Residents support
plan to clean valley
Army plans to clear ordnance in
Waikane are overdue, many say
A proposal to clear ordnance from Waikane Valley is years late but better than nothing, several residents said last night at an Army Corps of Engineers presentation.
"I thank God with all that crap they got up there that nobody got killed," said Henry Roberts, a Waiahole resident who owns land in the valley. "I think the government better make up and do what's right. Clean it up."
The corps has offered to clean up 874 acres in the valley, which was used from 1954 to 1976 for jungle and assault training. Most of the area is undeveloped, but the valley does have a few agricultural and residential plots.
Some three dozen community members turned out for last night's meeting at Waiahole Elementary School, which included information on a $1 million engineering evaluation of the valley that will determine how dangerous the project site is and what can be done to clean it up.
Windward Oahu residents have long pushed for a cleanup of the area, and many who attended last night's session said the job should have been started sooner.
"I think it's great but they're many years too late," said Waikane resident Pat Saizon. "The families are old. They've gone through a lot of hurt."
Army Corps of Engineers project manager Chuck Streck agreed the valley should have been dealt with years ago.
"I look at it as better late than never," he said. "Now we can finally do something, so let's try to do the best we can with what we've got."
Some residents also expressed concern that the cleanup does not include 187 acres in the valley that the Marine Corps labeled unsafe to use as a training area last year because there were too many unexploded devices.
Streck said the Marine Corps' acreage was not included in the cleanup because his program only deals with areas that were out of government hands by 1986 or earlier.
Zapata Engineering Inc. has been hired to conduct the assessment of the valley, a process that is expected to take at least a year. The company's general manager, Eric Brundage, said crews will scope the valley on foot and with underground detection equipment to determine the amount of ordnance left in the area.
He said mortar and bazooka rounds, practice bombs and rifle grenades were all known to have been used in the valley.
Streck also asked residents last night to volunteer for a restoration advisory board, which will work with the Army on the cleanup and provide information on possible areas of heavy ordnance and likely future uses of the valley. Those interested in applying to the board can contact Streck at 438-6934 or Chuck.F.Streck@poh01.usace. army.mil.
www.poh.usace.army.mil
