The U.S. Army Hawaii conducts training at various installations on the island of Oʻahu to meet its mission of readiness. The U.S. Government leases approximately 6,322 acres of land from the State of Hawaiʻi consisting of portions of Kahuku Training Area (KTA) and Makua Military Reservation (MMR), and all of Kawailoa-Poamoho Training Area (Poamoho). 

KTA, Poamoho, and MMR are comprised of approximately 18,000 acres of U.S. Government and State-owned lands. The Army’s authority to use the State-owned lands is through leases which were initiated in 1964 to support mission-critical training capabilities, training facilities, operations, access, and other essential military training and logistics services. The 65-year leases of the State-owned lands expire in 2029.

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Much of the leased lands supplement U.S. Government-controlled training land   by providing maneuver area and key training features that complement larger training activities that take place on U.S. Government-controlled lands. Other portions of the leased lands allow for access within and between U.S. Government-controlled training lands, access to public rights-of-way, or buffer zones between Army and non-Army land uses.

Loss of these lands would impact the Army’s and other military services’ ability to train in Hawai‘i and prepare for mission readiness, and these areas include important facilities and infrastructure for ground maneuver and aviation training.
 

Proposed Action

The Army proposes to retain up to approximately 6,322 acres of land the Army currently leases from the State of Hawai‘i at KTA, Poamoho, and MMR. The Army would retain the State-owned lands prior to expiration of the current lease to ensure training is not interrupted. Following retention of the State-owned lands, Army would continue to conduct current levels and types of military training; facility, utility and infrastructure maintenance and repair activities; and natural and cultural resources stewardship and mitigation on the State-owned lands. The Army also would continue to permit and coordinate training and other activities on the State-owned lands by other military services and the public. The Proposed Action does not involve new training, construction, or resource management activities. Instead, it is a real estate action that would enable continued military use of the State-owned lands. 

The EIS does not consider future live-fire activities as part of its training program because the Army is no longer pursuing the continuation of live-fire training activities at MMR.
 

Purpose and Need

The purpose of the Proposed action is to enable U.S. Army Hawaii to secure the long-term military use of State-owned lands within KTA, Poamoho, and MMR. 

The Proposed action is needed to allow the Army to continue to meet ongoing military training and combat readiness requirements on Army-managed lands in Hawai‘i. The Army seeks to retain appropriate training/support facilities, infrastructure, buffer lands, and access to these features, which enable ground maneuver and aviation training.

The Draft EIS evaluates the potential impacts of a range of reasonable alternatives: 1) Full Retention, 2) Modified Retention, and 3) Minimum Retention (MMR only). The table below shows the amount of acres of State-owned land that would be retained at each training area under the different action alternatives. The No Action Alternative (no retention of State-owned lands after 2029) is also analyzed. The Army’s preferred alternative at each of the three training areas is Alternative 2: Modified Retention. 

Acreage of State-Owned Lands Retained under each Action Alternative

Alternatives

KTA (acres)

Poamoho (acres)

MMR (acres)

Total (acres)

Alternative 1: Full Retention

1,150

4,390

782

6,322

Alternative 2: Modified Retention

450

3,170

572

4,192

Alternative 3: Minimum Retention

N/A

N/A

162

162

Note: Land retention under Alternative 3 applies only to MMR. There is no Alternative 3 for KTA or Poamoho.

 

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