Digging will begin later this month in Waimea to search for unexploded military ordinance.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers since 2002 has removed more than 2,700 unexploded munitions from the area around the former Waikoloa Maneuver Area, a 185,000-acre area which was used for live-fire exercises during World War II.
For the last nine months, the Corps of Engineers has been conducting scans in and around Waimea to determine whether any further munitions or other debris are located in the area.
At a meeting of the Waimea Community Association last week, Loren Zulick, the Corps of Engineers’ program manager for the former WMA, said that the next phase of the project’s survey will begin this month when the Corps begins “intrusive investigations.”
“This whole amount of time has actually been us collecting data and trying to make interpretations and identify areas that need to be investigated further,” Zulick said.
So far, Zulick said none of the surveys have detected any “munitions and explosives of concern” at the surface level within the survey area, which is about 4,480 acres including undeveloped and developed lots in and around Waimea. However, there are some targets of interest within the project area that will require digging to access.
During the Waimea Community Association meeting, Zulick acknowledged that the project has raised concerns among residents, some of whom are frustrated the Corps of Engineers is re-checking areas that already have been scanned.
But, Zulick explained, while the Corps has cleaned up much of Waimea — as well as about 29,000 acres of the WMA — those cleanups were only to reduce risk to public health. Further surveys, like the ongoing one in Waimea, are necessary to fully remove all detritus from the WMA.
“We know there’s going to be munitions left behind even in the work that we do right now, with the best technology that we’ve got,” Zulick said, adding that a re-check of a rural parcel immediately south of town uncovered seven buried hand grenades and a 60-mm mortar.
Zulick also quelled rumors that the Corps of Engineers places liens on the properties of those who refuse access to surveyors. Property owners are well within their rights to refuse access, he said, adding that the Corps will repeat its request periodically, but nothing more.
The Corps of Engineers will complete its fieldwork in Waimea by the end of the year, with a final report to be released around spring 2023.
Email Michael Brestovansky at mbrestovansky@hawaiitribune-herald.com.