PRESIDENT'S WATER POLLUTION CONTROL
ADVISORY BOARD
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PRESIDENT'S WATER POLLUTION CONTROL
ADVISORY BOARD
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
REGION IX
SAN FRANCISCO
CALIFORNIA
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
SECTION PAGE
INTRODUCTION i
HISTORY 1
PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION 6
MAP OP STATE OP HAWAII 8
THE HAWAIIAN ENVIRONMENT 9
THE STATE PROGRAM 15
EPILOGUE 16
APPENDIX 17
BIBLIOGRAPHY 20
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INTRODUCTION
Hawaii Nei, the islands and the State of Hawaii, steeping in
north central Pacific vastness, are curious concoctions of the
old and the new. The old Hawaii plods along undaunted in small,
unlighted, back street stores with world War II vintage corrugated
metal roofs, dirt floors, chickens, and white, paint-peeled
walls; in gracefully arching casts of light, fine fish nets into
emerald tidepools, and in the wizened, knowing, countenance of an
original descendant. It is embodied in the tireless trades,
bringing their drenching daily showers to the Koolau Range, and
too, in the ceaseless, mournful pounding of the sea on all
sides. It is that which attracts man to come to rest, relax
and, for a time, to forget his worries, and tend to his soul.
The new Hawaii is an image created by a movie seen when "Plying
the Friendly Skies," and can be observed firsthand in the
walled-in "Miami Beach of the Pacific," Waikiki. Here at Waikiki,
thriving tourism, a vibrant industry, with a voracious, and as
yet apparently unappeased hunger for space, is not contented with
the birth of its artifactual jungle and unchecked, creeps steadily
seaward onto reclaimed solid waste fill areas, and ever upward
with its sky-obliterating concretions. Along the famed beach, is
now a budding maze of marinas, jetties, yacht basins, and
interruptions to the once smooth shoreline, now incubating stilled
and enriched waters.
Building cranes, much like huge blue or red-colored birds,
busily extract bright new hotels from the earth, and with sing-
ular lack of conscience, uplift each one a bit higher than the
last.
How long can the endless gushing forth of passengers from the now
indigenous 7^7 at the Honolulu Airport last before there is
nothing but a lingering recollection of what was once Hawaii?
The present inventory of over 30,000 tourist accomodations in
the islands is not deemed sufficient to house the growing throngs
of visitors. The mounting tide of vacationers from Japan and other
Asian Countries, responding to the industry's new promotional
programs are creating demands for even more housing structures.
Is it possible that the tourist trade will continue to flourish
long after paradise becomes only an image created on adeptly
edited travel films and remorselessly out-of-date picture
postcards?
The outrages one can see on even the most carefully laid out tours
of the islands speak loudly of bespoiling the environment. Rush-
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hour traffic in Honolulu is no less congested than in the major
cillos on the mainland. It seems as though the more than 1/3
of a million registered automobiles of Hawaii converge at
once upon the city. Whether this situation really decries the
need for an aggressive program to expand the state highway system,
is a matter of controversy.
A chance excursion off almost any back country road on Oahu
becomes at once a tour of abandoned automobile bodies and
promiscuous dump sites. The shortage of land for use as an
adequate sanitary landfill has led to the dumping of solid wastes
into an exceedingly valuable area—a swamp, creating both a
threat to wildlife and a potential for water pollution.
With multitudes of bathers and surfing and fishing enthusiasts
swarming to all of the beaches (some of which, at least in
the travel brochure, seemed secluded) has Milton's poetic
contrivance somehow materialized? Is this then, Paradise Lost?
This contrast between such different life styles, a thirst for
individuality, and a notable lack of consensus, typify the
history of the islands. Since their "discovery" and increasing
manipulation by Western man, the islands have tottered between
the poles. Either way, the ride has not been free, and there
are consequences to account for. Either life style requires
atonement to the environment for the ways of man, a close
scrutiny of the environmental results of the life style, and
a conscientious endeavor to insure a better fit between man and
the environment.
The environmental problems of the islands are basically the same
types of problems faced on the mainland. But the physical
realities of the State, the intensity of the demands placed
upon the resources, and the fast pace at which the problems
develop, have confounded the picture.
