I support BILL 91 (2022), RELATING TO WETLANDS RESTORATION AND PROTECTION (CARE-55
Please vote to pass this bill to protect the Maui County wetlands.
Mahalo
Aloha, my name is Brandi Corpuz. I am a homeowner, educator and community advocate from the wetlands of Kihei. I am also the Executive Director of Rooted Kekahi Me Ka Aina. I would like to provide testimony in support of this wetlands bill 91 (2022)
I have lived in Kihei for over 20 years and I have experienced the devastating effects of flooding, land erosion and diversions of our natural waterways. We need this wetlands bill to help stop several projects proposed on our wetlands and to protect what little bit of wetland resources we have left in Maui County.
In December 2021 we were able to see what happens when you try to wipe out a wetlands system from existence. Mother nature, especially wetland waterways will go where they want to go. Kihei had 30 plus inches of mud and debris in all lower lying areas of South Maui. This mud still remains in many areas of Kihei, even months later. Our community members suffer the most because we have no control over what is being done in our wetlands and can not predict mother nature.
This Council just recently stopped the Waipuilani Hale project due to flooding issues and to conserve the wetlands. However, there are other projects such as the Wailani Project that is still moving forward and is being built on top of our Waipuilani Gulch. There is also another project being built on Kulanihakoi wetlands.
These projects are being built on our wetland gulches, streams and springs. They do not benefit our environment, our community or the future of Maui.
No matter what their intentions for these projects are, destroying our wetlands will have dire effects on all of us who call Kihei our home. These projects would not be moving forward if there were already protections in place for our precious resources.
Wetland bill 91 (2022) can help to protect our wetlands from distinction if we stop it now. Please support these protective measures for us and all future generations.
Our wetlands affect everything from flooding, erosion, traffic, our ocean, our watershed and our way of life. Wetlands are our natural protectors. Please help us protect our Wetlands in Kihei and all of Maui County.
Sincerely, Brandi Corpuz
Rooted Kekahi Me Ka Aina
808-357-9170
Aloha Council committee members,
I strongly support Bill 91. I am a public interest attorney with many clients on Maui who commit their personal funds, time, and other resources to protect wetlands for the rest of Maui's community. I am commenting in my personal capacity because I am inspired by their commitment and care for Maui. This law would help protect and restore wetlands and all of the ecological, cultural, and economic benefits associated with them.
Yours,
Bianca Isaki
I strongly support Bill 91 re. the preservation, protection & restoration of Maui County wetlands.
One of the most important services that wetlands provide is the inherent capacity to avoid, minimize, or mitigate the impacts of climate change by sequestering large quantities of carbon from the atmosphere, which may have been accumulating for hundreds to thousands of years. The loss or degradation of a wetland means not only the demise of that carbon sink, but also that the carbon stored in that wetland will be released.
What are some of the functions of wetlands?
• purify water by filtering pollutants & nutrients,
• protect beaches against erosion,
• recharge aquifers, and
• support habitat for endangered species.
• provide flood alleviation, which helps protect lives and property.
• A one-acre wetland can store one million gallons of storm water. In ahupuaa, where wetlands have been lost, flood peaks can increase by as much as 80 percent.
Too many wetlands in Maui County have been destroyed to make way for structures, yet more wetlands are being planned for development. We have a wetland emergency. They need to be protected and restored. In my professional opinion, they are more precious than development, market values or commercial profits.
Maui County not only needs to approve an ordinance to protect & restore all wetlands, but also adopt its own wetland definitions and framework because:
1. The State of Hawaii does not have a management plan or a statute to restore & protect wetlands.
2. The Clean Water Act (CWA) has been gutted by changing political climates.
3. Many of our wetlands do not qualify as Waters of the U.S. (WOTUS) per the criteria set by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
4. Federal case laws (Rapanos v United States, and others) opened the door for the county to regulate wetlands where the wetland has no continuous surface connection to a permanent navigable waterway.
5. The CWA does not have primacy over states re. wetlands - 33 USC section 1251 (b) & (g) recognizes the rights of states to plan the restoration and preservation of land and water resources.
Additionally, fishing is a huge part of the history, culture, and personal lives of the people of Maui. In general, wetlands provide an essential link in the life cycle of 75 percent of the fish and shellfish commercially harvested in the U.S., and up to 90 percent of the recreational fish catch. Wetlands provide a consistent food supply, shelter, and nursery grounds for both marine and freshwater species.
The wetland preservation bill should establish ahupuaa-based protection of wetlands that connect to the watersheds or natural stormwater infrastructure (NSI). Surface water, ground water, floodplains, wetlands, and other features do not function as separate and isolated components of the watershed, but rather as a single, integrated natural system. Disruption of any one part of this system can have long-term and far-reaching consequences on the functioning of the entire system, as we have seen from the recent floods.
The need to protect wetlands should not be weakened for development in wetlands or natural stormwater infrastructure (NSI). Preserving wetlands and NSI are more important than any housing or commercial developments - which can be built somewhere else.
