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Yahoo
30-03-2025
- Yahoo
Opihi pickers cited for illegal activity in Pupukea district
COURTESY STATE DEPARTMENT OF LAND AND NATURAL RESOURCES State conservation officers said 235 opihi were allegedly found in the possession of two men. COURTESY STATE DEPARTMENT OF LAND AND NATURAL RESOURCES State conservation officers said 235 opihi were allegedly found in the possession of two men. An anonymous tip to the state Department of Land and Natural Resources' Division of Conservation and Resources Enforcement led to citations being issued to two opihi pickers for illegal activities in the Pupukea Marine Life Conservation District, located on Oahu's North Shore. Conservation officers on Wednesday responded to a report of two men collecting opihi at the southern end of the Pupukea MLCD. Upon arrival, officers approached the individuals, a 53-year-old Wahiawa resident and 65-year-old Ewa Beach man, and found them in possession of 235 pieces of opihi, according to a DLNR news release. The opihi were within legal size limits, but DLNR noted the collection of any mollusk, including seashells and opihi, is prohibited within the boundaries of the Pupukea MLCD. The district, established as a protected area, is subject to strict regulations aimed at preserving marine life and ensuring the sustainability of aquatic resources. Both men were issued citations for violating Hawaii Administrative Rules relating to prohibited activities within the Pupukea MLCD. They are scheduled to appear May 13 in Wahiawa District Court to face petty misdemeanor charges. 'Activities in marine protected areas throughout the state, including the Pupu kea MLCD, are highly restrictive to protect aquatic resources, ' DOCARE Chief Jason Redulla said in the news release issued Friday. 'These areas have signs posted informing people of these restrictions. We remind everyone to follow the rules and restrictions to avoid being cited or arrested.' The Pupukea MLCD was established in 1983 as part of the state's Marine Life Conservation District Program to provide the highest level of protection for marine life, with regulations designed to allow fish and other aquatic species to grow larger and produce more offspring. 'This, in turn, can lead to a 'spillover effect' that benefits adjacent areas, ' the release said. Don 't miss out on what 's happening ! Stay in touch with breaking news, as it happens, conveniently in your email inbox. It 's FREE ! Email 28141 Sign Up By clicking to sign up, you agree to Star-Advertiser 's and Google 's and. This form is protected by reCAPTCHA. The boundary of the Pupukea MLCD stretches from the southern edge of Waimea Bay, extending northward past the popular Sharks Cove. 1 Comments By participating in online discussions you acknowledge that you have agreed to the. An insightful discussion of ideas and viewpoints is encouraged, but comments must be civil and in good taste, with no personal attacks. If your comments are inappropriate, you may be banned from posting. Report comments if you believe they do not follow our. Having trouble with comments ? .
Yahoo
10-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
City Council discusses helping with cesspool conversion
STATE DEPARTMENT OF LAND AND NATURAL RESOURCES / 2015 A partially exposed cinder-block cesspool pit with a cover on an eroding shoreline in Punaluu. Hawaii has 83, 000 cesspools, more than any other state. 1 /4 STATE DEPARTMENT OF LAND AND NATURAL RESOURCES / 2015 A partially exposed cinder-block cesspool pit with a cover on an eroding shoreline in Punaluu. Hawaii has 83, 000 cesspools, more than any other state. STAR-ADVERTISER A new bill could help homeowners replace residential cesspools by offering grants of up to $50, 000. The bill would focus on neighborhoods in the proximity of existing sewer treatment plants. 2 /4 STAR-ADVERTISER A new bill could help homeowners replace residential cesspools by offering grants of up to $50, 000. The bill would focus on neighborhoods in the proximity of existing sewer treatment plants. STAR-ADVERTISER Above, staff walk along a new aeration basin that opened in 2024 at Honouliuli Wastewater Treatment Plant in Ewa Beach. 3 /4 STAR-ADVERTISER Above, staff walk along a new aeration basin that opened in 2024 at Honouliuli Wastewater Treatment Plant in Ewa Beach. STAR-ADVERTISER / COURTESY PHOTO Tommy Waters, left, Matt Weyer. 4 /4 STAR-ADVERTISER / COURTESY PHOTO Tommy Waters, left, Matt Weyer. STATE DEPARTMENT OF LAND AND NATURAL RESOURCES / 2015 A partially exposed cinder-block cesspool pit with a cover on an eroding shoreline in Punaluu. Hawaii has 83, 000 cesspools, more than any other state. STAR-ADVERTISER A new bill could help homeowners replace residential cesspools by offering grants of up to $50, 000. The bill would focus on neighborhoods in the proximity of existing sewer treatment plants. STAR-ADVERTISER Above, staff walk along a new aeration basin that opened in 2024 at Honouliuli Wastewater Treatment Plant in Ewa Beach. STAR-ADVERTISER / COURTESY PHOTO Tommy Waters, left, Matt Weyer. Oahu voters in November approved a City Charter amendment to create a city-managed climate resiliency