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HISTORY
Although some mystery surrounds the origin, of the Polynesian
culture, few doubts exist about where the first Hawaiians came
from. They ventured from the Marquesas and the Society Islands,
south of the equator during the eighth century A.D. and estab-
lished the first permanent settlement in Hawaii. Subsequent two-
way voyages between Tahiti and Hawaii occurred somewhere in the
period from the eleventh to the fourteenth centuries A.D.,
thereby allowing the culture to become firmly established.
By the time that Western man discovered the islands, in the late
eighteenth century, these two-way voyages had long since
ceased, and to this day, the navigational techniques used can
only be surmised. What drove these people to endure the
vastness of an unknown ocean to establish a new life? Were they
political exiles, castaways, and adventurers, delivered to a
new home over 2,000 miles away by a quirk of currents, winds,
and phenomenal good luck? The evidence of the two-way voyages
argues otherwise.
All eight of the major islands of the Hawaiian chain were
inhabited when white explorers happened on the scene. The
estimated population of 300,000 on the islands was divided into
many smaller, dispersed groups ruled by chiefs of high birth,
political talent, and military ambition. No single chief had
control of all the islands and wars waged by competing chiefs
were a frequent actuality. A tremendously involved and detailed
code of behavior developed and regulated the relationships of
individuals to their contemporaries, ancestors, descendents, and
the environment. A religion which controlled all aspects of
living was at the base of this behavioral code.
It was not until late in the age of exploration, the sixteenth
through the eighteenth centuries A.D., that contact with the
islands was made by the white man. Captain James Cook, renowned
world explorer from the Royal Navy, on expedition seeking sea
passage from the Pacific to the Atlantic, raised the islands
Oahu, Niihau, and Kauai. That January of 1775 Cook went ashore
at Waimea, Kauai, and on Niihua spending some weeks provisioning
his vessels and studying the people. He found that the islanders
would typically trade a large hog or a plentiful supply of fruits
for a single English nail, so precious was iron to them. It
was highly fortunate for Cook that he had arrived during a
festival known as the Makahiki. A bountiful and joyous cele-
bration ensued and Cook, who had impressed the Hawaiians with
his ships, was treated as an honored guest, with gifts and
supplies heaped upon his expedition. Cook's vessels, laden with
the bounty of the occasion, left the islands in February 1778, but
after meeting a heavy storm and sustaining damages to the ships, the
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squadron returned. While needed repairs were being made, a
skirmish and subsequent fight developed between Cook's marines
and the islanders, resulting in Cook's death on the beach at
Kealakekua. White man's intrusion, which had been greeted with
spirit so festive and occasion so plenteous, now ended in
discord, Perhaps this incident was the foreboding meant to be
heeded by those in the future who would also attempt to make too
much of a good thing on the islands.
The era of contact with the West saw the rise to power of
Kamehameha the Great. Kamehameha was the first chief to exert
control over all the islands; he controlled all trade, all his
carefully-selected governors, all arms, and all contact with
outsiders, He moved his court to Honolulu in 180*1 because of
the increasing importance of the port as a stopping-off place
for merchants between the East and the West; it was the only
deep water port in the islands, indeed, in the north central
Pacific Ocean. Visiting merchants with an eye focused upon
exploitation noted the large stands of sandalwood trees on the
islands, stands which were soon plundered and made available to
the eager Chinese market. Once again, a conflict arose between
opposing value systems, and the result was another unnecessary
loss.
As Honolulu developed into a major Pacific trade center, Kamehameha
moved back to his home island of Hawaii, entrusting a certain
amount of control over the regulation of commerce to his governors.
Perhaps because of the ever-mounting influence of Western man in
the lives of Hawaiians, or perhaps because of their new exposure
to the rest of the world, in a simple, intense, but momentous
action, Hawaiians abandoned their religion and destroyed their
idols. One of the strangest episodes in all history, this action
opened the islands up to yet another onslaught of intruders, the
missionaries. A succession of kings, all more or less related
to Kamehameha the Great, followed the hallowed ruler, each with
only a modicum of successful rule, due largely to the increasing
number of factions which were being cultivated amongst the
population. The American influence became evident in 1850,
when it became possible for a foreigner to purchase and own land
in the islands. The Western principle of private land ownership
was ensconced in Hawaii, and America had her proverbial foot in
the Hawaiian door. A declaration of religious toleration further
allowed the immigration and workings of the missionaries, who were
not only from America. Both Great Britain and France had
interests in the islands and at least once, a British subject,
using the threat of British firepower at sea, temporarily
established the protectorate of Hawaii on behalf of his home
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government. The British Foreign Office was quick to nullify
this 1843 action, and the Hawaiian government, through diplo-
matic maneuvering soon received support from the three powers
for the idea of continued independence for the islands.
