after two candidates recommended by the first committee withdrew themselves from consideration. Green said he needed a new list of candidates because in his view the law required him to have at least three choices from the list.
In September about 70 Hawaii environmental and Hawaiian cultural organizations expressed concern in a letter to Green about his water commission candidate list do-over.
Then in January a group of Hawaii residents concerned about state water policy filed a lawsuit seeking to invalidate the appointment of Rodrigues and force Green to pick from the two remaining candidates on the original list.
The lawsuit, filed by environmental law firm Earthjustice on behalf of community group Hui Kanawai 'Oia 'i 'o, in part contended that the governor unlawfully circumvented state law with his selection of Rodrigues because Green didn't like the two remaining candidates on the original list recommended by the first committee.
State law governing commission selections requires that the nominating committee give the governor a list with at least three candidates.
Rodrigues had been serving on the commission in an interim capacity subject to confirmation by the state Senate. This year's legislative session began Jan. 15, and Green submitted his nomination of Rodrigues to the Senate on Jan. 23 for a term through June 30, 2028. A confirmation hearing had yet to be scheduled. On Wednesday, Green withdrew the nomination.
Green, in a statement, thanked Rodrigues for volunteering to serve his community.
'At the time of his nomination, his extensive experience and understanding of Hawaii's cultural and environmental landscape and his previous years of service that worked to preserve and protect our state's natural resources, equipped him with the insights and skills necessary to navigate the complex challenges facing CWRM commissioners, ' Green said.
The commission's chief executive, Ciara Kahahane, in a statement also thanked Rodrigues.
DLNR said a new nominating committee is expected to make new recommendations to fill the commission's loea seat, along with two other vacancies, from applicants interested in the volunteer roles.
Applications for the other two seats are due by March 31. A deadline to apply for the loea seat will be stated as part of a planned public notice to be posted on the commission's website announcing that applications are being sought.
Harley Broyles, an Earthjustice attorney, said in a statement that plaintiffs in the lawsuit are continuing with the litigation aimed at having the governor fill the commission's loea seat with a candidate from the nomination list he received a year ago.
'We agree with Governor Green that our resources are better protected when we all work together, ' she said. 'Following the law is how we do that.'
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