{"id":171123,"date":"2020-10-26T12:00:59","date_gmt":"2020-10-26T12:00:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/?p=171123"},"modified":"2020-10-23T09:04:10","modified_gmt":"2020-10-23T08:04:10","slug":"it-affects-everything-hawaii-residents-demand-transparency-over-pearl-harbor-munitions-storage","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/2020\/10\/it-affects-everything-hawaii-residents-demand-transparency-over-pearl-harbor-munitions-storage\/","title":{"rendered":"‘It Affects Everything’: Hawaii Residents Demand Transparency over Pearl Harbor Munitions Storage"},"content":{"rendered":"

US army plans to consolidate storage along the West Loch section of Pearl Harbor, near densely populated neighborhoods.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

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Honolulu, Hawaii in the Oahu island of the archipelago. Wikipedia<\/p><\/div>\n

22 Oct 2020 – <\/em>A munitions storage complex being planned by the US army in Hawaii<\/a> to help counter Chinese influence in the Pacific is running into local opposition.<\/p>\n

In July, the US secretary of defense, Mark Esper, called for<\/a> prioritizing resources, including long-range precision weapons, to the Indo-Pacific region, a reflection of a US shift toward what it calls great power competition with China and Russia.<\/p>\n

As part of this long-term strategic competition, the army has unveiled plans to consolidate its munitions storage along the West Loch section of Pearl Harbor on Oahu.<\/p>\n

But plans outlined in the draft environmental assessment (EA) released by the navy, show the new facility would be built less than a mile from densely populated neighborhoods in the community of Ewa.<\/p>\n

Human rights lawyer Poka Laenui lives less than a mile from the Lualualei Annex in the rural district home to many Native Hawaiians. He said communities that host munitions storage facilities are routinely dismissed and ignored by the military.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you\u2019re playing with the lives of everyone in Hawaii with that kind of stuff, you have to have participation by the people whose lives are being affected,\u201d Laenui said. He asked how the public can make sound decisions when they are denied information.<\/p>\n

Construction is slated to begin in 2022 on a facility intended to improve army \u201coperational efficiencies\u201d. The 62-acre site would include 35 earth-covered reinforced concrete storage magazines and operational support facilities within the 4,092 acre West Loch ammunition depot.<\/p>\n

If completed, the proposed facility would allow for the consolidation of munitions stockpiled at the ageing Lualualei Annex, a storage complex built in the 1930s on west Oahu. A new facility at West Loch, the navy said, would improve safety by reducing the need to transport military-grade explosives on public roads.<\/p>\n

Home on the firing range<\/h2>\n

Immediately adjacent to the proposed munitions storage facility is Ewa Gentry, one of West Loch\u2019s largest new residential developments<\/a> with over 8,000 homes and hundreds more planned. Debbie Luning, the Gentry Homes director for community relations, said the developer wants assurance that the munitions storage will not jeopardize public health or safety.<\/p>\n

\u201cBecause of the pandemic, there has been inadequate public outreach to provide the community with details of the project,\u201d she said, calling for a decision on the location of the facility to be postponed \u201cuntil it can be properly presented to the area residents\u201d.<\/p>\n