One Hawaiian ruler after another suffered in office or died,
leaving no heirs. The blood-lineage from Kamehameha was dying
out, and with it, went his once great dominion over the
people. The flow of money in the islands was largely under the
control of the United States, beginning in the 1850s, and no
matter what the kings did, this arrangementt persisted and solid-
ified. Even during the American Civil War the Hawaiian economy
felt the monetary uncertainties which were being created thousands
of miles away. The whaling industry, which had been a principal
revenue-earner for Hawaii in the 1850s, gave way to the rising
sugar industry on the islands. The importation of sugar cane
laborers from all over the world and the immigration that began
with the merchant trade at the turn of the nineteenth century
led to a diversified ethnic makeup of the population on the
islands. With this influx of people from other lands came
diseases and sicknesses to which the islanders had never before
been exposed. The native population is said to have dropped
from around 300,000 when Cook visited the islands to fewer
than 45,000 a century later.
Growing restlessness among the subjects of Hawaii resulted in
a series of challenges to the royal governments from 1873 to
1890. Raids were made on the royal palace, kings were threatened
with overthrow, and havoc reigned supreme at times. Conflicting
concepts regarding the role of the Hawaiian Islands with respect
to the remainder of the world had contributed to the problem.
But, a large amount of the responsibility for this restlessness
and what followed rested with the American controlled sugar
industry. Certainly, too, the extravagances of weak rulers had
much to do with the uneasiness, and the disposition of each
sovereign to the Americans, who had control of the valuable and
protected sugar industry, was at the core of many conflicts.
Various constitutions demanded by the people during this time,
slowly, but surely, vitiated the powers of the sovereign. The
last ruler, Queen Liliuokalani, was undermined in 1893 by a
secret, political Annexation League, formed in Honolulu, and
supported by rich Americans. The queen was on a collision
course with her foreign population, led by certain politically
powerful Americans in the islands who had control of the
Hawaii legislature. The queen dissolved the legislature, pro-
claiming a new constitution, but the pressures brought to bear
by the Americans, Sanford Dole, Lorrin Thurston, and others for
annexation, spelled the end to the Hawaiian monarchy. The
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question of annexation of Hawaii by America was debated in
Washington during the 1890s, and expansionism was in the air,
for the idea that it was this nation's Manifest Destiny to
become an imperial power was popular at this time. The Stars
and Stripes was hoisted over the islands on August 12, 1898,
with Sanford B. Dole the first governor of the Territory.
The flow of Oriental immigrants into the islands, especially
from Japan, continued steadily, supplying the great need for
plantation staff. By 1920, even though this flow supposedly
had been checked by a Japanese-American agreement, the Japanese
represented almost 4 3 percent of the Hawaiian population.
Between 1907 and the outbreak of World War II, more than
100,000 Filipinos were imported to work on the plantations.
This period of intense immigration added nearly half a
million to the population statistics of the territory. The
major groups of people coming to Hawaii expectant of a new life
in a new land were Chinese, Japanese, Filipinos, and smaller
contingents of Korean, Portuguese, Spaniards, and even Russians.
The economic power in the islands revolved about the sugar cane
and pineapple industries, and has so, basically ever since.
Long before the emergence of the Japanese Empire, the great
strategic military importance of Hawaii was recognized, and
utilized. Just as perspicacious merchants of other times had
recognized the value of Honolulu as a deep -water port in the mid-
Pacific, so too had the U. S. Military seen the value of Oahu
as home port of the Pacific Fleet. On central Oahu the Schofield
Army Barracks were established—the biggest single installation
under the U.S. command, anomalously located in a territory where
people of Japanese ancestry formed the biggest portion of the
population. Once again, the Hawaiian image was undergoing
unalterable change by outsiders.
The native population, which surely must have realized some of
the economic benefits of the Americanization of the islands, really
had little control over the process from the start. Hawaii,
which was seen as only primitive island communities that could
be exploited, by the early explorers and merchants, gradually
changed in concept to one of a strategically-located base from
which military, economic, and political institutions and
ideologies could be maintained and extended. Each step in the
process of the Americanization of Hawaii became irreversible;
and the intensity of feelings regarding certain situations, such
as the world wars, prevented the possibility of reversion to
previous conditions.
