The Hamakua Soil and Water Conservation District voted Tuesday to rescind the conservation plan for Big Island Dairy and others that weren’t signed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service.
The Hamakua Soil and Water Conservation District voted Tuesday to rescind the conservation plan for Big Island Dairy and others that weren’t signed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service.
The move prevents the Ookala dairy from grubbing and grading, and other actions covered by the document, on its 2,500-acre farm until the district’s board approves a revised version. That new plan is under review by the state Historic Preservation Division, and that process could take one to three months, said board chairman Doug Beaton.
“As far as grubbing and grading goes, they have to stop,” said board member Troy Keolanui.
Board members said they couldn’t go into other specifics of the conservation plan or didn’t have the information. Keolanui said other actions covered by the document might already have been implemented.
Brian Duff, dairy manager, didn’t return a request for comment by press time Tuesday.
NRCS staff declined to provide the Tribune-Herald with a copy of the plan, citing privacy concerns. A records request is pending.
The plans are intended to help farmers or other land owners manage their resources and prevent soil erosion from impacting nearby properties.
Since the dairy had a conservation plan, it was exempted from receiving a grubbing and grading permit from Hawaii County.
The dairy’s farming practices have been a major issue for Ookala residents after mud and manure from the dairy flooded their homes last September during a storm. Residents also complained about manure-laden water in nearby streams. A lawsuit filed by some of the dairy’s neighbors is pending.
The state Department of Health fined the dairy $25,000 in May for discharging wastewater into a stream.
But it’s not the only one impacted by the soil and water conservation district’s decision. At least seven, but possibly as many as 20, plans that are several years old might not have been signed by NRCS staff and face cancellation, staff said during the meeting.
Board members noted that the issues occurred under a previous board and former NRCS staff members, who assist the volunteer board.
Beaton and Keolanui said they are asking for the plans to be signed by NRCS staff because they provide them with engineering and other expertise.
“NRCS is the engineering might of what we do,” Keolanui said. “We need these guys, we need their expertise.”
Asked if there were any other deficiencies with the dairy’s plan, board members said they didn’t know.
The Public Works Department cited the dairy in January for a grading and drainage violation after NRCS notified it that the plan wasn’t up to its standards, according to the department. As a result, the grubbing and grading exemption was removed, though the citation only applied to one parcel bordering Highway 19, not the entire dairy.
The citation says: “… we were informed the approved plans were not planned to NRCS standards, with several practices listed that were not being implemented.” No fines were issued.
Public Works spokesman Barret Otani said the agency didn’t have specifics on the NRCS violations.
Kori Hisashima, NRCS district conservationist, declined to comment.
Duff told the Tribune-Herald last month that the dairy planted grass in that area to prevent erosion. It no longer is planting corn at that location, which it uses for cattle feed.
“On our side, we’re relying on whatever guidelines (NRCS) gives us,” he said then regarding the new plan.
Otani said the department also doesn’t have a copy of the conservation plan and couldn’t get one from NRCS. He said the dairy offered to provide the old and revised plans once the new document is approved.
Email Tom Callis at tcallis@hawaiitribune-herald.com.