Controversial CWRM appointee withdraws; applicants sought to fill vacancies

The state Department of Land and Natural Resources and its Commission on Water Resource Management is looking to fill the Loea seat after V.R. Hinano Rodrigues of Maui withdrew his nomination.

Rodrigues notified the Office of the Governor that he decided to withdraw from the Loea seat for purposes of “healing with this community and our people.”

Gov. Josh Green, M.D., nominated Rodrigues in October and he has been serving on CWRM in an interim capacity pending Senate confirmation.

“At the time of his nomination, his extensive experience and understanding of Hawai‘i’s cultural and environmental landscape and his previous years of service that worked to preserve and protect our state’s natural resources, equipped him with the insights and skills necessary to navigate the complex challenges facing CWRM commissioners,” said Green.

The appointment drew criticism from members of the community who filed an ethics complaint alleging ties to a West Maui developer.

The Sierra Club of Hawaiʻi executive director Wayne Chung Tanaka issued the following statement regarding Rodrigues’ withdrawal:

“We are thankful that Mr. Rodrigues has chosen to do the honorable thing, and respect the requests of over 70 organizations and community leaders that have asked the governor to follow the legal process for selecting new water commission members, and pick a name from the original list provided to him by the Water Commission Nominating Committee in February of last year.

“By withdrawing his name from consideration for the Commission, Mr. Rodrigues is now giving the Governor the opportunity to do right by the law, and by the people of Hawai‘i. We are hopeful that the Governor will take advantage of this opportunity, and choose one of the highly respected, extremely knowledgeable, and incredibly thoughtful candidates that he was originally presented with early last year. 

“We are supremely grateful for all of the individuals and groups who rose up to express their concerns regarding Mr. Rodrigues’ highly irregular nomination, and the need to ensure that the Water Commission’s ‘loea’ or Native Hawaiian water management expert has the requisite knowledge and community support to ensure the sustainable and fair conservation and distribution of our islands’ most precious resource, for the benefit of present and future generations.“

The Loea seat requires that a commissioner shall have substantial experience or expertise in traditional Hawaiian water resource management techniques and in traditional Hawaiian riparian usage.

Rodrigues withdrawal adds a third commission vacancy to be considered by the CWRM selection committee. CWRM Deputy Director Ciara W.K. Kahahane anticipates applicants to step forward to fill the seat held by Rodrigues as well as two other upcoming vacancies on the commission for expiring terms that were posted on Jan. 28.

CWRM comprises seven members, five of whom are appointed by the governor and confirmed by the state Senate. The remaining two are the chairperson of the state Board of Land and Natural Resources, who serves as chairperson of the Water Commission, and the director of the State Department of Health. The members are unpaid and serve a limited term.

Applications received by the posted deadline will be reviewed by the nominating committee, which will submit selected candidates to the governor for consideration.

The commission has two additional vacancies for two expiring terms. Applications are due by March 31.

• Apply for a CWRM vacancy at: https://boards.hawaii.gov/apply/
• CWRM website public notices page: https://dlnr.hawaii.gov/cwrm/newsevents/notices/