Streamlining of cumbersome regulations could help Kawaihae Harbor users

An engineer with the state Department of Land and Natural Resources hopes a remake of regulatory processes at the federal and state levels will allow improvements to move more quickly at Kawaihae Harbor.

Eric Yuasa, engineering branch chief for the Division of Boating and Ocean Recreation, sketched the progress and frustrations at the north and south recreation harbors during a meeting of boaters hosted by State Rep. Cindy Evans, D-North Kona, Kohala.

The Army Corps of Engineers regulatory branch for the Honolulu District was reorganized and a much more responsive staff put in place, Yuasa said. The revamping of the department followed a more than four year delay in the corps issuing a permit to build the dock at the South Small Boat Harbor. The delay was in response to the discovery of coral, Yuasa said last weekend in a canoe hale at the harbor.

“Four and a half years is way too long for a project,” Yuasa said. “I don’t think the new branch chief will stand for that.”

Higher-ups in the corps decided the public wasn’t being served by the regulatory branch, and things are running much more smoothly under new regulatory chief Michelle Lynch, Yuasa said.

“It’s a huge improvement,” Yuasa said. “The command saw there was a problem and they were proactive.”

Yuasa is optimistic the permit to build a ramp at the south harbor can be acquired in the next six months to a year. Simply moving the boulders that have coral on them might be sufficient, he said.

Before it can be built, the ramp also must receive a water quality certification from the state Department of Health confirming water quality won’t be damaged by the project. More than 40 projects are currently delayed because of this requirement. The DOH has averaged more than 850 days to process an application, Yuasa said.

Gov. David Ige is aware of the problem and recently moved to revamp the certification process. DOH agreed to process 75 percent of applications within two months, Yuasa said.

“The DOH knows their system isn’t working,” he said. “They know they have to react faster.”

A total of $400,000 has been appropriated for the North Small Boat Harbor. DOBOR doesn’t know how it should spend the money and wants to hear from boaters, Evans said.

Fixing the breakwall is a top priority, about 40 boaters said. Winter swells batter the harbor, overrun a shallow breakwater and destroy harbor infrastructure and sand in the boat ramp on a regular basis.

It doesn’t make sense to sink money into fixing docks until the cause of repeated harbor damage is addressed, residents said.

“The breakwater at one time didn’t allow any sand to wash in here,” said longtime resident Paul Fischer. “You shouldn’t have to dredge every year if the breakwater is doing its job.”

The rough-looking harbor also could use some beautification, said Kaena Peterson, a member of the South Kohala Hawaiian Civic Club.

“Maybe they could put in rock walls. This is a major harbor for people,” Peterson said. “It’s a growing area. They are enlarging it but there is no landscape appeal.”

There are about $13 million in projects for the Kawaihae and Puako area funded, in process or completed, Yuasa said. Among them is an estimated $900,000 plan to expand and repave parking at the Puako boat ramp, with a new washdown and drainage improvements. The project currently is under design.

The $2 million boat ramp at the South Small Boat Harbor will be 45 feet wide with 100-foot loading docks on each side.

“The key is the permitting,” Yuasa said. “I don’t think the Army Corps will make the same mistake as in phase one.”

Another project pegged at $2.3 million will include a 24-foot-wide asphalt roadway from Akoni Pule Highway to the South Small Boat Harbor. The work, slated for completion in December, includes fire hydrants and an improved water system that will allow an expansion of restrooms at the harbor.

Email Bret Yager at byager@westhawaiitoday.com.