My heart breaks for Hawaii’s precious and imperiled freshwater resource. We all know that ola i ka wai, water is life, but we are not all living it. At this moment, Gov. Josh Green is allowing politics and money to pollute Hawaii’s systems for fairly sharing our freshwater resources. For all his promises to do right by Native Hawaiians and all of us, his actions are doing the opposite.
In this case, the Green administration is not following the legal process for filling vacancies on the Commission for Water Resource Management. Hawaii’s Water Code established the Water Commission to ensure that a volunteer body of experts in water management — not politicians — decides how to allocate, manage and protect Hawaii’s freshwater supply in streams and aquifers.
Of the seven seats on this commission, two are reserved for members of the governor’s Cabinet, four are at-large seats, and one is designated for an expert in Native Hawaiian traditional and customary practices, a loea wai. When a vacancy arises on the Water Commission, a nominating committee is convened to interview applicants and recommend at least three qualified nominees to the governor. Whomever a governor chooses to nominate must then be confirmed by the state Senate. This is the law and the bare minimum we expect from any governor.
And yet, twice already this governor has tried to undermine the nomination process and install known allies of private water diverters to fill the one seat reserved for experts in Native Hawaiian traditions and customs for managing water. At least 70% of the freshwater resources in West Maui are controlled by private companies, as reported by Hawaii News Now. Most of that water is wasted on exotic landscaping and infinity pools.
Thankfully for all of us, community outcry thwarted both attempts. Unfortunately, now that his previous nominee withdrew, the governor is attempting trickery a third time. As I understand the law, his only choice is to name one of the remaining two highly qualified candidates on the original nomination list, which was provided by the nominating committee. These two highly respected wahine have the support of the communities that this loea seat was meant to represent. There is no reason to delay any longer.
When the fundamental rights of indigenous Hawaiians are respected, everyone benefits.
From open beaches to healthy streams and everything in between, the people of Hawaii enjoy a better quality of life when the state fulfills its legal obligations to Kanaka Maoli. That is why we should all support the governor following the law and immediately appointing a true loea wai.
This governor has heard loud and clear from kalo farming communities across our pae ‘aina that he must nominate either Lori Buchanan of Molokai or Hannah Springer of Kaupulehu. This is the right thing to do, and it is the minimum the current law requires. The shenanigans around the previous two nominations are corrupting the water commission and need to stop immediately. We have too much at stake in this moment to risk weakening these minimum protections for our publicly shared resources.
The Senate’s rules say the governor has until Friday to name his nominee, so the Senate can confirm her this session. We don’t have any more time for games. We lost a year already with the last shaky interim appointment. This coming year the water commission must deal with critical decisions that the Water Code says should have the input and expertise of a loea wai who has the community’s full faith and respect — and not the stain of a pilau process.
This governor says he wants healing with our community. If that is true, then he would immediately do what the community has respectfully, rightfully and legally asked: Please appoint the new loea from the original nomination list before Friday.
Kapua Keliikoa-Kamai, a Waianae homesteader, is a member of the Waianae Sustainability Cooperative and the Waianae Valley Homestead Community Association, among other groups.
