Big Island residents are encouraged to provide feedback for a proposed new facility for the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory at the University of Hilo campus.
Currently, the U.S. Geological Survey’s HVO is stationed in temporary offices at the Hilo Iron Works building after its previous facility — located within the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park — was critically damaged during the 2018 Kilauea eruption.
Since the eruption, plans have been underway for a new 60,000-square foot facility located at the intersection of Komohana Street and Nowelo Street in Hilo, on a 6.8-acre parcel adjacent to UH-Hilo. On Thursday, the Hawaii Office of Planning and Sustainable Development published a draft environmental assessment for the project that anticipated that the new facility will not have any substantial environmental impact.
According to that assessment, the proposed plan would build a three-story research facility containing laboratories, offices and an observation deck for both HVO staff and staff of the Pacific Island Ecosystems Research Center, another USGS division. Between the two divisions, the facility will support about 100 staff and volunteers.
In addition to the facility, the project also includes a warehouse and a parking lot serving the facility. The assessment does not specify the number of parking stalls to be built.
The project site is located on state land leased by UH, but would be made available to USGS under an agreement with the university.
Although the assessment did not identify any traditional Native Hawaiian sites on the property, archaeological inspections determined that the property was once used as a World War II-era military training ground, with some traces of that usage still identifiable, including several “foxholes” constructed of stacked rocks, and the foundation for an anti-aircraft gun emplacement.
While the State Historic Preservation Division has not recommended any further preservation for those WWII training features outside of documentation work completed in 2006, the assessment states that the project will attempt to avoid those features as much as possible.
Beyond that, the assessment identified some endangered species which might reside or travel near the area, including the Hawaiian hoary bat and the Hawaiian hawk. To mitigate impacts on those species, no vegetation over a certain height will be cleared during the bats’ breeding season, and biologists will confirm that no hawks are nesting in the area before that clearing.
USGS will host an open house on March 15 from 5-7 p.m. at the Hilo Iron Works building to present more information about the project and answer questions from the public. A 30-day public comment period will run until March 28.
The draft environmental assessment can be viewed at tinyurl.com/2p9akfp3. Comments can be sent to USGS-Hilo-HVO-PIERC@hhf.com.
Email Michael Brestovansky at mbrestovansky@hawaiitribune-herald.com.