Column: Relocate Ewa’s Pu‘uloa firing range

CRAIG T. KOJIMA / 2019

Signs warn people of the nearby firing range at Pu‘uloa Beach Park in Ewa.

COURTESY PHOTO

Alexander Gaos

The need to relocate the Pu‘uloa Range Training Facility (PRTF) from its current location in the center of a residential community in Ewa Beach, to a more remote part of Oahu is well overdue. This past week the state House of Representatives unanimously passed House Resolution 104, which requests relocation of all live-fire training and aviation activities away from the PRTF.

The Ewa Neighborhood Board No. 23 also unanimously approved an identical resolution in late March. HR 104 represents the culmination of decades of community complaints and injustices that have reached a boiling point.

Negative impacts start with extreme noise pollution, which got worse in the early 2010s when PRTF was expanded to incorporate training previously undertaken at other ranges. In addition to incessant shooting that can literally go from sunup to sundown, PRTF uses a thunderous loudspeaker to coordinate live-fire drills that is often broadcasting orders well before sunrise. Hundreds of residences surround the range, some as close as 50 meters. Imagine being one of those residents and trying to work from home, or care for a young infant, or deal with PTSD, while the equivalent of a fireworks show is going off at your neighbor’s house.

Perhaps more importantly, a recent study revealed toxic lead contamination levels 17 times higher than the state safety standard in the soils surrounding the PRFT berms. The lead from shooting ranges commonly leaches into local substrates and water bodies, while also becoming airborne with local winds. The PRFT berms are located directly on the beach and adjacent to Pu‘uloa Beach Park — thus lead presents a direct threat to thousands of community members who utilize the park, as well as local wildlife, including endangered monk seals and sea turtles. No amount of mitigation can eliminate this threat.

Furthermore, stray bullets from the range represent lethal threats to the community, and to airplanes using the Honolulu International Airport as flight paths are directly above the range’s line of fire. All it would take is one mistaken lifting of a rifle muzzle to coincide with a plane’s flight path to lead to a major catastrophe. According to current Federal Aviation Administration airspace regulations, the PRTF could not legally be built in its current location, and a similar range proposed for Guam was rejected in 2013 for having similar conditions.

Other issues abound: The expansion of the range in 2011 cut off an important tsunami evacuation route, leaving only a single exit route for the entire community. The expansion also cut off a bus route that once connected Ewa Beach with the community at Kapilina Beach Homes. The range also prohibits Oahu residents from using the shoreline and waters fronting the range for recreation, eliminating significant recreational and cultural opportunities.

The Ewa Beach community recognizes the importance of military readiness and views the relocation of the range as an opportunity to improve readiness. PRTF is old, dilapidated and outdated, so a new or renovated range in another area with the latest technologies would improve training opportunities.

PRTF was built in the early 1900s when the area was remote, but that is no longer the case. Currently, Ewa Beach is the fastest growing area of the state and the range’s current location is simply not compatible with the surrounding community. Relocating PRFT also represents an important step to limit injustices to a portion of Oahu that has traditionally been marginalized, thus promoting equity across our island home.

Despite the passage of HR 104, the resolution is not legally binding, so action is needed by our political leaders to turn the resolution’s recommendations into action.

Alexander R. Gaos, Ph.D., is a member of Ewa Neighborhood Board No. 23.

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