MEDIA RELEASE

A letter of permission has been issued by the Department of the Army, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Honolulu District authorizing the Department of Land & Natural Resources (DLNR), Division of Boating & Outdoor Recreation to commence work on the Kawaihae Small Boat Harbor (South) Phase I Improvements.

The project will consist of a new 8-foot wide 445-foot long floating dock held in place by 17 concrete piles, each 16-1/2 inches in diameter.

In addition, a 47-foot long access ramp, gangway, and 25 mooring blocks with mooring buoys which will provide 25 berthing stalls for light draft vessels to “Tahiti moor” to the floating dock. Once completed the needs of boaters in the North Hawaii community will be greatly enhanced.

Rep. Cindy Evans said: “The issues raised by the resource agencies of the federal government took more time than usual. I’m grateful for agreement on the mitigation of impacts to the marine environment. The full use of South Kawaihae Small Boat Harbor is long overdue.”

Sen. Malama Solomon said, “I am pleased that we will now be moving forward with the much needed improvements to the Kawaihae Small Boat Harbor (South). These improvements have been long-awaited by the North Hawaii community and will greatly enhance the safety and capacity of our harbor.”

DLNR, Division of Boating and Ocean Resources, Administrator Ed Underwood said: “We are pleased to see this project moving forward. This new, modern facility will be a great improvement over the existing structure, which is in need of extensive repairs.”

The project is expected to begin in summer 2013.