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Everyone, it seems comes to Hawaii seeking something from the
islands, but even prior to the advent of modern commercial trans-
portation, the seekers themselves have altered what existed in
the islands. The new jet-age availability of Hawaii to more
and more people will have an even greater effect. Will Hawaii
survive the changes? Will the challenge be met?
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PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION
The protruding tops of a chain of volcanic mountains rising
from the floor of the sea, the islands of Hawaii lie in an arc
in the Pacific Ocean from northwest to southeast. Their overall
land area is 6,450 square miles—an area which is sustaining the
ever-increasing demands by man for recreational, agricultural,
residential, and commercial development.
Of the eight high islands, only six may be visited. The
other two islands are restricted to visitation. Uninhabited
Kahoolawe is used as a target site for U. S. Navy and Air Force
maneuvers. Privately-owned Niihau supports a cattle ranch and
is inhabited primarily by pure-blooded Hawaiians who are intent
upon maintaining their bloodline.
The 1970 Census showed a total population for the State of Hawaii
to be 768,561. The breakdown of this total figure by counties
follows:
County Island(s) Population
Hawaii Hawaii 63,468
Honolulu Oahu 629,176
Kauai Kauai and Niihau 29,761
Maui Maui, Molokai, and
Kahoolawe 46,156
Oahu The preponderance of the State's residents live on Oahu,
the third largest island (40 x 26 miles). Honolulu, the State
capital, is a major Pacific shipping center, the point of entry
for most Island visitors, and an air terminal for travellers
enroute to the Pacific and the Par East. Although the agriculture
industry ranks second (behind military expenditures) in economic
importance on Oahu, two very significant crops are produced:
pineapple and cane sugar. Tourism is the third most important
economic factor on the island, but it is rapidly overtaking the
other two in magnitude.
By far the greatest number of visitors stay in hotels along
Waikiki Beach (17,000 rooms, 19,000 total for Oahu). And
each day brings the screaming arrivals and departures of 747s and
the persistent noises of construction as one new high-rise appears
after another in a seemingly endless progression of rooms to
accommodate similarly increasing hordes of tourists.
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Hawaii The "Big Island" is the newest and largest in the chain
of inhabited islands. It contains three still active volcanoes:
Mauna Loa, the largest, is 13,680 feet above sea level;
Kilauea; and Hualalai (quiet since 1801). The island is filled
with geographical contrasts—tropical jungles, deserts, snow-
capped mountains and accompanying temperature extremes. The
main industries are cattle ranching (home of the 300,000-acre
Parker Ranch—the largest individually owned ranch in the United
States), sugar cane production, cultivation of the famous Kona
coffee, and orchid and antherium growing,
Maui Shaped by the action of two volcanoes, is the second
largest island in the State. The industries of the "Valley
Island" are primarily agricultural—sugar cane and pineapple
production; horse and cattle ranching.
Kaual The "Garden Island" has lush, tropical greenery—en-
couraged by fertile soil and frequent rains. Although Mount
Waialeale, in the center of the Island, receives ^00-600 inches
of rain per year and is said to be one of the wettest spots
in the world, the Waimea Coast to the southwest averages 20
inches rain annually and appears almost desert-like. Precipitous
cliffs and the Alakai Swamp render sections of the island in-
accessible. Agriculture is the primary industry. The wide
variety of products includes sugar, pineapple, beef, rice, taro,
coconuts, hogs, fruit, and macadamia nuts.
Molokai The "Friendly Island" has fertile soil—but agricultural
development has been impeded by lack of water. The chief indus-
tries are cattle ranching and pineapple production.
Lanai Aptly called the "Pineapple Island" is almost completely
owned by the Dole Hawaiian Pineapple Company. What was once
a desert-like arid land has been converted into a huge, 15,000-
acre pineapple plantation. Most of the island residents live
in Lanai City, a plantation city centered around pineapple
production.
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NIIHAU
30
100
MILES
State of Hawaii
KAHOOLAWC
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THE HAWAIIAN ENVIRONMENT
The Environmental Protection Agency, formed by Executive Re-
organization on December 2, 1970, has responsibility for pro-
tecting the environment in six major environmental fields of
concern: air and water pollution control, solid waste manage-
ment, pesticides, radiation, and noise abatement. It should
be noted that problems exist in each of these fields in the
State of Hawaii, and that the problems are generally heightened
in intensity there because of the unique combination of physical
and man-made demands and limitations which are imposed.
