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Board adopts interim rule to restrict transport of coconut rhinoceros beetle host material
Summary
The Board of Agriculture and Biosecurity adopted an interim rule and compliance agreement to restrict transport, receipt and processing of coconut rhinoceros beetle (CRB) host material from a designated infested area on Hawaii Island, directing staff to implement training and minor edits requested by petitioners.
The State of Hawaii Board of Agriculture and Biosecurity voted unanimously to adopt an interim administrative rule and a companion compliance agreement aimed at slowing the spread of the coconut rhinoceros beetle (CRB) from a designated infested area on Hawaii Island. The board approved the interim rule (Appendix B) and directed the Plant Quarantine Branch to use the compliance agreement (Appendix C) with several minor, petitioner-supplied edits.
Jonathan Ho, plant quarantine branch manager, told the board the petitioners and branch staff revised the draft rule under Hawaii Revised Statutes 158-9.5 and that the advisory committee found current chapter 4-72 HAR lacks adequate regulations on movement of CRB host material. "We met with the petitioners and came up with a consensus interim rule and finding," he said, recommending adoption to curb further spread.
The measure matters because petitioners and conservation groups said CRB threatens native palms and local food systems. Leila Kealoha, a co-petitioner from Puna, said the pest endangers cultural resources and local food security and urged immediate action: "This is something that's really critical that we address." Jody (plant program manager, Hawaii Wildlife Fund) told the board the rule package represents months of collaboration with businesses and PQB, and urged use of Appendix C with only style edits. "Adopting this interim rule is really gonna save our food industry, our economy, our endangered species, and our people," she said.
Stakeholders including the Big Island Invasive Species Committee and local businesses supported the rule, with Brandy Brewer highlighting documented cases of beetle movement likely linked to human transport: "We have documented the movement of beetle larvae, of beetle adults that cannot be explained through natural spread." Petitioners and PQB staff described training plans for affected businesses and open trainings for others in the region to build compliance capacity before enforcement takes full effect.
Board members asked about the geographic boundary and whether the interim rule can be expanded; Jonathan Ho said the administrative rules permit expansion of the designated area if monitoring shows containment is ineffective and described a lead time to allow compliance training. Several members requested clearer maps and offered to work with staff on non-substantive edits to appendices before final implementation.
Board member Diane Lee moved to amend the motion to include four minor housekeeping corrections submitted by the petitioners; Jimmy Gomes seconded. The motion carried unanimously. PQB will proceed with training and implementation and said related Molokai rule updates are expected at the board's April meeting.
The board's action is an administrative interim rule under HRS 158-9.5; it does not itself create criminal penalties beyond those authorized in statute. The board directed staff to implement the compliance agreement and provide training and outreach for businesses and residents in and adjacent to the designated area.
