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Maui Council backs Hawaii County’s call to pause bombing at Pohakuloa, urges state coordination on cleanup and cultural review
Summary
By a recorded vote the Maui County Council approved Resolution 25-172 supporting Hawaii County’s request that the state ask the U.S. military to cease bombing at the Pohakuloa Training Area and to require full environmental and cultural reviews before any new leases or land swaps.
The Maui County Council voted Sept. 8, 2025, to support Hawaii County Council Resolution 234-25 and to urge the State of Hawaii to request that the U.S. military cease bombing activities at the Pohakuloa Training Area on Hawaii Island until full legal, environmental and cultural reviews are completed.
The council’s Resolution 25-172 asks the state to reject new land swaps or leases and to prioritize cleanup, monitoring and a Kapa'akai (traditional and customary rights) analysis of the training area. The measure cites the May 9, 2025, Board of Land and Natural Resources action declining to accept the Army’s final environmental impact statement for land retention at Pohakuloa; the county resolution also recalls prior intercounty solidarity on environmental hazards such as the Red Hill fuel facility.
Supporters argued the military’s activities have caused contamination and posed risks to cultural resources and native Hawaiian practices. Testifiers and several council members described potential long-term environmental and health effects, raised calls for cleanup and for the state to exercise caution before renewing or extending leases or allowing land swaps. Kainalo Kamanu and others described firsthand experiences of military training impacts and urged respect for constitutional protections of native Hawaiian cultural practices.
Council member Kenny Rollins Fernandez framed the action as a display of intercounty solidarity and urged the governor and state legislators to press for full remediation and culturally informed review. The resolution calls for coordination among state agencies, the County of Hawaii, native Hawaiian organizations and federal agencies to make remediation “transparent, enforceable and responsive to community-identified needs.”
The motion passed by recorded vote with a majority; two members were noted as excused. The council instructed the clerk to transmit certified copies of the resolution to the governor, state legislators, the Board of Land and Natural Resources, the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command and the mayors of Hawaii and Maui counties.
Clarifying details: the council resolution refers to the BLNR vote on May 9, 2025, which the resolution cited as finding the Army’s final EIS inadequate for reasons including incomplete biological inventories and insufficient consultation with native Hawaiian stakeholders; it also referenced broader legal and constitutional duties to protect natural resources and native rights.
Next steps: the council’s action is an urging resolution to support Hawaii County’s position and to press the state to require additional environmental and cultural review and to avoid land transactions or eminent domain actions at Pohakuloa until the issues are resolved.
