Eight years after the Army last fired a live round in training in Makua Valley, a federal judge affirmed that the service won’t be allowed do so again until it completes an archaeological survey and study of munitions runoff on limu and other marine resources, an environmental law organization said Thursday.

U.S. District Chief Judge Susan Oki Mollway ruled in late 2010 that the Army had failed to adequately study decades of military training effects on cultural sites and ocean resources at Makua Beach.

"Despite the passage of nearly two years since that ruling, the Army failed to take any steps to carry out the required surveys," Earthjustice, which represents community group Malama Makua, said in a statement.

On Wednesday, Mollway instructed the Army to file quarterly reports to update the court on its progress, Earthjustice attorney David Henkin said.

U.S. Army Garrison Hawaii said it had been the Army’s position that the studies were in fact complete, with the results included in a 2009 Environmental Impact Statement.

"Subsequently, the court ruled that the Army failed to include all that was necessary in the two surveys. It wasn’t until (Wednesday’s) court ruling that the court clarified what the Army is expected to do to remedy the deficiencies," the service said in a statement Thursday.

Asked when the studies are expected to be completed, the Army said by email it will be working "diligently" to complete them.

"There are a number of steps to be undertaken and several parties are involved in data collection and analysis, to include comment from the public. The exact timeline cannot be accurately forecasted," the Army said.

Waianae Coast community group Malama Makua first sued the Army in 1998 to secure a comprehensive review of the effects of more than 75 years of live-fire military training at the 4,190-acre Makua Military Reservation.

The Army agreed under a 2001 court settlement to conduct an environmental impact statement. No live-fire training has been conducted in the valley since June 2004 because the courts have ruled that the Army hasn’t completed the report. Some blank-fire and unmanned aerial vehicle training are done in the valley, Henkin said.

Up to 2004, the bowl-shaped valley was used for combined arms maneuver exercises for companies of about 140 soldiers with accompanying artillery, mortar and helicopter fire.

Although the Army said in a report to Congress in 2007 that a return to live-fire training was "absolutely critical," it has since backed off that claim.

Gov. Neil Abercrombie, who was a member of Congress at the time, chided the Army in 2007 for wasting millions of taxpayer dollars to battle Earthjustice in court over Makua in what he called "a sucker’s game."

Lt. Gen. Francis J. Wiercinski, the head of U.S. Army Pacific headquartered at Fort Shafter, said in 2011 — several months after assuming the job — that replacement training was being pursued at Schofield Barracks and at Pohakuloa Training Area on Hawaii island.

"I firmly believe that if those things stay on track at Schofield and PTA, we will not have to live fire in Makua," Wiercinski said at the time.

"We have been waiting over a decade for the Army to make good on its promises to conduct meaningful studies to let us know if military training at Makua is poisoning the food that we put on the table to feed our keiki and to identify cultural sites that military training threatens to destroy," said Malama Makua President Sparky Rodrigues.

"We’re pleased that the court will now be keeping tabs on the Army to make sure we finally get accurate information," Rodrigues said.