Gov. Green urged to appoint Native Hawaiian water management expert to state water panel

Gov. Josh Green is coming under pressure from dozens of Native Hawaiian and other community advocacy organizations to appoint a “loea,” or expert, in Native Hawaiian water management to the state Commission on Water Resource Management.

In response to a news release issued by the Sierra Club of Hawaiʻi, Green said late Tuesday afternoon that the nomination process for the position has been re-started after applicants withdrew their names from consideration.

“I am keenly aware of the heightened importance of filling the CWRM loea vacancy,” the governor said. “We are following due process of law after applicants withdrew their names from consideration in the previous application period, leaving a number of applicants for consideration that did not meet legal requirements.”

Citing Hawai‘i law, Green said a nominating committee will review the new applications and interview applicants to nominate a list of at least three individuals deemed qualified according to state law.

Public notice was issued Aug. 22 to ensure at least three applicants are forwarded to the governor for consideration, he said. His appointee is subject to confirmation by the state Senate.

The organizations urging quick action represent interests ranging from housing to food security to public health. They say they want the governor to uphold the state water code by appointing the Native Hawaiian water expert. They say the legally mandated seat has been vacant since June. The nominating committee recommendation process was originally completed in February.

Kekai Keani, a taro farmer and stream advocate from Lahaina, said there are critical Maui water issues at stake and that a Native Hawaiian perspective is needed on the commission.

“We need this seat filled now,” he said. “We cannot wait another three months for a loea to be chosen. We got water permits in West Maui that need urgent review, more action in Nā Wai ʻEhā, and stream restoration work across the islands – all these pressing issues need a loea perspective on the commission to protect our ecosystems, our Hawaiian water rights, our food and water security.”

According to the Sierra Club news release, the governor recently acknowledged his “mishandling of important water issues following the devastating wildfires in Lahaina last year, and specifically apologized for how his administration treated the deputy director of the Water Commission at the time, Kaleo Manuel.”

“Eight months after Manuel’s subsequent resignation in January, the Governor appointed a new deputy director with strong ties to West Maui, a long-awaited decision applauded by many,” the Sierra Club said. “However, with major water permitting and other decisions on the horizon, community groups are urging him to fill another critical gap with the water commission, by appointing loea from the existing list of qualified candidates delivered to him early this year.”

According to the Sierra Club, a nominating committee convened at the end of 2023 reviewed more than a dozen applications for the seat, and it provided a list of four qualified candidates, including Hannah Kīhalani Springer and Lori Buchanan. The list was sent to the Office of the Governor in February.

“Without explanation, the governor has taken no action to select a nominee,” the Sierra Club said. “He is instead attempting to secure a new list of candidates by restarting the nominating process, sparking widespread concerns across a diverse set of stakeholders and water advocates.”

“This is highly irregular,” said Earthjustice attorney Leināʻala Ley. ““The law does not authorize the governor to ignore a properly promulgated list and just convene a new nominating committee. There are two highly qualified candidates on the existing list, he must choose one of them.”

Family physician Dr. Seiji Yamada said: “As a physician, the governor should understand the very real health impacts and traumas that result from cultural erasure. Without a true loea in Hawaiian culture on the Water Commission, as required by law, Native Hawaiian rights and cultural identity dependent on relationships to wai could be lost in its decision-making – retraumatizing the Hawaiian community again and again. He has two highly qualified candidates to choose from. There is no reason to delay this decision any longer.”

“This is not just about Hawaiian rights, which are critically important to protect,” said former water commissioner and ʻĀina Aloha Economic Futures co-founder Kamana Beamer. “This is also about restoring our food systems, our loʻi kalo, loko iʻa, our fisheries, that depend on the science of native water management. This is about our state taking threats of contamination, waste, or misuse of our precious wai with the seriousness that such a sacred resource deserves. This is about the future of how our public trust water is managed – which is to say, the very future of our islands.”

Individuals across Hawaiʻi are urged to voice their support for timely and appropriate action by sending the Governor an email via bit.ly/cwrmloea.

Oct. 11 is the deadline to submit applications online or by postmark for the loea position. The nominating committee is expected to transmit its three nominees to the governor by the end of October. Information about the application can be found here.