RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act originally allowed the Hawaiian Homes Commission to use water from public water systems on 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 from 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 as administrator of the Molokai Irrigation and Water Utilization Project, and specifically retained the two-thirds 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 25 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 of agricultural and resort use water restrictions; and

WHEREAS, Hawaiian homestead farmers despite their 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, 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, and 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; and

WHEREAS, the Molokai Irrigation System serves over 200 customers, the majority of whom are homestead farmers, and it is the agricultural activity of all system users taken together that makes agriculture so significant to the economy of Molokai and allows many Molokai support services and farm operations to remain viable; 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 is requested to work with the Molokai Irrigation System Water Users Advisory Board and a representative from the Office of Hawaiian Affairs to study the specific concerns and needs of homestead users on Molokai; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Department of Agriculture submit a report of its findings and recommendations to the Legislature no later than 20 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 Board of Agriculture, Chairperson of the Board of Trustees of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, and Chairperson of the Hawaiian Homes Commission.

Report Title:

Molokai Irrigation System; Study