WASHINGTON, DC, November 14, 2008 (ENS) – The National Governors Association Center for Best Practices has selected seven states to participate in a Policy Academy designed to help states develop an action plan and implementation strategy to improve energy use in buildings.

Buildings consume more energy than any other sector of the U.S. economy and account for nearly three-quarters of electricity generation, about 40 percent of carbon dioxide emissions, and large amounts of on-site fuel use.

“States can play a major role in reducing energy use in buildings through improved codes, incentives for adopting energy efficient technologies, education, and other measures,” said John Thomasian, director of the NGA Center. “This Policy Academy will help states work through some of the challenges they face when developing policies to improve energy efficiency and increase use of renewable energy in buildings.”

States were chosen to participate in the academy through a competitive process open to all states and U.S. territories. The states of Arizona, Florida, Hawaii, Iowa, Michigan, Utah and Wisconsin, representing both hot and cold parts of the country, were selected.

“This project comes at the perfect time for Hawaii as we continue to maximize our federal and private partnerships to increase Hawaii’s energy independence,” said Governor Linda Lingle of Hawaii.

Hotels and apartment buildings in Honolulu,
Hawaii (Photo credit unknown)

Hawaii’s central challenge is its high dependence on imported fossil fuel for its energy needs. Ninety-six percent of the crude oil refined and consumed in the state is from sources outside the United States, leaving Hawaii especially vulnerable to supply disruptions. Seventy-eight percent of Hawaii’s electricity generation is from diesel and 13 percent is from coal, resulting in the highest energy costs in the nation.

“State leadership is critical to meeting our long term energy challenges,” said John Mizroch, the U.S. Department of Energy’s acting assistant secretary for energy efficiency and renewable energy.

In addition to financial assistance, the Energy Department will support Policy Academy states with experts from national labs and other technical resources.

“Building efficiency is the cheapest, most abundant source of energy to meet our growing electricity demand,” said Mizroch. “Policies that incentivize all levels of investment in building efficiency and renewable energy can unleash untapped resources, help our economy, improve our environment, and increase our energy security.”

At this point, suggested strategies are familiar – improving building codes and encouraging participation in voluntary certification programs; increasing consumption from renewable sources; and funding the effort with low-interest loans, utility rate restructuring, or public benefit funds.

While some states have improved energy efficiency and increased reliance on renewable resources in new and existing buildings using these strategies, the National Governors Association believes that many cost-effective opportunities remain untapped due to market and policy barriers.

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HONOLULU, Hawaii, March 21, 2008 (ENS) – One of Hawaii’s longest-standing water disputes was settled this week when the state Commission on Water Resources Management decided in a unanimous vote to designate four waterways on the island of Maui as a “water management area” under the state Water Code.

The designation, effective once public notice is published, puts the commission in direct control of these waterways, known by their Hawaiian name, Na Wai ‘Eha – the Four Waters.

Since the plantation era, two companies have controlled most of the stream flows of these four waters – Hawaiian Commercial & Sugar, a division of Alexander & Baldwin, which operates one of the last sugar plantations in Hawaii on Maui’s central plain; and Wailuku Water Company, formerly the Wailuku Sugar plantation, which sold off all its former agricultural lands for development and is now in the business of selling water.

The commission’s ruling came on a petition filed in December 2006 by public interest environmental law firm Earthjustice on behalf of two Maui grassroots community groups, Hui o Na Wai ‘Eha and the Maui Tomorrow Foundation.

The four waterways – the Waikapu, ‘Iao and Waiehu Streams and the Waihe’e River – are perennial streams that traditionally supported a native aquatic ecosystem and the largest continuous area of taro production in the Hawaiian Islands.

The groundwater of the ‘Iao Aquifer, which underlies much of four waters area, serves as the principal source of drinking water for Maui.

But large-scale diversions by sugar plantations have drained the streams dry for over a century and continue unchecked despite the modern decline of the sugar industry.

According to the ruling, water use from now on will be allowed only by commission permit.

“For too long, a few companies have treated Na Wai ‘Eha stream flows as their private property, while public instream uses have gone ignored,” said John Duey, longtime resident of the ‘Iao Valley and president of Hui o Na Wai ‘Eha.

“Now the Water Commission will be able to monitor and regulate water uses and ensure they are truly in the public interest,” he said.

While present users of the four waterways have a one year window to apply for “existing uses,” by law those uses are not grandfathered in.

During the commission’s multi-step process extending over a year, numerous parties expressed their strong support for state control, including the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, and the former and present mayors and water directors, and the entire County Council of the County of Maui.

“We’re proud to be a part of this collective effort to achieve the first-ever designation of streams for public management,” said Irene Bowie, executive director of Maui Tomorrow. “Hopefully this will lead to similar progress for the many other streams and communities statewide needing proper stewardship.”

The decision to designate Na Wai ‘Eha is the first time the state has designated streams as a water management area. Previous designations have concerned only groundwater.

“Designation is a critical step in public management of the precious waters of Na Wai ‘Eha,” said Isaac Moriwake, an attorney with Earthjustice. “But it is only an initial step. We must remain vigilant to ensure that the many community members living in these valleys are empowered to have their water needs recognized, and that the precious waters of Na Wai ‘Eha are used justly for the benefit of all the people, not just a handful of private interests.”

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HONOLULU, Hawaii, February 20, 2008 (ENS) – Today, community group Malama Makua asked the U.S. District Court for the District of Hawaii to order the U.S. Army to move quickly to expand cultural access to Native Hawaiian sites at Makua Military Reservation on Oahu.

This access is required under the October 4, 2001 settlement that resolved Malama Makua’s lawsuit challenging the Army’s failure to prepare an environmental impact statement for training at Makua.

Instead of clearing unexploded ordnance to open new sites to cultural access, as the settlement requires, the Army has, since February 2005, used the possible presence of unexploded ordnance as an excuse to eliminate nearly all access.

After years of fruitless negotiations with the Army, Malama Makua is seeking the court’s assistance to compel the Army to keep the promises it made when it voluntarily entered into the settlement.

“By denying access, the Army is denying our right to practice our religion,” explained Malama Makua president Sparky Rodrigues. “To connect with our ancestors, ‘aumakua [family gods] and akua [gods], we have to be able to walk up to cultural sites, oli [chant] and present ho’okupu [offerings]. That’s why, when we settled the case in 2001, we insisted that the Army agree to give us access to cultural sites and promptly remove unexploded ordnance to expand our opportunities for access.”

“Instead of honoring its word, the Army has tried to keep us out, locking the door to our church,” said Rodrigues.

Makua, which means “parents” in Hawaiian, is a sacred area, rich in cultural resources. Over 100 Native Hawaiian cultural sites have been identified at in the Makua Valley, including heiau [Hawaiian temples], ahu [altars], burials and petroglyphs.

For over three years, from the settlement’s entry on October 4, 2001 until February 27, 2005, the Army allowed Malama Makua and others access to over a dozen cultural sites, without incident.

Then, claiming unexploded ordnance posed a safety threat, the Army suddenly cut off access to all but a single site.

The Army has been slow to clear ordnance to allow access to resume, reopening only three sites for the first time on February 9, 2008, after three years of closure.

The other nine sites to which cultural practitioners formerly had access remain off-limits, and the Army has refused to commit to a schedule for their reopening.

“In the six years since the settlement was entered, the Army has failed to open access to a single new site at Makua,” said Earthjustice attorney David Henkin, who represents Malama Makua. “Instead, it has moved in the opposite direction, barring cultural practitioners from sites they had visited for years. The Army’s delay violates both the letter and the spirit of its agreement.”

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