Ag department
rejects new hearing
on modified algae

The Hawaii Department of Agriculture has denied a request for an administrative hearing filed by citizens trying to block imports of genetically modified algae to a taxpayer-financed facility on the Big Island.

The department denied the request by Na Maka o Hawaii Nei, which consists of several advocacy organizations, saying that only the applicant for a permit from the Department of Agriculture can request such a hearing if a permit is denied.

The opponents filed their request in July after the Board of Agriculture granted Mera Pharmaceuticals Inc. the right to import and grow genetically engineered algae at the state's Natural Energy Laboratory of Hawaii Authority on the Kona coast.

Henry Curtis, executive director of Life of the Land, called the department's decision "unprecedented." Curtis said aggrieved citizens typically can contest decisions of state agencies through administrative hearings.

Generally, Curtis said, when a department rejects a request for such a hearing, it is because the agency finds that the opponents lack standing as aggrieved parties under Hawaii law.

"This is the first time I've heard an agency say that no one (other than the permit applicant) has standing," said Curtis, whose organization is among the groups that requested the hearing.

In a letter to the citizens group, Sandra Lee Kunimoto, chairwoman of the Board of Agriculture, acknowledged that "other state agency rules may provide opportunity for (a) hearing to a broader range of persons who disagree with agency decisions."

But, she said, the regulations governing the Department of Agriculture "do not reflect such intention."

Mera is working with Rincon Pharmaceuticals of San Diego to conduct tests on algae that has been genetically altered to produce experimental drugs meant to treat illnesses. The permit also allows Mera to grow the algae in closed outdoor containers at the facility. The project has emerged as a flash point of controversy, with policymakers and business leaders pushing to make Hawaii a center for biotechnology research and development, and environmentalists and native Hawaiian activists seeking to protect the state's ecosystem.

In a separate action, several activist groups sued earlier this month in state Circuit Court in Kona, alleging that the Board of Agriculture failed to follow state laws that required an environmental assessment before the department granted the permit to Mera. That suit is pending.

"Genetically engineered algae has never been grown at this level anywhere in the world and the (opponents are) concerned that a potential escape of the microscopic spores could cause extensive harm to our fragile ecosystem," said Kat Brady, who filed the request for the administrative hearing. "This is a great concern since the state currently spends $47 million a year on eradication of invasive species."