Senate committee endorses Hannah K. Springer for Water Commission Loea seat after broad community support

The Senate Committee on Water and Land on April 11 recommended advise and consent for Hannah Kihalani Springer to serve on the Commission on Water Resource Management (CWRM) as the Loea seat. The nomination carries a term through June 30, 2028, and the committee’s recommendation was adopted by the members present.

Dozens of organizations and individuals filed written testimony in support; dozens more spoke in person or on Zoom. Supporters included the Department of Land and Natural Resources’ deputy director for the Commission on Water Resource Management, Kira Kahahane; attorneys from Earthjustice; Hawaiian civic organizations; community leaders; and cultural practitioners. Earthjustice attorney Harley Broyles said the committee had the opportunity to confirm “an appointee that was lawfully selected and is fit for the Loea role.” Multiple speakers described Springer as a cultural practitioner and a keeper of place-based knowledge crucial to managing water resources.

Springer described her approach to water stewardship during questioning, emphasizing the need to track where water (Kāne) is intercepted and used, to respect both scientific and traditional knowledge, and to site land use in a way that aligns with available water resources. She said she would look for whether management uses the best available technology and critical thinking, and that she would weigh any proposal to change the commission’s structure (including previous legislative proposals to create an independent water authority) carefully if presented to the commission.

Committee members noted the extensive community support in the record — the transcript records hundreds of supportive communications — and thanked Springer and the many testifiers. The committee recorded its recommendation to advise and consent; no amendments were proposed. The nomination will be forwarded to the full Senate with the committee’s recommendation.