Shipping Surrounded by the sea and a formidable distance of
over 2,000 miles to the nearest major land mass in any direction,
the islands are quite dependent upon shipping and air transport
for virtually all consumer products and most raw materials.
Automobiles, food products, construction materials, fuels,
drugs, and machinery must all be transported to the Islands.
The commercial shipping traffic is, of necessity, heavy, and
vital to the sustenance of the islands. Coupled with the
U.S. Military vessel traffic in and out of Pearl Harbor, and the
passenger ships bringing visitors from all over the world to
Oahu and the islands, the number of vessels in and out of Hawaii
is, indeed, large. With the heavy shipping traffic, and the very
popular pastimes of sport fishing and pleasure boating in the
area, waste discharges from all these vessels are causing
problems of pollution in the harbors and surrounding waters.
Bilge waters and wastes from on-board holding tanks are dis-
charged to near-shore waters regularly. Although individual
volumes of these wastes are-probably small, the visible and
odoriferous effects are obvious.
The routine handling of gasolines, fuel oils, asphalt, molasses,
and jet fuels at the docks, results in frequent spills to waters
of Mamala Bay (Honolulu) and Pearl Harbor. Additional spills
result from breaks in transport lines from the docks to reservoir
facilities, in broken storm drains, and from undetermined sources.
Even if all these spills were contained and collected, the basic
problem of disposal remains. Even after use the disposal of
oily wastes by dumping in a sanitary landfill creates a potentially
hazardous threat to the huge lens of fresh water lying beneath
the land and which supplies domestic water needs to the islands.
Water and air quality control activities have resulted in pro-
hibitions against burning and land disposal, but no coordinated
system for the recovery and disposal of such wastes has been
developed as yet. New meaning to this problem can be found in
the rapid growth of an immense tourism industry in the State, the
recent emphasis upon air travel, and the Jumbo Jets.
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The Impact of People Tourism, today, is a top income-producing
industry of Hawaii. The number of visitors has doubled in five
years and this has placed heavy demands on the land for develop-
ment of recreation facilities. But now this development on the
islands is placing an increasing burden of pollutants on the
environment, and Hawaii is facing a new challenge.
The environmental impact of the tourist industry is broad.
Not only does the recent heavy emphasis upon faster and larger
transportation methods add to the problems of waste oil disposal,
water, air,and noise pollution, but the facilities necessary to
accommodate and provide for the throngs of visitors to the islands
create problems before, during, and after their construction.
The removal of vegetative cover for such construction at once
exposes the soil to erosion damage. The wet, tropical climate
and the moderate to extremely heavy amounts of precipitation
which are received carry sediment very effectively to its
ultimate destination, the sea. The buildup of new hotels, office
buildings, warehouses, roads, highways, and residences continues
to spread both upward and outward. As this activity creeps up
the hillsides, after having consumed most available flat lands,
the problem of damage by erosion and sediment transport inten-
sifies because of steeper slopes and heavier amounts of
precipitation.
Throughout the State there are examples of the destructive nature
of sedimentation. In Kaneohe Bay, on Oahu, local construction
has increased sediment transport to the shallow waters of the Bay
and the living coral is being smothered. Large areas of this
dead coral and the results of sedimentation can be seen as dis-
colorations within the Bay. Other consequences of sedimentation
are the choking and filling of stream bottoms throughout the
State and the need for dredging of channels and harbors to keep
them passable.
Tourism recently siiroad from O.xhu and the Honolulu arc.i to the
other islands. Vhe effects of this increasing; tourist trade will
probably be much the same on these islands as on Oahu. Airport
and hotel construction is basic to the industry and is proceedinp,
at a rapid pace throughout the State. With the number of
visitors to the State approaching 1.5 million annually, the
problems of handling additional waste loads, providing for their
needs and recreational opportunities become acute, and so too,
does the need to protect the environment.
The automobile is a great problem in the islands in that while
in use it adds to air pollution and traffic congestion in the
Honolulu area, and when old or out of use it is abandoned along
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small back roads all over the island. These small roads become
lined on both sides with abandoned, rusting, steel automobile
bodies.
