Board denies petition to start rulemaking on CBB designation; directs expedited quarantine‑expansion process for Kauai, Molokai and Lanai

The Board of Agriculture voted to deny a petition from the University of Hawaii College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources (CTAHR) that sought initiation of formal rulemaking to designate Kauai, Molokai and Lanai as infested with coffee berry borer (CBB). Rather than start the longer rulemaking process (which can take approximately a year), the board directed HDOA’s Plant Quarantine Branch to work with the petitioner and industry partners to pursue an administrative quarantine‑expansion process under the relevant HAR sections to designate those islands as infested more rapidly.

Plant Quarantine Branch manager Jonathan Hall explained the procedural distinction: initiating formal rulemaking to amend HAR is a longer process that requires advisory committee review, public hearings and administrative steps. The branch said it did not dispute the presence of CBB on the islands but cited required procedural consultation under the HAR for designation actions. Hall said an administrative quarantine‑expansion/area‑designation process (under the quarantine/designation provisions) would be quicker — on the order of weeks to a few months depending on consultations — and would allow inter‑island movement of coffee plant materials consistent with an “infested” designation.

Petitioner Andrea Kawabata (CTAHR) told the board she had worked with industry growers and that growers on Kauai, Molokai and Lanai were not opposed to adding their islands to the infested list; she said the change would allow movement of leaf‑rust resistant planting materials and other propagated coffee material without a one‑year quarantine. Public comment included Branson Bridal of Kauai Coffee Company, who described severe CBB impacts at scale on Kauai and urged inclusion of Kauai, Molokai and Lanai.

The board’s action denies the petition to initiate rulemaking as submitted and directs the branch to complete the administrative quarantine‑expansion/area‑designation process and return to the board with results. Staff will conduct the stakeholder consultations required by the HAR prior to bringing a formal designation back to the board.

Why this matters: Coffee producers said the change will speed distribution of resistant planting materials across islands and reduce a one‑year holding requirement that currently limits inter‑island movement of certain coffee materials. The procedural route chosen by the board is intended to balance regulatory requirements with the industry's need for faster access to planting stock and mitigation resources.