HHLRA Land Settlement

Section 203 of the Hawaiian Home Lands Recovery Act of 1995, provides for the settlement of federal claims through the exchange and transfer of federal lands for the United States' continued retention of lands initially designated as available lands under the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act, 1920, as amended. This page provides the background and status of implementing the settlement.

Background

The 1995 Hawaiian Home Lands Recovery Act (HHLRA) provides, in part, for the settlement of claims against the United States through the exchange and transfer of Federal lands for the United States' continued retention of lands initially designated as available lands under the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act, 1920, as amended, and for the lost use of such lands.

On August 31, 1998, the United States, by the Secretary of the U.S. Department of the Interior, and the State of Hawai‘i, by its Governor and Department of Hawaiian Home Lands (DHHL), by the Chairman of the Hawaiian Homes Commission, executed a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) which, in part, identified the Federal lands the parties agreed to exchange and transfer towards satisfying the HHLRA settlement.

In 2000, the United States and DHHL entered into a Letter of Agreement (LOA) as provided in the MOA with respect to the Waipahū FCC Monitoring Site which was not conveyed by the August 31, 2000 deadline, thus resulting in a $16.9 million credit (in August 1998 dollars) to DHHL.

In a 2011 letter from the U.S. Navy the DHHL, the U.S. Navy advised DHHL that despite its remediation efforts, the Hālawa Laundry site could not be made suitable for residential use and conveyance to DHHL would include restrictions on its use. The DHHL responded to the Navy on August 2, 2011, acknowledged the letter and proposed replacing the Hālawa site with an additional credit. To date, no additional modification to the MOA has been executed.

Process

In cooperation with the GSA and State of Hawaiʻi, on May 12, 2020, the Department formalized the process for reviewing proposed federal land transfers to the Hawaiian Home Lands Trust.

Status

The Federal lands agreed upon and their respective conveyance status are summarized in the table below.

**Federal Lands Identified in the MOA to Settle Claims**
Conveyance Status
Date	Parcel	Island	Acres	Status
Mar. 1999	Mānana Housing	O‘ahu	20	Completed
Jul. 1999	Omega Station - Ha‘ikū	O‘ahu	167	147 acres conveyed; 20 acres remain
Apr. 2000	‘Upolu Point	Hawai‘i	38	Completed
Dec. 2002	Barbers Point Raceway	O‘ahu	16	Completed
Jul. 2008	Kalaeloa - Former BPNAS	O‘ahu	586	Completed
Oct. 2008	Lualualei Buffer	O‘ahu	27	Completed
Jul. 2009	‘Ewa Drum	O‘ahu	56	Completed
N/A	Waipahū FCC Monitoring Site	O‘ahu	47	LOA provided $16.9 million credit in lieu of transfer. In June 2021, credit reduced to $6.9 million with transfer of the Former Pacific Tsunami Warning Center site.
June 2021	Former Pacific Tsunami Warning Center Site	O‘ahu	80	Reduced Waipahū FCC Monitoring site credit by $10 million
N/A	Hālawa Laundry	O‘ahu	3	To be determined. Navy notified DHHL land contaminated and not suitable for residential use. 1997 appraised value $1.82 million sought by State.