The Problems of Disposal Many of the State's waste disposal
problems are inherent in the geolpgy of the islands. The
physical isolation and relatively small size of the islands
place an immediate limitation upon the amount of land that is
developable and necessitate that all wastes which are generated
be handled and disposed of wisely. The notable lack of soil for
landfill cover, the rocky (volcanic) nature of many areas, and
the sparsity of adequate disposal sites which will, not contaminate
either ground or surface waters is a problem. The fact that
Hawaii's isolation truly makes it the land of "no return"
products puts an immediate and real burden upon the establishment
to provide safe and adequate disposal means. The isolation of
the state makes the marketing of many salvable or recyclable
materials impractical.
Until very recently solid waste disposal has been accomplished
through open burning dumps and two outmoded, and overtaxed,
incinerators. Residues from these incinerators were not completely
combusted and were disposed of in open flumps,^including SŁnd Island
Another-1 land'disposal site, Kawainui Swamp on Oahu, is rapidly
filling due to the large amount of land clearing on the island
and the vegetative material it creates. There is concern for
leaching of toxic or undesirable wastes into the swamp and for
possible contamination of groundwater supplies. Detailed
planning and design for land disposal sites has been non-existent,
but operation continues on a day-to-day crisis-to-crisis basis.
The profuse and rapid growth of vegetation on the islands adds
considerably to the prbblems of waste disposal. Yard trimmings,
highway cuttings, and refuse from land clearing activities
result in large accumulations of plant materials that must be
disposed of. The quantities of domestic solid wastes in Hawaii
are considerably above national per capita averages, due to the
impact of tourism. The magnitude of the solid waste problem is
such that careful handling is necessary to prevent the creation
of other environmental effects: improper burning, for instance,
will pollute the air; poor landfill techniques or siting threatens
contamination of both groundwater and surface waters and can
provide breeding grounds for rats and pests which increase
health and disease hazards to the public.
Municipal and Industrial Disposal In much the same manner as
with solid wastes, the techniques applied in the treatment and
disposal of municipal or industrial wastes can effectively
alleviate or augment the total effect of man on the islands'
environment.
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Waste discharge control along coastal areas is a continuing
problem. The City of Honolulu discharges over 50 million gallons
a day of raw sewage through an outfall less than one mile in
length to Mamala Bay, a short distance from the Honolulu shore-
line and the famous beaches at Waikiki. This area receives very
heavy recreational useage the year around. Inadequately treated
sewage discharges also exist in Pearl Harbor, where millions of
oysters grow but cannot be harvested commercially because of the
pollution. Planning is currently underway for the construction
of treatment facilities, but at issue is the question of primary
versus secondary treatment. Construction of the Sand Island
treatment facility for the City of Honolulu was recommended as
long ago as the mid 1940s by engineering studies of the munici-
pal waste disposal problem. Recently the pollution of beaches and
surface waters has become such that areas of Sand Island have
been posted to warn bathers of the polluted waters.
What to do with wastewaters is a continuing problem. Discharge to
tihe serais occurring, but measures which insure that damage to
the marine environment does not occur must be taken. Disposal
of wastewaters on land has to consider any possibility of ground-
water contamination, since the lens-shaped groundwater resource
beneath the land is vital to the survival of the population.
Deep ocean disposal of non-toxic wastes has been tentatively
discussed in Hawaii, but decisions have been shelved because of
recommended national policies regarding ocean disposal. The
fact that Hawaii sits atop high oceanic mountains surrounded by
very deep waters, much like islands in the middle of a flowing
river, may be an important consideration in applying an ocean
disposal policy designed to accommodate the needs of the main-
land with its extensive continental shelf.
At Lihue, on the island of Kauai, a new wastewater treatment
facility has been constructed, but the number of connections for
which the facility was intended have not been made, and Just
enough flow to maintain minimum operation of the facility is
available. This poor coordination between the State and local
governments in following up such a job comes at a time when the
pace at which potentially serious environmental problems are
developing is quickening.
The State construction grants program has at times been in
Jeopardy of a reallocation of Federal funds because of the lack
of project applications. This too occurs at a time when positive,
decisive, measures must be taken to protect the fragile environ-
ment presented by the islands.