fund. That fund—to be supported by 0.5 % of the city's estimated annual real property tax revenue—supposedly would finance preventive, restorative and educational measures relating to climate change. Now the City Council is advancing a measure to use the fund to convert outdated cesspools on Oahu, possibly to more updated sewer systems. Introduced in February by Council Vice Chair Matt Weyer and Chair Tommy Waters, Bill 15, which passed its first of three Council readings in February, would offer grants to assist homeowners with cesspool conversions. Oahu has an estimated 7, 500 cesspools—typically, underground holding tanks for the storage of liquid waste and sewage—that could release approximately 4.5 million gallons of untreated wastewater daily. That cesspool waste, according to Council staff, can contaminate the ocean, streams and groundwater by releasing disease-causing pathogens and nitrates. The University of Hawaii Sea Grant College Program estimates there are over 83, 000 cesspools statewide. In 2005 the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency banned large-capacity cesspools. Additionally, under Act 125 the state mandates that all cesspools be upgraded, converted or closed by 2050. Don 't miss out on what 's happening ! Stay in touch with breaking news, as it happens, conveniently in your email inbox. It 's FREE ! Email 28141 Sign Up By clicking to sign up, you agree to Star-Advertiser 's and Google 's and. This form is protected by reCAPTCHA. But cesspool conversion costs can reach tens of thousands of dollars, a situation Council staff asserts that many working families simply can't afford. As drafted, Bill 15 would offer grants of up to $50, 000 to homeowners earning less than $100, 000 in household income, helping them comply with state requirements to replace cesspools without facing financial hardship. Weyer represents Council District 2, which includes Oahu's North Shore, where residential cesspools are common. 'Households throughout my district are feeling the impacts and are considered cesspool conversion priority one and two areas by the (Department of Health ), meaning they're experiencing the greatest contamination hazard, ' he said in a statement. 'This measure will allow the city to help families comply with the state's regulations before the 2050 deadline.' During the Council's Budget Committee meeting Tuesday, Weyer introduced a new draft of Bill 15 that, in part, proposes installations of new lateral sewer connections for unsewered properties that were not previously serviced by a public sewer main be deemed as a 'preventive and ameliorative measure.' At the same meeting, the panel received information from city officials about Bill 15 and the proposed cesspool conversion program. 'The voters clearly supported setting up this fund for climate resiliency, ' said Andy Kawano, director of the Department of Budget and Fiscal Services. Based on current real property tax and revenue estimates, he said roughly $9 million per year would added to the new fund. 'I just wanted to point out that our climate resiliency needs for this island are significant, and the ultimate cost to address sea level rise, wildfires, the impacts of hurricane type of weather will be significant, ' Kawano added, 'and this set-aside really provides seed money for initial planning and discussion with Council and the public to ensure that we have a plan to go forward, and with that, estimates of costs we can expect on a timetable.' Budget Committee Chair Tyler Dos Santos-Tam asked how quickly the city's finance department could set up and administer the property tax-based program. 'My understanding is that Corporation Counsel is still looking at the process of making grants, ' Kawano replied. 'They're very positive about it, but they're going to come back to us with an opinion.' He explained that the city might create a web-based portal 'so the public and organizations that are advocates of climate resiliency are able to self-service, if you will—go to the portal and apply for grants.' 'We're not there yet, ' he added. Meanwhile, the possible replacement of a city cesspool depends in large part on available city services in a particular area. At Tuesday's meeting, Roger Babcock, director-designate of the city Department of Environmental Services, said cesspool conversions are related to the city's ongoing 'sewer improvement district projects.' He indicated that multiple projects are identifying where folks have cesspools and where the city plans to bring sewers to them. 'It is possible that (Bill 15 ) could assist homeowners with connections to sewers, ' Babcock said. 'So we would support that as a possibility, and it could be beneficial for some of the ratepayers.' Dos Santos-Tam asked how the city prioritized which cesspools need to be replaced first. Babcock said, 'The state has done a lot of effort on that prioritization.' 'And since this is the climate resiliency fund, presumably we'd focus on cesspools that are impacted either by sea level rise or groundwater inundation, ' he added. 