Kaua‘i to get millions in federal funding

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Sen. Brian Schatz announced on Tuesday that he secured $394 million in new congressional directed spending, known commonly as earmarks, in the first half of this year’s government funding bill.

Additional earmark funding for the state of Hawai‘i is expected to be included in the second half of the funding deal, which is scheduled to be announced on March 22.

“We are bringing home nearly $400 million in new earmark funding and expect more to come,” said Schatz, the chair and senior member of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development. “These earmarks will give local nonprofits and projects more resources to serve communities across Hawai‘i.”

Working with congressional leaders, including Sen. Mazie Hirono and Rep. Jill Tokuda, Schatz ensured that Hawai‘i received its fair share of money.

Some of the earmark funding for Kaua‘i include:

• $3.3 million for the County of Kaua‘i to support the Kaua‘i War Memorial Convention Hall;

• $900,000 for the state of Hawai‘i and Kaua‘i County to construct an educational center at the Kawai‘ele State Waterbird Sanctuary;

• $1.6 million for the Kaua‘i County Housing Agency to support engineering and design of infrastructure to enable Kilauea Affordable Housing Subdivision;

• $1.4 million for the Kaua‘i County Housing Agency to support engineering and construction documents for the Waimea 400 affordable housing subdivision;

• $1.8 million for the Kaua‘i County Housing Agency to support engineering and construction documents for a new wastewater treatment plant;

• $3.2 million for the state of Hawai‘i and Kaua‘i County to support design and construction of a roadway, sidewalks and bike lanes for Kukui Street and Olohena Road;

• $1.3 million for the Kaua‘i Island Utility Cooperative to support refurbishment of a steam turbine generator into a low-energy synchronous condenser to facilitate grid integration of renewable energy, improve system safety and reduce overall energy costs;

• $500,000 for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Kaua‘i to support modifications to the Waimea levee structure that would strengthen it to withstand increasing risks from extreme weather;

• $2.5 million for the Hawai‘i Department of Land and Natural Resources, Division of Forestry and Wildlife (Maui and Kaua‘i) to support mosquito suppression through the Birds, Not Mosquitoes project, including production and release of mosquitoes on Maui and Kaua‘i;

• $344,000 for the National Tropical Botanical Garden, Kaua‘i to support the fern propagation lab to collect, grow and outplant endangered ferns, and allow for facility improvements.