An update on past news
Wednesday, January 15, 1997
Wednesday, January 15, 1997
Q: What ever happened to Navy plans to clear Kahoolawe of all unexploded ordnance? Navy seeking firm
for Kahoolawe workA: The Navy issued a formal request for proposals last month from private contractors for cleaning up Kahoolawe.
Congress has authorized up to $400 million to clean up and restore the 45-square-mile island, used as a practice target for a half-century.
When the Navy returned control of Kahoolawe to the state on May 7, 1994, it was agreed the Navy would continue to control access to the island until the year 2003, or until all unexploded ordnance had been removed, whichever came first.
The Navy had used the island as a target site for Navy gunners since 1941.
President Bush had suspended use of the island for target practice in 1990, amid protests by environmentalists and Hawaiian native-rights advocates.
At the same time, he asked the state to set up a joint commission to study the island's future. Hawaiian activists - citing environmental and historic-preservation concerns - had been seeking to end Navy target practice on Kahoolawe since the mid-1970s.
The 1994 Defense Funding Bill as signed by President Clinton formally transferred control of uninhabited Kahoolawe to the state, and an initial $60 million was set aside for clearing of unexploded ordnance.