KAILUA-KONA — The Department of Land and Natural Resources will no longer pursue increased moorings at Keauhou Bay after considering public input on the proposal.
KAILUA-KONA — The Department of Land and Natural Resources will no longer pursue increased moorings at Keauhou Bay after considering public input on the proposal.
The decision to select the “no-action” option in a draft Environmental Assessment for the proposed Keauhou Bay Offshore Moorings project, which would have replaced nine existing offshore moorings with up to 16 new offshore moorings, was announced Friday, catching some users off-guard.
Alex Dant, whose family owns the Fairwinds II cruise boat in Keauhou, said he was shocked and not completely trusting in DLNR’s sudden turnaround.
“It sounds good so far, but it’s weird after what seemed like years of Groundhog Day; it felt like we weren’t going to get anywhere,” Dant said. “It sounds like the right people heard us.”
Dant said he and others are hopeful they can still bring their moorings up to standard and get them permitted. The lack of permitting and engineering for existing moorings was cited by DLNR as a major reason for pursuing the replacement and expansion of the bay’s nine moorings.
“All of the bay users strongly opposed it, it’s a safety issue, the whole bit,” said Milton Sylwester, a member of the Keauhou Canoe Club. “I’m glad DLNR said enough of this, it’s over.”
Kona Rep. Nicole Lowen also expressed relief that the voices of those opposed to crowding the bay with moorings have been been heard.
“We need to find other solutions to provide more boat storage, but cluttering up every bay and harbor in the state with expensive and environmentally risky moorings is not the answer,” she said.
DLNR said it made the decision after receiving feedback from the community. DLNR/DOBOR concluded that adding more moorings in the bay would not provide sufficient community benefit.
“After hearing from many people about this proposal as well as personal site visits by DLNR and DOBOR leadership to review the situation, I am confident that it is in the best interest of all users of Keauhou Bay that we not add additional moorings” said DLNR Chair Suzanne Case.
While the draft EA found that there would be no significant environmental impacts from the project or any of its proposed alternatives, DLNR decided not to pursue the project due to community concerns over public safety and congestion. These included added user traffic in the bay; impacts to cultural practices such as outrigger canoe paddling and traditional subsistence fishing; and the overall cost of the project to state taxpayers, DLNR said in a prepared statement issued Friday.
DOBOR will file the “no-action” option outlined in the draft EA with the Hawaii Office of Environmental Quality Control this week.