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Seemingly little thought has been given to the consolidation of
treatment facilities and short-range planning has predominated
at the State level. This has resulted in situations such as
that found in central Oahu where at least seven treatment facil-
ities in a small area have only recently been recommended for
consolidation into one system. Thinking in terms of preventing
the environmental damage which could result from the prolifer-
ation of unnecessary construction is a must for Hawaii if sound
ecological balance is to prevail on the islands. Planning has
typically failed to assume that there are limitations to the
resources which are available on the islands.
The impact of agriculture and the food processing industries in
Hawaii is remarkably broad. Shoreline pollution emanating from
the sugar industry dumping mud and silt from their sugar cane
washing operations into the sea is affecting beaches, streams,
fishing grounds and coral reefs throughout the State. Some
processors have initiated sump and landfill operations to control
the problem, but others, especially those industries located
on sloping lands, continue to pollute the sea. Serious aspects
of this problem are the destruction of reef coral, which shelters
the islands and the aesthetics of muddy tropical waters.
Pineapple processing plants in Honolulu are responsible for a
large proportion of the settleable solids load in Honolulu's
wastewater discharge, which occurs off Sand Island.
The periodic burning off of the sugar cane fields adds tons of
particulate air pollution to the extant smog problem which is
developing in Honolulu. If the burning did not occur, the
disposal of huge quantities of vegetative material would be
added to the already staggering solid waste disposal problem.
Huge cane fields are ignited and allowed to burn to reduce the
amount of "trash", which is the leafy portion of the sugar cane
plant. In the processing of the stalk to obtain and refine its
vital and valuable juices, "bagasse", the crushed and spent
stalk fiber, constitutes another portion of the solid waste
problem. Whether to burn the trash and bagasse, discharge it
to the sea, or provide other disposal means is the problem.
Presently, a portion is burned, some ends up in the coastal
waters of the State along with tons of coral-killing sediment,
and yet other is disposed of on land. The processing mills
discharge wastes which affect water and air quality as well.
Other Problems The useage of active pesticides in Hawaii has
approached 12 million pounds a year in recent years, or almost
a ton of pesticides per square mile of land; uses center about
termite control, agricultural needs and weed control. This is
almost a ten times higher level of useage than that found on
the mainland 'United States.
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The sugar cane industry has recently ceased utilization of a
mercury-base fungicide in the planting of seed cane. A newly-
certified pesticide, which does not contain mercury, has replaced
the fungicide. Great care must be exercized to insure that the
disposal and methods of handling all toxic substances be done
in a manner which prevents possible groundwater or surface
water contamination. In short, the environmental effects of
pesticides and toxic chemical uses must be minimized in such a
fragile and inter-related situation.
Thermal pollution of Pearl Harbor and .other natural waters in the
islands occurs as a result of the discharge of cooling waters
for electrical power generation and industrial cooling uses.
Thermal changes in tropical waters can greatly change or
completely obliterate marine organisms. Relatively small
changes in temperature of pH or in the ionic balance can have
monumental and chain-reaction types of consequences. Great
care in the siting and design of such facilities is accordingly
required.
Pearl Harbor, serving as a base for the Pacific Fleet, is
also a center of activity for nuclear powered submarines and
surface vessels. Although the U.S. Navy controls the discharge
of radiologically contaminated wastes from these vessels, the
potential for radioactive contamination of Pearl Harbor by an
accidental spill is always a possibility.
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THE STATE PROGRAM
The State environmental health program in Hawaii has long
addressed itself to the problems presented by the tropical
climate. Much like a huge incubator for diseases, the islands
have populations of disease vectors such as rats and mosquitoes,
which represent a potential hazard to public health and must
be controlled. Programs designed to control the breeding and
proliferation of vectors and disease are carried out by the
State. Programs which seek protection to the public from ex-
posure to contaminated food and water, and the typical health-
oriented programs make up the largest portion of the Health
Department workload today. The problem is that this type of
work has dominated the efforts of the State Health Department
and environmental programs have suffered from a lower priority
of effort. The proliferation of dump sites all over Oahu,
abandoned trash, inadequately enforced standards, and indecision
in solving the problems, characterize the efforts of these
environmental programs. The counties,mostly removed from the
State offices by water, await decisions from the State, decisions
which are not forthcoming because the State is unsure of local
support and orientation of the counties to the problems. The
need for an office to coordinate the efforts in the environ-
mental protection realm has recently been realized and addressed.
