WAILUKU — The public will have an opportunity to weigh in on a plan to remove unexploded ordnance from a World War II bombing range on Molokai’s Kalaupapa peninsula.
WAILUKU — The public will have an opportunity to weigh in on a plan to remove unexploded ordnance from a World War II bombing range on Molokai’s Kalaupapa peninsula.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is finalizing a proposed munitions cleanup plan for the 937-acre site, which the military used for aerial bombing, rockets and gunnery practice from 1942 to 1945, The Maui News reported.
The public will have 30 days to comment after the plan is presented next month during public meetings on Molokai.
The cleanup would likely be completed within five years, officials said. It’s not clear when the cleanup would begin, depending on community input and availability of federal funding. More than 70 sites in Hawaii are being considered for munitions cleanup.
The corps completed an initial site inspection at Kalaupapa in 2009, when munitions and explosives were found. The corps returned to the peninsula last year to do a more comprehensive six-week remedial investigation. Crews evaluated possible target areas, used instruments to detect unexploded bombs and removed ordnance found at the surface.
Kalaupapa is home to a handful of Hansen’s disease patients and some threatened or endangered species, including the Blackburn’s sphinx moths, Newell’s shearwater, Hawaiian petrel and Hawaiian hoary bat. Because of Kalaupapa’s cultural and natural resources, the corps employed a qualified archaeologist and biologist to ensure there’s minimal impact to sensitive resources, said Joseph Bonfiglio, spokesman for the Army Corps of Engineers Honolulu District.
“Hawaii is one of the most beautiful places in the world. However, many people forget or do not realize there is still a risk from unexploded ordnance in certain areas, especially in former defense sites,” he said in an email.