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Navy wants
ordnance cleanup
goals reassessed

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By Gary T. Kubota
Maui correspondent

WAILUKU -- The U.S. Navy has reduced its estimate on the extent of ordnance clearing it will do on the target island of Kahoolawe through 2003 and is asking the state to develop a priority list for the clearing based on the new estimate.

The Navy initially estimated it would be able to clear 100 percent of the surface ordnance on the 28,600-acre island and 30 percent of Kahoolawe's subsurface as deep as 4 feet.

Lt. Cmdr. Paul Borkowski said that, based on information obtained through more than a year of work on the island, the Navy may be able to achieve 62 percent of its original goal.

He said that while the Navy continues to hope to reach its initial goal, it has asked the state Kahoolawe Island Reserve Commission to present a list of priorities in the event the new projections are correct.

During a regular commission meeting last night, the Navy and the commission discussed developing a new schedule of work.

Borkowski said the commission's priority list is being reviewed by the contractor, Parsons-UXB Joint Venture.

Kahoolawe has been designated as a cultural preserve by the state.

Congress has authorized up to $400 million to be spent on the cleanup and restoration by 2003.

About $179 million has been released for the work. The Navy expects an additional $150 million to be authorized by Congress to last through 2003, when the Kahoolawe work is to end.

About 2,400 acres of land on Kahoolawe have been cleared of surface and subsurface ordnance, the Navy said. Borkowski said the Navy doesn't know the location of the ordnance and is supervising a cleanup with a number of unknown variables.

"It's more like a moon shot," he said.

Keoni Fairbanks, the commission's executive director, said one of the commission's top priorities is to assess the presence of ordnance on the entire island and to clear Kahoolawe of all surface ordnance.

Fairbanks said another priority of the commission is a road across the island to enable future cleanup of ordnance on a small scale once the Navy has left.