MEDIA RELEASE

Future OCCC layout.

Honolulu – The State of Hawaiʻi has completed its review of the Final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the relocation of the O‘ahu Community Correctional Center (OCCC). The Department of Accounting and General Services (DAGS) and the Department of Public Safety (PSD) submitted the EIS to the state on July 8, 2018.

Gov. David Ige and the Office of Environmental Quality Control (OEQC) accepted the EIS on Aug. 23, 2018, as satisfactory fulfillment of the requirements of Chapter 343, Hawai‘i Revised Statutes.

Today, Gov. David Ige confirmed that the Animal Quarantine Station site will be the home of the new OCCC facility.

“The existing jail at Dillingham and Puʻuhale is severely overcrowded and in disrepair. Building a new correctional facility is one of my top priorities. Moving OCCC to Halawa is also a tremendous opportunity to reposition Kalihi for the future, when the land along the rail route will be used for new economic development, affordable housing, and open spaces as envisioned by the community,” said Gov. David Ige.

“Replacing OCCC with a modern facility has been a goal of the department for over a decade,” said PSD Director Nolan P. Espinda, “and we have never been closer to achieving that goal than we are today. OCCC is severely outdated and overcrowded and because of this, the possibility of federal oversight is always looming over us. A new OCCC would help us house the current population while providing the critical program space and resources necessary to help inmates successfully return to their communities.”

“DAGS appreciates all the hard work that has gone into this process over the past several years,” added DAGS Comptroller Roderick Becker. “Based on the many technical studies, and with the involvement of elected officials, stakeholders and the public, PSD and DAGS are confident that the Animal Quarantine Station site is the best choice for the future home of OCCC.”

Gov. Ige looks forward to working with the Hawaiʻi State Legislature to identify the funding and project delivery strategies necessary to continue advancing this essential project. Once funding is appropriated, the design and construction process for the new OCCC facility will begin in full.

The state will also continue to:

• Seek approvals for regulatory permits
• Assist with planning for the Department of Agriculture’s new, relocated Animal Quarantine Station
• Assist with the design and construction of expanded Women’s Community Correctional Center housing in Kailua — to prepare the facility for receiving women who will be relocated from OCCC.

To view the Acceptance of the Final EIS for OCCC go to the OEQC’s Environmental Notice publication: http://oeqc2.doh.hawaii.gov/The_Environmental_Notice/2018-08-23-TEN.pdf

Additional information concerning the OCCC project is available at: http://dps.hawaii.gov/occc-future-plans.

Renderings of the OCCC project site