Some Maui Residents Concerned About Lack of Public Input, Environmental Impact Studies On Mala Boat Ramp Dredging Project
LAHAINA, Hawaii — A dredging project to remove sediment and debris from the Mala Historic Wharf boat ramp began on March 31. Some residents, however, are unhappy with the perceived lack of transparency surrounding the dredging project. When the boat ramp was last dredged in September 2017, the Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR) sought public input from the community, as opposed to the recent dredging underway.
Brittany Ziegler, creator of the DiveDiveLive social media channels that specialize in underwater live streams and issues surrounding environmental stewardship, reached out to HawaiiLocal.News via email on behalf of concerned Maui residents.
“Despite the project’s scale and impact, there has been no documented effort to involve the local community, gather feedback, or conduct public consultations,” Ziegler said. “This contrasts with previous dredging initiatives at Mala and Lahaina Harbor, where public engagement was a critical part of the planning process.”
According to available scientific literature, the effects of dredging on marine life are mixed and largely dependent on the specific area in which the dredging is taking place. The practice, when done hastily and recklessly, has the potential to cause more problems than when it is carried out carefully and with thorough planning.
A study published in the ICES Journal of Marine Science explains that “indirect effects [of dredging] can be positive or negative, but are most likely highly species-specific, so it is unclear how effects from dredging influence various marine organisms.”
Dan Dennison, Communications Director for DLNR, explained that the dredging of the Mala boat ramp was a necessary undertaking not subject to the normal processes involving public input and environmental impact studies.
“The DLNR Division of Boating and Ocean Recreation (DOBOR) did an Environmental Assessment exemption for the project and it obtained the required permit from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for the project prior to starting,” he said. “This is a routine DOBOR activity that’s conducted approximately every seven years, so no community consultation was done for this specific project. The boating community and area legislators have been very supportive of this project and have been asking for a year and half for it to be completed since DOBOR received [Capital Improvement Program] funds from the legislature.”
The dredging was contracted to American Marine Corporation and is expected to be completed in September this year, costing a little over $1 million.
HawaiiLocal.News is still awaiting more feedback from marine scientists qualified to comment on the Mala boat ramp dredging specifically.
Dr. Steven Colbert, Chair and Associate Professor of Marine Science at the University of Hawaii – Hilo, relayed his experiences with the much-needed dredging at the Wailoa River boat ramp on the Big Island.
“Hilo Bay is already so modified, that the ecosystem impacts of the dredging were less of a concern,” Colbert said. “So much sediment washes down the rivers with storms, that the sediment stirred up by dredging wasn’t much different. For us, the community was asking to get the dredging done ASAP – the state wasn’t acting fast enough.”
This is a developing story. Updates on the potential environmental impacts related to the Mala boat ramp dredging will be posted here as soon as HawaiiLocal.News has more information.
– HawaiiLocal.News