WAILUA — State Department of Land and Natural Resources agents suggested Kaua‘i residents Waldeen Palmeira, Ka‘iulani Edens and Liko Martin call police over concerns about a 20- foot-long, four-foot-deep trench makai of Kuhio Highway near Wailua Beach. So they did,
WAILUA — State Department of Land and Natural Resources agents suggested Kaua‘i residents Waldeen Palmeira, Ka‘iulani Edens and Liko Martin call police over concerns about a 20- foot-long, four-foot-deep trench makai of Kuhio Highway near Wailua Beach. So they did, filing a Kaua‘i Police Department complaint around 10:45 a.m. Wednesday, claiming desecration and obstruction of due process, part of an ongoing battle to prevent construction of roads and paths over and around Wailua Beach. They said they are lineal descendants who are certain the county coastal path along the beach will yield human remains during the construction process. The trio also said on both sides of Wailua River not enough investigation and consultation has been done into how many remains remain, and where they might be located.
“These areas are important for our cultural survival,” Palmeira said.
The proposed coastal-path construction area falls smack in the middle of a known Hawaiian burial area so immense that it has its own name, Mahunapu‘uone, which means “hidden sand dunes,” she said.
“This is where our ali‘i foundation is, for Kaua‘i and the Hawaiian kingdom,” she said, through the end of Queen Lili‘uokalani’s reign. Palmeira has gone to state district court to argue a lawsuit against the state Department of Transportation and others for allegedly not respecting federal and state laws requiring consultation with Native Hawaiian lineal descendants required whenever such construction projects are planned.
The state DOT prevailed in that court case and continues to stand by earlier statements that all necessary permits are in place and that all pertinent federal, state and county laws are being obeyed (see related story).
“It is also important to note that on top of satisfying all federal, state and local requirements and permits — as part of the contract — this project includes archaeological monitors that are on-site whenever excavation takes place,” said Tammy Mori, state DOT spokeswoman.
The Federal Highway Administration has failed to identify the historical properties and cultural importance of the area, Palmeira said.
Pat Phung of FHWA said Wednesday that any media requests for comment had to be directed to the Washington, D.C. office. There was no formal FHWA response by press time.
Edens said “obfuscation” is against the law. The confusion is being caused by mixing federal funds for a state project that also has county components and various private contractors involved so that, she said, no one knows who’s in charge.
She called for work to be halted “until we find out who’s in charge.” Crews from Bow Construction Management, Unlimited Construction and Ka‘iwa Construction were present at the job site Wednesday morning.
Edens said later Wednesday that a meeting has been planned for today, and that pouring of the concrete for the retaining wall could happen as early as Friday.
An archaeologist monitoring the work knows the process for shutting down the job and alerting state authorities should any human remains be discovered.
