Documents Library (Source: https://dlnr.hawaii.gov/occl/kaanapali/)
Executive Summary Kāʻanapali Beach Restoration Project
Fact Sheet After Beach Nourishment
Fact Sheet Beach Change
Fact Sheet Beaches & Biology
Fact Sheet Benefits of Beach Nourishment
Fact Sheet Sand Quality
Draft EIS Draft EIS (published Aug 23)
Press Release Notice of Informational Briefing Sept 24

Maui News Article (Source: https://www.mauinews.com/news/local-news/2020/09/sand-renourishment-meeting-for-kaanapali-beach-set-for-sept-24/)
An informational meeting on the proposed Kaanapali Beach restoration and berm enhancement project that involves bringing to shore 75,000 cubic yards of sand will be held via Zoom at 2 p.m. Sept. 24.

The webinar link is https://zoom.us/j/91922314975.

Kaanapali Beach has been negatively impacted by chronic and extreme seasonal erosion over the past four decades. Sand loss is expected to continue and even accelerate with sea level rise, the state Department of Land and Natural Resources said Tuesday in its news release announcing the meeting.

The DLNR Office of Conservation and Coastal Lands will be holding the informational meeting on the sand replenishment project developed by the state and the Ka’anapali Operations Association Inc. Restoration is proposed for the section of beach between Hanakao’o Beach Park and Hanaka’o’o Point, and berm enhancement is proposed for the beach between Hanaka’o’o Point and Pu’u Keka’a.

A draft environmental impact statement was published Aug. 23 with the triggers being the use of state land and funds and land in a conservation district and in a shoreline area. The comment period is open until Oct. 7.

Since 1990, the Ka’anapali Ali’i, Sheraton Maui Resort & Spa and Ka’anapali Beach Hotel have been threatened by erosion events. Beach walks have been damaged and removed and acres of vegetation and trees swallowed up by the sea, the draft EIS said.

Mitigation efforts have included the use of sandbags, sand mattresses and steel road plates. Plans for beach enhancement began in 2006.

The draft EIS says that berm enhancement would raise the elevation of the dry beach by 3.5 feet. The approximately 75,000 cubic yards of sand needed for the proposed project would be recovered from an 8.5-acre sand deposit, located approximately 150 feet offshore of Pu’u Keka’a in 28 to 56 feet water depth.
The proposed sand recovery method consists of a moored crane barge equipped with a clamshell bucket, the draft EIS said. Barges would rotate between the sand deposit and two off-loading sites, where the barges would be moored to an elevated trestle or floating bridge to shore. The sand would be transferred to shore along the trestle or bridge system.


Land-based equipment would transfer sand from the shoreline to the placement area to be spread along the shore and berm enhancement areas, the draft EIS said.


The work is expected to take two months between October and December 2021, the draft EIS said. The cost is estimated at between $9 million and $13 million.
For more information on the meeting, contact the Office of Conservation and Coastal Lands at (808) 342-1922.


The accepting authority for the draft EIS is Gov. David Ige. Comments may be sent to Governor, State of Hawaii; Executive Chambers, State Capitol, 415 S. Beretania St., Honolulu, 96813, or through https://governor.hawaii.gov/contact-us/contact-the-governor. Ige can be reached at (808) 586-0034.

Copies also should be sent the proposing agency and the consultant. Comments can be sent to proposing agency the Department of Land and Natural Resources, State of Hawaii, and Sam Lemmo by email at sam.j.lemmo@hawaii.gov or mail at 1151 Punchbowl St., Honolulu 96813. Lemmo can be reached at (808) 587-0377.
The consultant is Sea Engineering Inc. Comments may be mailed to Christopher Conger at Makai Research Pier, 41-305 Kalanianaole Highway, Waimanalo 96795 or emailed to cconger@seaengineering.com. Conger can be reached at (808) 259-7966.
​* Lee Imada can be reached at leeimada@mauinews.com.

DOT must explain road priorities
​July 8, 2016( Honolulu Star Advertiser)

The state Department of Transportation (DOT) needs to explain the abrupt U-turn it made in deciding to ditch long-awaited highway construction projects under its “Capacity Program” and focus instead on maintaining existing roadways.
Citing the lack of a steady revenue stream, DOT Highways Division Deputy Director Ed Sniffen said he could not justify adding new roads if the department can’t sustain the current system. And while that might turn out to be a reasonable route, DOT’s announcement rightly shocked many legislators, who approved an infusion of $37 million to the DOT budget in the just-ended session.
The deferral of major highway projects was certainly news to motorists, many of whom have waited years for expansions and improvements to relieve congestion in areas including Puna and Kaneohe.
While DOT insists it presented this information numerous times during testimony before legislative committees and at public meetings, there was a palpable sense of surprise among even lawmakers.
One legislator went so far as to describe the department’s new direction as “blackmail.” Rep. Joy San Buenaventura, who represents Puna residents, said: “This is extortion, I don’t see it any other way. … They’ve never talked about this huge disparity before until now, and I think this is payback.”
When Gov. David Ige’s administration pushed for an increase in the state’s gas tax, registration fee and weight tax this past session, there was little warning to the public that major highway construction projects would fall by the wayside if the increases weren’t approved. Ige’s proposals would have generated an extra $70 million a year for highway improvements.
Among the projects now deferred is one to enlarge Highway 130 on Hawaii island between Pahoa and Keaau. That project is not a luxury, but a necessity for safety since some 30,000 people rely on that roadway, which bottlenecks to one lane in each direction.
It’s disturbing that, according to San Buenaventura, the DOT implied in a discussion that if she didn’t vote in favor of the tax and fee increases, the Highway 130 project would be deferred.
Even more troubling is the department’s feeble attempt to inform the public of the ramifications if the DOT measures failed.
Other projects in peril include the $251 million H-1 Freeway eastbound widening from Waiawa to Halawa, and the $66 million Kahekili Highway widening from Haiku Road to Kamehameha Highway. Kauai’s $583 million Kuhio Highway improvements from Hanama- ulu to Kapaa and portions of Maui’s $234 million Honoapi-ilani Highway realignment, or Lahaina Bypass, also are on the deferred list.
Sniffen explained that the state must commit about 90 percent of the Highway Division’s annual $300 million to system preservation and safety improvements, leaving only 10 percent, or $30 million, for projects that would increase capacity. That renders the Capacity Program of proposed expansions nonexistent, Sniffen said — a troubling situation since that information was not fully presented to the public before the Legislature wrapped up in May.
DOT officials have rightly come under fire in recent years for taking far too long to spend down its federal highway dollars. DOT’s poor management of those funds forced the Federal Highway Administration in 2014 to warn the state that unless it spent the money more quickly, it would lose federal highway funds.
Six years ago the state had $940 million in unspent federal highway dollars, but DOT brought that figure down to $540 million by the end of May. While that’s progress, the state’s inability to take full advantage of those funds and expand the roadway system in areas that desperately need relief is a disappointment.
It is frustrating that the state now finds itself at this juncture — with hundreds of millions of dollars of projects in limbo, some of which could be delayed for decades.
House Finance Chairwoman Sylvia Luke is skeptical of DOT’s reasons for deferring such a long list of projects, especially with additional $37 million alloted.
“It’s kind of troubling and puzzling that DOT is now pointing to the failure of the tax bill … to delay the projects,” Luke said. “That cannot be right. There has to be another reason.”
It’s yet unclear whether DOT is holding these projects hostage to strengthen its position heading into next session, when the Ige administration is expected to reintroduce the tax- increase measures. What is clear is that the public would benefit from promised road relief, as well as more straightforward information from its DOT.