Kalalau Valley, the poster child of Kaua‘i’s visitor industry and wilderness recreation, is expected to temporarily close by the beginning of September.
The state Department of Land and Natural Resources Division of Parks is planning major rockfall mitigation work on the south end of Kalalau Beach, which will require the entire valley to be closed for at least two months.
“We’re going to be well out of there after the first week of November,” said Tobias Koehler, environmental planner for AECom, the company contracted to oversee the project.
Koehler appeared last week before the county Planning Commission to request a permit for the project. He said there’s a need for maintenance work on about 5.8 acres of a steep cliff fronting Kalalau Beach near Ho‘ole‘a Falls.
A number of incidents involving falling rocks in that area, including a serious one in 2007, created a public safety issue, he said.
“Because of heavy use, rockfall hazard analysis was conducted for this area,” Koehler said.
The state has closed several areas in Kalalau, but campers continued to use those areas, vandalizing or removing signage indicating hazards and closed areas. So the state decided to move forward with the mitigation project, Koehler said.
“If this project doesn’t happen, the State Parks is going to be faced with closing Na Pali Coast,” Koehler said.
Rock extraction
Koehler explained in detail the process which will likely be utilized to remove loose rocks from the cliff.
A geotextile matting will be set out on the beach alongside the base of the cliff. In the waterfall area, pipes will divert the water flow, allowing for a geotextile matting to be laid out there too.
Workers will then suspend themselves from the top of the cliff, and using crowbars they’ll hammer out rocks that appear to be less than 50 percent attached to the cliff’s face.
Rocks will fall mostly on top of the geotextile matting, which will help sort out the fallen rocks.
Finally, a helicopter will carry the rocks inside baskets to a nearby and permanent location.
Another concern involves two massive blocks that are apparently slowly detaching from the cliff’s face. Conservative estimates measure the blocks at approximately 230 and 1,250 cubic yards each.
Koehler said there are cracks so wide that it’s possible to stick an arm inside of them.
The idea is to insert air bags into those cracks, and then pump them until the blocks detach from the face of the cliff.
“There’s no way for us to tell whether the full volume of the whole block will come down,” Koehler said.
Closure
The Army Corps requires the work to be done in the summer months, when the beach is at its widest point, said Koehler, explaining that there will be less probability of interfering with turtles and monk seals.
By fall the beach will be around 400-plus-feet wide, he said.
“The chances of impacting with the ocean are basically zero, and our plan is to be done and out of there before any kind of real winter swells start to take the beach away,” he said.
The project is scheduled to start Sept. 7 and be completed early in November. The entire Kalalau Beach will be closed during those two months.
Koehler said the contractor will not allow anybody other than their staff or state parks employees in the work area.
“The trail will be closed at a certain area,” he said. “Stragglers will be turned around.”
Extension
Resident Kurt Bosshard said his primary concern was that the state’s representation estimated the closure to last for only 60 days.
“It isn’t going to happen,” he said.
Bosshard said by the end of the project they’re going to say they re-aggravated the problem, or on further review figured out the area is so dangerous that the entire valley needs to be closed permanently.
“The work they’re doing is on the far end of the valley, yet they’re going to close the entire valley,” Bosshard said.
Koehler said the contractor will have to be out of the beach by the end of October. On the waterfall side, they are scheduled to finish the project within the first week of November.
When pressed to say the worst-case scenario, Koehler said if the project wasn’t finished they would have to abandon it temporarily, close that portion of Kalalau Beach, and be back after April 30, 2011 to finish the job.
Maintenance
“This is essentially a maintenance activity,” Koehler said.
Bosshard said it is hard to take the state seriously regarding maintenance in Kalalau valley because they seemingly do “absolutely nothing” there.
The toilets are not maintained and pose a health risk, Bosshard said. The trail is a hazard up to the very end and the goats continue to cause further erosion.
Bosshard said the rocks will continue to be a hazard, and could possibly fall on somebody one day.
“Ultimately, what they want to do is to close Kalalau Valley because they can’t even maintain the toilets,” Bosshard said.
Enforcement
After long-time Kaua‘i resident Rodney Ahn died in Kalalau last February, a DLNR employee said there had been no enforcement in the valley for at least five months prior to his death.
In March, the DLNR increased camping fees.
The DLNR employee, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said officers catch rides with boat tour companies during the summer. In the winter, when the surf is usually high, they have their hands tied because there are no funds to hire a helicopter.
Following Ahn’s death, DLNR officers went to Kalalau, and as many as 40 illegal camping citations were issued, according to DLNR Information Specialist Deborah Ward.
Cost and conditions
Koehler said the state has already allocated $800,000 for the project. AECom has received several bids in the range of $600,000, and most bidders said they could finish the job in 60 days, he said.
Bosshard said the money should be used to maintain the trail instead.
“The valley is a mess,” he said. “It’s because of the lack of concern of the state about the condition of the valley.”
The commission approved the project with conditions.
The applicant must submit before-and-after pictures of the project upon completion.
The project must be finished within two years of the commission’s approval.
If historical resources or human remains are found, the project has to cease until figuring out additional protection against disturbance of the findings.
Any lights must be shielded and faced downward to minimize adverse impact to Newell’s shearwaters and other seabirds.
The applicant must also comply with recommendations from other agencies.
A status report must be submitted by Oct. 1, roughly halfway through the project.
Visit www.kauai.gov for more information.
• Léo Azambuja, staff writer, can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 252) or lazambuja@kauaipubco.com.
