OHA trustees form permitted interaction group to investigate Army training-land leases

The Office of Hawaiian Affairs (OHA) Board of Trustees voted 8–0 on Feb. 6 to establish a permitted interaction group, or PIG, to investigate negotiations between the State of Hawaii and the U.S. Army over long-term leases for military training lands and to report back on how OHA might participate in the state’s decision making under Hawaii Revised Statutes.

The group will gather information from relevant parties, including state and federal officials and military representatives, and return findings and recommendations to the full board for further action. The trustees emphasized the need for OHA to have a seat at lease negotiations covering ceded and public-trust lands and flagged environmental cleanup, statutory limits on land use and potential legislative steps as key issues.

Board counsel Everett Ota described the PIG as a limited investigatory body that “allows for members of the permitted interaction group to meet, and have discussions on a matter involving board business, but which is separated, via the permitted interaction group process, or meetings and, investigations, which will be subsequently brought back before this board, at later meetings, for both the report out and decision making thereafter.”

Why it matters: trustees and staff said dozens of thousands of acres currently occupied or leased by the military are former Kingdom of Hawaii lands held in public trust, and many of the long-term leases executed in 1964 will expire around 2029. Those expirations create a narrow window for the state, the military and affected stakeholders to negotiate future arrangements that could include new leases, land transfers, legislative changes or other outcomes that affect stewardship of ceded lands, cleanup obligations and public-trust responsibilities.

Key points from the discussion

- Scope and work. Trustees described the PIG as an investigative body to collect documents, hear from stakeholders and summarize options for the board. Ota said the PIG’s work would be returned to the full board before any negotiating posture is adopted. Chair Kahele said the PIG could be followed later by a separate negotiating PIG if the board chose to authorize direct negotiations.

- Lands and timelines. Trustees identified several high-visibility sites whose leases are nearing expiration: Makua Valley on Oahu, the Pohakuloa Training Area on Hawaii Island and the Po‘amoho training lands on Oahu’s North Shore. The board noted that many leases executed in 1964 run for 65 years and that a majority of renewals fall in 2029, with one in 2028 and another in 2031.

- Acreage and lease figures. During discussion the board cited that roughly 220,000 acres in Hawaii are used by the military and that about 46,000 acres are on long-term leases; a later remark in the meeting said the army leases a little under 23,000 acres from the state. Those differing figures were discussed in the meeting as part of the board’s ongoing effort to inventory and clarify holdings.

- Legal constraints. Trustees and staff noted that some training areas are on lands classified in the state conservation district, and that continued military use beyond current leases may require legislative action because conservation-district rules adopted after the original leases do not presently authorize new military uses in those areas. Board members also raised the 2019 Hawaii Supreme Court decision finding the state had breached trust duties in managing Pohakuloa, which the board said will be relevant to future lease negotiations and enforcement of cleanup obligations.

- Environmental and public-safety concerns. Multiple trustees and public commenters raised long-standing concerns about environmental contamination, unexploded ordnance and cleanup obligations at training sites, and the need to quantify remediation costs and long-term impacts on flora, fauna and nearby communities.

- Stakeholder coordination. Trustees said the PIG should invite and hear from the Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR), the governor’s office, the U.S. Army Garrison Hawaii, U.S. Army Pacific and congressional delegation staff, and should coordinate with county councils, the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands and Native Hawaiian organizations.

Proposed membership and next steps

The proposal as presented would allow up to four trustees to serve on the investigative PIG. In the meeting the stated proposed members were “myself and trustee Galateria, trustee Susan, trustee Alapa” (as recorded in the meeting transcript); the board discussed conflicts of interest and capacity before voting. Trustees said administration staff would support the PIG’s fact-gathering and that OHA staff have already begun compiling lease inventories and other background materials to share with the PIG.

Vote and formal action

The board took a roll-call vote and approved the motion to create the PIG by a recorded favorable vote of eight trustees; one trustee had left the meeting prior to the vote. The board recorded no no-votes or abstentions for this action.

What the PIG will not do at this stage

Trustees clarified that the investigatory PIG’s role is to gather and synthesize information and to make recommendations to the full board; it will not itself represent OHA in negotiations. If the board later wishes to appoint negotiators, a separate negotiating PIG would be considered.

Context and background

Trustees referenced previous stakeholder processes, including the Red Hill CRI meetings, some of which had military participation and later saw the military reduce participation, and the Kaho‘olawe cleanup experience, which trustees said underscores long timelines and funding complexities for remediation. Board members emphasized that OHA has been preparing background research and that the PIG is intended to centralize and coordinate OHA’s investigatory effort ahead of lease expirations.

Ending

The PIG will gather information, convene subject-matter briefings and stakeholder interviews, and return findings to the full OHA Board of Trustees for deliberation before any formal negotiating position is adopted. Trustees said they expect the work to include outreach to state and federal officials, technical briefings on contamination and land-use law, and consideration of whether additional board action — including a negotiating PIG or other formal steps — will be required.