STAND. COM. REP. NO. 1801

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: S.R. No. 165

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirtieth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2019

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Water and Land, to which was referred S.R. No. 165 entitled:

"SENATE RESOLUTION URGING THE STATE BOARD ON GEOGRAPHIC NAMES TO CONSULT WITH COMMUNITY MEMBERS WHO HAVE DIRECT TRADITIONAL, CULTURAL, AND FAMILIAL TIES TO THE DISTRICT OF PUNA TO ESTABLISH APPROPRIATE NAMES FOR THE FISSURE 8 VENT AND OTHER FEATURES OF THE 2018 ERUPTION OF KILAUEA VOLCANO,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to urge the State Board on Geographic Names (Board) to consult with community members who have direct traditional, cultural, and familial ties to the district of Puna to establish appropriate names for the fissure 8 vent and other features of the 2018 eruption of Kilauea Volcano.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Office of Planning and Aha Moku Advisory Committee.

Your Committee finds that the term "Fissure 8" is an inaccurate name for the large tephra cone located on the East Rift Zone within Leilani Estates and that the naming of a volcanic feature in the Hawaiian language may encode information about its physical characteristics, history of its formation, ecological surroundings, geographic location, or related oral histories. Your Committee notes that the Board has established a Permitted Interaction Group (PIG) to engage in dialogue with and collect feedback from the Puna community regarding the naming of the fissure 8 vent. The PIG is tasked with setting a submission deadline for any new name proposals for the fissure 8 vent, review the proposed names for all features associated with the 2018 Kilauea eruption event, and report back to the full Board with its recommendations no later than December 31, 2019.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Water and Land that is attached to this report, your Committee concurs with the intent and purpose of S.R. No. 165 and recommends its adoption.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Water and Land,

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KAIALI'I KAHELE, Chair