Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 28, Number 4, 1 April 2011 — Sections reopen ot Ka'ena Point State Park [ARTICLE]

Sections reopen ot Ka'ena Point State Park

The Department of Land and Natural Resources on Feb. 28 announced the end of temporary area closures at Mākua Beach and the Keawa'ula section of Ka'ena Point State Park. The closures allowed the U.S. Army Garri-son-Hawai'i to address potential munitions hazards resulting from past military training activities there. DLNR and the Department of Heahh have cooperated with the Army on its Military Munitions Response Program efforts. During the fieldwork, no unexploded ordnance was found in the public-use areas of either Mākua Beach or Keawa'ula, DLNR said in a news release. However, the Army found one unexploded ordnance, a World War II-era 4.2-ineh mortar body, in a remote and inaccessible location inland fromKeawa'ula, the

release said. The item did not have a fuse and was transported to Schofield Barracks for proper disposal by the Army's Explosive Ordnance Disposal team, the 303rd Ordnance Battalion. The military trained intermittently between 1930 and 1990 at Mākua Beach and Keawa'ula. Portions of these areas were cleared in the past, but the Army reviewed the sites with advanced technologieal equipment to help determine if further environmental restoration is needed. A report with recommendations is slated to be released in the fall.