KAHANA – The Kahana Bay Erosion Mitigation Project is moving forward, with the Environmental Impact Statement Preparation Notice (EISPN) published in the state Office of Environmental Quality Control’s March 8 issue of “The Environmental Notice.”

According to the EISPN, “Kahana Bay has undergone both chronic and episodic coastal erosion, which has caused shoreline recession, beach narrowing, reduction in coastal access, and increased risk of natural hazards to oceanfront resources, buildings, infrastructure, and amenities. Analysis of historical aerial images indicates that Kahana Bay shoreline recedes at an average rate of about one foot per year (Fletcher et al., 2003).”

The purpose of the project is to devise a regional approach to provide erosion mitigation at Kahana Bay.

Kahana Bay Steering Committee (KBSC), the applicant, represents nine oceanfront condominiums and one kuleana parcel along the Kahana Bay coastline threatened by shoreline erosion.

In consultation with the County of Maui Planning Department, KBSC plans to restore, rehabilitate and preserve the sandy beach along Kahana Bay by nourishing it with 50,000-100,000 cubic yards of sand transported from previously identified offshore areas.

The plan also envisions building structures that extend from the shoreline seaward to retain the nourished sand and stabilize the beach.

The beach nourishment project would widen the existing beach by 35 to 150 feet (approximately 50 feet average width).

This additional sand would provide an erosion buffer by absorbing and dissipating wave energy while enlarging the amount of dry beach area available for use by the public.

The projected cost of the Kahana Bay Erosion Mitigation Project is $8,000,000, and the construction period is projected to occur in the late summer or fall of 2020.

“The Environmental Notice” and a link to the Environmental Impact Statement Preparation Notice are available at health.hawaii.gov/oeqc/.

Comments are due by April 8, 2019, addressed to the approving agency – The Department of Land and Natural Resources, State of Hawaii, Samuel Lemmo, Administrator, Office of Conservation and Coastal Lands (OCCL) – and preferably submitted via e-mail to kahana@oceanit.com.

Permits and approvals required for the project include a Conservation District Use Permit, Clean Water Act Section 401 Water Quality Certification, Department of the Army Permit Section 10 and Section 404, Coastal Zone Management Act Consistency Determination, County Special Management Area Use Permit, and County Shoreline Setback Approval or Variance.