'So those would mostly be the coastal cesspools. And unfortunately, there are quite a few of those.' Council member Radiant Cordero asked how quickly the city would be able to complete cesspool conversions. Babcock replied that the city programs were related to 'sewering certain neighborhoods where that is essentially feasible, in the proximity of our existing (sewer ) treatment plants.' 'Most of the cesspools are not in those areas and are in areas that we do not plan to bring sewers to, ' Babcock said, adding the North Shore is one of those areas. 'So the homeowners will currently kind of be on their own.' He noted about 10, 000 private cesspools on Oahu will be targeted. 'Still, for all of those to change will probably take until 2050, when the deadline is, ' he said. 'It's a long process ; there's a lot of contractors, a lot of work, a lot of design and permits that have to happen. So the answer is it's a long process.' Later, Weyer asked about the city's plans to install sewers on the island. 'Currently, in our CIP program, a little over 3, 000 are planned, ' Babcock replied. 'It's not designed or all funded yet, but they've been identified in facility plans to (be installed ) essentially within catchment areas of existing treatment plants.' Although she said she appreciates and supports Bill 15, Council member Esther Kia 'aina also expressed concern about providing funding to fight introduced invasive species—an aspect of the climate resiliency fund—and requested 'any extra funds ' should go toward that effort. 'This is not just about the coconut rhinoceros beetle or the little fire ants, ' she said, noting the noisy coqui frog is already establishing populations in East Oahu and eradication efforts have proved ineffective. State officials say the frog species was accidentally introduced to Hawaii from Puerto Rico decades ago and feasts on native insects. Ultimately, the committee passed the latest version of Bill 15, setting it up for second reading at an upcoming full Council meeting.
Yahoo
22-02-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
New species of native bee discovered on Molokai
COURTESY STATE DEPARTMENT OF LAND AND NATURAL RESOURCES A native bee—hylaeus connectens—sits on a native shrub kolomona (Senna gaudichaudii ) in Makolelau, an ahupuaa in East Molokai. COURTESY STATE DEPARTMENT OF LAND AND NATURAL RESOURCES A native bee—hylaeus connectens—sits on a native shrub kolomona (Senna gaudichaudii ) in Makolelau, an ahupuaa in East Molokai. A new, native bee species has been discovered on the southern slopes of Molokai. The new species—Hylaeus paumako—has a distinctive, all-black face never before seen in a native male species on Molokai, according to conservationists. It has been named Hylaeus paumako, according to the state Department of Land and Natural Resources, with 'paumako ' meaning mourning or grief in Hawaiian. Karl Magnacca, an entolomologist for the DLNR Division of Forestry and Wildlife Survey, found the new species while surveying Mako lelau, an ahupuaa in East Molokai. He credited the exciting discovery to the Molokai Plant Extinction Prevention Program team, which showed him the area. 'While I didn't expect to find many bees during my visit, the presence of the native shrub kolomona (Senna gaudichaudii ) piqued my interest, ' said Magnacca in a news release. 'It was there that I first noticed the distinctive markings on one of the bees. I immediately realized that I had found something new.' The Hylaeus paumako is part of a diverse group of endemic bees native to Hawaii, according to DLNR, with all 64 known species in the same genus descending from a single ancestor that arrived on the islands roughly 1 million to 1.5 million years ago. Don 't miss out on what 's happening ! Stay in touch with breaking news, as it happens, conveniently in your email inbox. It 's FREE ! Email 28141 Sign Up By clicking to sign up, you agree to Star-Advertiser 's and Google 's and. This form is protected by reCAPTCHA. DLNR's Division of Forestry and Wildlife acquired Makolelau, an important watershed, in 2022 for conservation purposes. Much of the area had suffered from degradation due to invasive species and erosion, but some pockets of native vegetation protected by fences survived. These pockets now provide crucial habitats for native species such as the Hylaeus paumako and many rare plants. Magnacca said area's mesic forests are the most diverse in terms of native plants and insects in general, and also the most threatened. 'Everyone's attention is grabbed by the wet rainforest, but we have large portions of those forests protected and in relatively good shape, while dry and mesic forests are much more endangered, ' he said. 'So it's really important to protect these remnant patches, even when they're small, because our native species can survive in them.' This was not Magnacca's first new species discovery. He has collected some 500 new species over the past three years of field surveys, and expects to find more. 'There are quite a few that haven't been seen in decades, and recently discovered ones that have only been seen once or twice, so they seem to be quite good at hiding from us, ' he said. 'I have seen them persisting in surprisingly small or degraded areas, so that gives some hope that they may actually be doing better than it seems.'
