Section 1 Short title
This bill may be cited as the “Leandra Wai Act”.
Leandra Wai Act
A BILL
To direct the Secretary of Defense to convey the Mākua Military Reservation to the State of Hawai‘i and establish a trust fund for such conveyance, and for other purposes.
Sec. 2 Findings
Congress finds the following:
Leandra Wai was a co-founder of the Native Hawaiian-led non-profit Mālama Mākua, served as its president, and grounded the organization as its cultural practitioner until her passing in 2016. She embodied the cultural healing power of Mākua Valley, and was the heart, soul, and spirit of Mālama Mākua as the organization fought in Federal court to stop live-fire training in the sacred valley. Twice per month, from 2002 until shortly before her passing, Wai led cultural access into Mākua Valley, facilitating the cultural reconnection of thousands of community members with Mākua. Her leadership still guides Mālama Mākua.
Mākua, which means “parents” in Hawaiian, is a sacred site, rich in culture and biological resources.
Mākua Military Reservation (in this section referred to as “MMR”) contains more than 100 sites eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places, including Hawaiian temples, shrines, petroglyphs, and other sacred, cultural, and historic sites. Past military live-fire training has damaged Mākua’s cultural sites, bombing them and pockmarking them with bullet holes. Moreover, continued military occupation of MMR severely limits access by Native Hawaiian cultural practitioners.
In Native Hawaiian stories and legends, or “mo‘olelo”, Mākua is an important place within a much more expansive traditional cultural landscape and network of interrelated sites. It has heightened cultural significance because of its relationship to other sites.
Military training-related fires at MMR threaten more than 40 species of animals and plants protected under the Endangered Species Act (Public Law 93–205; 16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.), as well as native habitat identified as critical to the survival and recovery of these imperiled species. Additionally, training-related fires have burned thousands of acres at MMR.
Historically, Mākua was considered “‘āina momona”, or fertile land, with evidence of extensive agricultural terracing that could have produced substantial amounts of food and provided access to important offshore fisheries.
Traditional and customary practices, such as fishing, gathering of plants, and funerary practices, have continued at Mākua in different forms to the present.
Toxins from military training and related activities at MMR, such as prescribed burns, contaminate Mākua’s air, land, and water. Contaminants are transported to civilian areas beyond MMR’s boundaries—to Mākua Beach and the ocean—via the air, Mākua’s streams, overland flow during storm events, and groundwater.
The Armed Forces seized Mākua for training shortly after the attack on Pearl Harbor, evicting the families who had lived there for generations, bombing their church, and destroying their homes. The Armed Forces promised to return the land to the local families six months after the end of hostilities but broke that promise. Nearly eight decades after World War II ended, the Armed Forces still occupy MMR.
In addition to seizing Hawaiian trust lands, the Armed Forces condemned kuleana land grants from Native Hawaiian families.
MMR lies just across Farrington Highway, a public roadway, from Mākua Beach, a public beach where local children play, and local families gather fish and limu to put food on their tables.
The Armed Forces have not conducted live fire training at MMR since June 2004. For more than 23 years, Hawai‘i-based military units have consistently and repeatedly been able to achieve readiness to deploy for combat missions without conducting any live-fire training at MMR.
The Wai‘anae district is home to one of the largest concentrations of Native Hawaiians anywhere, yet approximately one-third of Wai‘anae’s land is occupied by the Armed Forces. The community has been burdened with multiple threats to health, safety, and the environment, which is reflected in poor health and socioeconomic indicators.
Mākua is an important site for the revitalization of Native Hawaiian cultural practices and a valuable educational resource for Hawaiian culture, history, ecology, and environmental restoration.
Sec. 3 Study of the cost to make the Mākua Military Reservation suitable for human habitation
Study required— The Secretary of Defense shall, in collaboration with the State of Hawai‘i, conduct a study to—
map out land hazards including—
unexploded ordnance; and
other contaminants;
determine an appropriate schedule, consistent with community standards, for the removal of such land hazards; and
provide a cost estimate for the land remediation and restoration activities required to make the Mākua Military Reservation suitable for agriculture, residential use, and human habitation.
Report required— Not later than one year following the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary, in collaboration with the State of Hawai‘i, shall submit a report to the appropriate congressional committees that contains the results of such study.
Sec. 4 Conveyance of the Mākua Military Reservation to the State of Hawai‘i
Conveyance— The United States, through the Secretary of Defense, shall convey and return, without consideration, to the State of Hawai‘i, all right, title, and interest of the United States in and to that parcel of property known as the Mākua Military Reservation located in Oahu, Hawai‘i.
Deadline— Notwithstanding section 120(h)(3)(A)(ii)(I) of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. 9620(h)(3)(A)(ii)(I)), the Secretary shall carry out the conveyance under subsection (a) of this section not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act.
Description of property— The exact acreage and legal description of the parcel of property to be conveyed under this Act shall be determined by a survey that is satisfactory to the State of Hawai‘i after consultation with the Secretary.
Report on conveyance— Not later than 180 days after the conveyance under this Act, and annually thereafter, the Secretary shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees a report on the compliance with the provisions of this Act.
Sec. 5 Mākua Military Reservation conveyance, remediation, and environmental restoration trust fund
Establishment of trust fund— There is established in the Treasury of the United States a trust fund that shall be known as the “Mākua Military Reservation Conveyance, Remediation, and Environmental Restoration Trust Fund” (in this section referred to as the “Fund”), consisting of such sums as may be appropriated or credited to the Fund as provided in this section.
Transfer to the Fund—
Appropriations— There are authorized to be appropriated to the Fund such sums as may be necessary—
to make the Mākua Military Reservation suitable for agriculture, residential use, and human habitation, including any remedial actions under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. 9620 et seq.); and
to carry out this Act.
Investment yield— There shall be deposited into the Fund any returns yielded from the investment of the sums appropriated to the Fund under paragraph (1) of this subsection.
Expenditures from the Fund— Amounts in the Fund shall be made available pursuant to the terms of the Memorandum of Understanding under subsection (d).
Memorandum of Understanding—
In general— Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the Army, acting through the Chief of Engineers, shall enter into a Memorandum of Understanding with the State of Hawai‘i that shall govern—
the study required under section 3(a);
the conveyance required under section 4(a);
the timing, planning, methodology, and implementation for the removal of—
unexploded ordnance; and
other contaminants; and
the use of the sums appropriated to the Fund under subsection (b)(1).
Consultation— In carrying out paragraph (1), with respect to the terms and conditions included in the Memorandum of Understanding pursuant to paragraph (1)(C), the Secretary of the Army shall consult with Native Hawaiian organizations.
Access to site— Nothing in the Memorandum of Understanding may restrict access to the Mākua Military Reservation pursuant to paragraph 13 of the settlement agreement and stipulated order of the United States District Court for the District of Hawai‘i executed on October 4, 2001 (Civil No. 00–00813 SOM–LEK).
Sec. 6 Definitions
In this Act:
The term “appropriate congressional committees” means the Committees on Armed Services of the Senate and House of Representatives.
The term “Native Hawaiian organization” has the meaning given such term—
in section 6207 of the Native Hawaiian Education Act (20 U.S.C. 7517); or
in section 300314 of title 54, United States Code.
The term “other contaminants” includes—
improved conventional munitions;
munitions waste;
medical waste; and
other hazardous materials introduced to the Mākua Military Reservation by the Secretary of Defense.