RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act originally allowed the Hawaiian Homes Commission to use water from public water systems on the island of Molokai to irrigate Department of Hawaiian Home Lands parcels; and

WHEREAS, in 1943 the Territorial Legislature established the Molokai Water Board, made up of the members of the Hawaiian Homes Commission, to address the water needs of Molokai homesteaders and give them preference to water; and

WHEREAS, in 1953 the Territorial Legislature established the Hawaii Irrigation Authority and transferred the powers and duties of the Molokai Water Board to the Authority; and

WHEREAS, based on actions taken and requests made by the Territorial Legislature in 1955, Congress amended the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act to allow, among other things, the construction of irrigation projects on Hawaiian home lands; the removal of the Commission's power to use government water on Molokai without charge; and the prior right of the Hawaiian Homes Commission and its lessees to two-thirds of the water developed for an irrigation system extending to Waikolu Valley and ground water developed west of Waikolu Valley, subject to a showing of actual need; and

WHEREAS, in 1961 the Legislature designated the Department of Land and Natural Resources to administer the Molokai Irrigation and Water Utilization Project, and specifically retained the two-third preference clause for Hawaiian homestead lessees; and

WHEREAS, the Department of Land and Natural Resources was unable to adequately maintain the Molokai Water System, and in 1989 responsibility for the system was transferred to the Department of Agriculture; and

WHEREAS, the Department of Agriculture has had difficulty addressing certain concerns of the users of the Molokai Irrigation System; and

WHEREAS, for the past twenty-five years, lack of staff assigned to monitor the Molokai Water System has resulted, as late as July 2004, in net losses to the water system; and

WHEREAS, homestead farmers have had to sharply curtail their use of irrigation water, which in turn has contributed to reduced crop yields, and has led to concern over the parity on water restrictions between agricultural and resort uses; and

WHEREAS, despite the prior right to two-thirds of the water to which Hawaiian homesteaders were entitled to under the 1956 amendments to the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act, Hawaiian homestead farmers are receiving as little as one-third of the overall water; and

WHEREAS, the Department of Agriculture is currently proposing a water rate increase that will double the cost of water for Molokai Irrigation System users, which will have an especially drastic and adverse impact on native Hawaiian farmers and homesteaders; and

WHEREAS, the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands has over 7,600 acres in the Molokai Irrigation System service area, and if there is steady growth in agricultural production by Hawaiian homesteaders, the demand for water will further tax the system and will cause hardship to homestead farmers; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Twenty-third Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2005, the House of Representatives concurring, that the Department of Agriculture Resource Management Division work with the Legislature to create a proposal to improve the management of the Molokai Irrigation System; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a working group consisting of one senator designated by the President of the Senate, one representative designated by the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and two representatives from the Department of Agriculture, meet to study the management of the Molokai Irrigation System and submit a written report of its findings and recommendations to the Legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2006; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Chairperson of the Hawaiian Homes Commission and the Chairperson of the Board of Agriculture.

Report Title:

Molokai Irrigation System; Audit