Water commission appointee takes seat over advocates’ objections

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – Gov. Josh Green’s two key appointees to the state water commission officially started work Thursday.
The appointments have brought new attention to the debate over whether taro farmers and affordable housing are in competition for water.
Retired state historic protection and cultural expert Hinano Rodrigues was only appointed by the governor to the state Commission on Water Resource Management two days ago.
He took his seat Thursday over the protests of environmentalists.
Rodrigues looked on from Maui via Zoom as Wayne Tanaka, Sierra Club of Hawaii president, reminded the commission that the governor ignored a letter from 70 organizations and community leaders supporting other candidates.
“I think it’s unfortunate that your tenure has already been a little tarnished,” Tanaka said.
Because advocates believe the process the governor used to appoint Rodrigues violated the water code, Tanaka said Rodrigues should consider turning down the unpaid position.
“If it were for me in that position, I think the honorable thing to do would be to decline it in light of what the law says and in light of what the community has asked for,” he said.
Hokuao Pellegrino, president of Hui o Na Wai Eha, a central Maui coalition of advocates and farmers, was among those who signed the letter to the governor.
“This seat is really critical to someone who has in-depth knowledge and wisdom and proven leadership in the role of traditional and Native Hawaiian water management,” Pellegrino said.
Rodrigues intends to stay, and he will be working alongside former deputy attorney general Ciara Kahahane, who was confirmed at the meeting to replace former water commission executive Kaleo Manuel.
A favorite of stream restoration advocates, Manuel was reassigned by order of the attorney general after a false claim he withheld water needed to fight wildfires.
“I am confident that I will become an expert in water law and on the technical side as well,” Kahahane said after being asked how she will fill the gaps in her experience in water management.
Advocates worry the governor’s appointments will bias the commission away from the mandate for traditional users, because the governor argues they are blocking new housing development.
He repeated that in an interview with Hawaii News Now Wednesday.
“They will not be happy unless they have a singular position to restore all the water for the streams,” he said. “But I have to try to help people get their homes back also, so I have to have a compromise.”
But Water Commission and Land Board Chair Dawn Chang didn’t seem to share that opinion.
“I don’t think that there is a conflict between affordable housing and traditional customary practices,” Chang said in an interview. “I think there’s just we just need to look at how do we manage the allocation of water.”
She said the emphasis needs to be on conservation, building reservoirs and systems to recycle wastewater for irrigation. She also said water may have to be directed away from some current users that aren’t as high a priority as environment restoration and traditional agriculture.
“Golf courses, gentlemen farms. I think there we are all going to have to revisit the question of what’s an appropriate allocation for those kind of uses,” she said.
Rodrigues will not face confirmation hearings in the state Senate until at least January. The governor said people should give him a chance to show his ability as a commissioner to bring people together.

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