An Environmental Quality Office has been established in the State
government and is advisory to the Governor. The governmental
machinery needed to address the problems of the environment
exists, but the orientation to the task must be one of dedication
to the preservation of an irreplaceable environment and recognition
of the limitations which exist.
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EPILOGUE
Hawaii is little more than a decade old as a State. It has grown
up facing more limitations and constraints to its development
than most other states. It is small both in resident population
and in land area and must deal with the special challenges which
confront small entities. But Hawaii also has some unique problems,
including those of environmental protection, which transcend its
borders. These are problems which result from the natural attract-
ion and noted isolation of the Inlands. Hawaii played host to more
than twice its resident population in tourists last year and must
assume the responsibility for all the environmental effects wrought
by these visitors. However, the institutional and financial
framework from which such problems are addressed is limited,
unfortunately, by the size of the state, and not the magnitude of
the undertaking. It is evident that Hawaii, as the window of
America in the Pacific, the showcase of our way of life for all
to see, can display the results of environmental degradation.
Or by application of American ingenuity and engineering can we
bring about Paradise Regained?
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APPENDIX
Key State Personnel Activities
Governor John A. Burns
State Capitol
Honolulu, HI 96813
Dr. Walter B. Qulsenberry, Director Water, Solid Wastes
State Department of Health
P. 0. Box 3378
Honolulu, HI 96801
Shinjl Soneda, Executive Officer Water, Solid Wastes
Environmental Health Division
Department of Health
P. 0. Box 3378
Honolulu, HI 96801
Peter Sakai, Chief Water
Sanitary Engineering Section
Department of Health
P. 0. Box 3378
Honolulu, HI 96801
Robert S. Nekomoto, Supervisor Air
Sanitation Section
Environmental Health Division
Department of Health
P. 0. Box 3378
Honolulu, HI 96801
George Zane, Chief General Sanitation
General Sanitation
Environmental Health Division
Department of Health
P. 0. Box 3378
Honolulu, HI 96801
Stevenson Ching, Chief Pesticides
Commodities Branch
Department of Agriculture
P. 0. Box 5*»25
Honolulu, HI 96814
Sadamofco Iwashita, Chief Radiation
Occupational & Radiological Branch
Department of Health
P. 0. Box 3378
Honolulu, HI 96801
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P.J. Rodriguez, Chief, Public Affairs
Office of Environmental Quality Control
Office of the Governor, State of Hawaii
Honolulu, HI 96813
Conservation Groups
Conservation Council (major conservation group)
Life of the Land (environmental lawyers)
Outdoor Circle (conservation and-preservation-of natural beauty)
Television Stations
KHON (NBC)
KHVH (ABC)
KGMB (CBS)
KHET (ETU)
KIKU (Independent)
Honolulu
2
4
9
11
13
Radio Stations
Island of Oahu
KAHU 940 kc AM
KAIM 870 kc AM, 95-5 kc PM
KCCN 1420 kc AM
KFOA 94.7 kc PM
KGMB 590 kc AM, 590 kc PM
KGU 760 kc AM
KHAI 1090 kc AM
KHVH 1040 kc AM
KIKI 830 kc AM
KKUA 690 kc AM
KLEI 1130 kc AM
KNDI 1270 kc AM
KOHO 1170 kc AM
KORL 650 kc AM
KPOI 1380 kc AM, 97.5 kc PM
KTRG 990 kc AM
KUMU 1500 kc AM
KZOO 1210 kc AM
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Island of Hawaii
KHLO 850 kc AM
KIPA 1110 kc AM
KKON 790 kc AM
KPUA 970 kc AM
Island of Kauai
KTOH 1350 kc AM
KUAI 720 kc AM
Island of Maul
KMVI 550 kc AM
KNUI 1310 kc AM
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BIBLIOGRAPHY
American Automobile Association. 1970-71. Hawaii.
Bank of Hawaii. August, 1970. Hawaii '70.
Bushnell, O.A., Ed. 1970. The Illustrated Atlas of Hawaii.*
Sunset Books and Sunset Magazine Editorial Staff. 1964. Hawaii:
A Guide to All the Islands.
U.S. Dept. Commerce, Bureau of the Census. 1970. Statistical
Abstract of the United States.
Webb, William and Mary Webb. 1968. Exploring Hawaii, Book I. Oahu
* The History Section of this briefing document is based extensively
upon this reference.
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