Mahalo for considering my testimony
Robert Aldrich
Please see attached for Comments
I support BILL 91 (2022), RELATING TO WETLANDS RESTORATION AND PROTECTION (CARE-55
Please vote to pass this bill to protect the Maui County wetlands.
Mahalo
Aloha, my name is Brandi Corpuz. I am a homeowner, educator and community advocate from the wetlands of Kihei. I am also the Executive Director of Rooted Kekahi Me Ka Aina. I would like to provide testimony in support of this wetlands bill 91 (2022)
I have lived in Kihei for over 20 years and I have experienced the devastating effects of flooding, land erosion and diversions of our natural waterways. We need this wetlands bill to help stop several projects proposed on our wetlands and to protect what little bit of wetland resources we have left in Maui County.
In December 2021 we were able to see what happens when you try to wipe out a wetlands system from existence. Mother nature, especially wetland waterways will go where they want to go. Kihei had 30 plus inches of mud and debris in all lower lying areas of South Maui. This mud still remains in many areas of Kihei, even months later. Our community members suffer the most because we have no control over what is being done in our wetlands and can not predict mother nature.
This Council just recently stopped the Waipuilani Hale project due to flooding issues and to conserve the wetlands. However, there are other projects such as the Wailani Project that is still moving forward and is being built on top of our Waipuilani Gulch. There is also another project being built on Kulanihakoi wetlands.
These projects are being built on our wetland gulches, streams and springs. They do not benefit our environment, our community or the future of Maui.
No matter what their intentions for these projects are, destroying our wetlands will have dire effects on all of us who call Kihei our home. These projects would not be moving forward if there were already protections in place for our precious resources.
Wetland bill 91 (2022) can help to protect our wetlands from distinction if we stop it now. Please support these protective measures for us and all future generations.
Our wetlands affect everything from flooding, erosion, traffic, our ocean, our watershed and our way of life. Wetlands are our natural protectors. Please help us protect our Wetlands in Kihei and all of Maui County.
Sincerely, Brandi Corpuz
Rooted Kekahi Me Ka Aina
808-357-9170
Aloha Council committee members,
I strongly support Bill 91. I am a public interest attorney with many clients on Maui who commit their personal funds, time, and other resources to protect wetlands for the rest of Maui's community. I am commenting in my personal capacity because I am inspired by their commitment and care for Maui. This law would help protect and restore wetlands and all of the ecological, cultural, and economic benefits associated with them.
Yours,
Bianca Isaki
I strongly support Bill 91 re. the preservation, protection & restoration of Maui County wetlands.
One of the most important services that wetlands provide is the inherent capacity to avoid, minimize, or mitigate the impacts of climate change by sequestering large quantities of carbon from the atmosphere, which may have been accumulating for hundreds to thousands of years. The loss or degradation of a wetland means not only the demise of that carbon sink, but also that the carbon stored in that wetland will be released.
What are some of the functions of wetlands?
• purify water by filtering pollutants & nutrients,
• protect beaches against erosion,
• recharge aquifers, and
• support habitat for endangered species.
• provide flood alleviation, which helps protect lives and property.
• A one-acre wetland can store one million gallons of storm water. In ahupuaa, where wetlands have been lost, flood peaks can increase by as much as 80 percent.
Too many wetlands in Maui County have been destroyed to make way for structures, yet more wetlands are being planned for development. We have a wetland emergency. They need to be protected and restored. In my professional opinion, they are more precious than development, market values or commercial profits.
Maui County not only needs to approve an ordinance to protect & restore all wetlands, but also adopt its own wetland definitions and framework because:
1. The State of Hawaii does not have a management plan or a statute to restore & protect wetlands.
2. The Clean Water Act (CWA) has been gutted by changing political climates.
3. Many of our wetlands do not qualify as Waters of the U.S. (WOTUS) per the criteria set by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
4. Federal case laws (Rapanos v United States, and others) opened the door for the county to regulate wetlands where the wetland has no continuous surface connection to a permanent navigable waterway.
5. The CWA does not have primacy over states re. wetlands - 33 USC section 1251 (b) & (g) recognizes the rights of states to plan the restoration and preservation of land and water resources.
Additionally, fishing is a huge part of the history, culture, and personal lives of the people of Maui. In general, wetlands provide an essential link in the life cycle of 75 percent of the fish and shellfish commercially harvested in the U.S., and up to 90 percent of the recreational fish catch. Wetlands provide a consistent food supply, shelter, and nursery grounds for both marine and freshwater species.
The wetland preservation bill should establish ahupuaa-based protection of wetlands that connect to the watersheds or natural stormwater infrastructure (NSI). Surface water, ground water, floodplains, wetlands, and other features do not function as separate and isolated components of the watershed, but rather as a single, integrated natural system. Disruption of any one part of this system can have long-term and far-reaching consequences on the functioning of the entire system, as we have seen from the recent floods.
The need to protect wetlands should not be weakened for development in wetlands or natural stormwater infrastructure (NSI). Preserving wetlands and NSI are more important than any housing or commercial developments - which can be built somewhere else.
Mahalo for considering my testimony
Robert Aldrich
Testimony received by CARE Committee.