Loko Ea (2016)
Article Written By: Katrina Valcourt What is it? "Loko Ea is a 400-year-old fishpond and continues to be a cultural and educational learning center for our keiki and their families," says Rae DeCoiti, executive director of Malama Loko Ea Foundation, a steward of the pond since 2009. North Shore Outdoor Circle president Kerry Germain says the pond, which is home to many native species, was once the summer retreat of Queen Liliuokalani. What threatens it? Next to the pond, the space formerly occupied by a Chevron station, there are plans to build a retail complex called the Shops at Anahulu. Germain says the organization's primary concern is that it blocks the view of Loko Ea Pond from Kamehameha Highway (in violation of the Haleiwa Special District Land Use Ordinance) and eliminates the open space on the banks of the pond. "Malama Loko Ea Foundation and [landowner] Kamehameha Schools are working to restore the fishpond to be working aquaculture resource providing edible food, so the concerns for protecting water quality are obvious,"she says. It's not clear how the developers, Lokea Kai Partners LLC, will deal with possible runoff and their as-yet-unapproved septic system, though they have said it goes beyond the minimum safety requirements. In additions, Germain says Chevron was required to clean up the contaminated soil but submitted a report to the health department in July stating some of the contamination still remains. What can be done? As of September, Germain said a number of permits were still needed before the project could be undertaken, including: a construction plan approval, a building permit, a sewer connection permit and a street-usage permit. The organization is advocating for a conservation easement that would still provide revenue to [...]