Plans by the U.S. Navy and NASA to extend their leases for more than 8,100 acres on Kaua‘i are up in the air.
In August, the Navy and NASA concurrently submitted a final environmental impact statement for a proposed 25-year extension of their respective leases of the Pacific Missile Range Facility and the Kōke‘e Park Geophysical Observatory on Kaua‘i.
However, on Thursday, the Department of Land and Natural Resources announced that the Navy and NASA have withdrawn that statement, requiring them to start their environmental documentation process over.
A letter by Rear Admiral Rich Jarrett, Navy Region Hawai‘i commander, and Denise Thaller, administrator of NASA’s Office of Strategic Infrastructure, only said their agencies have “elected to undertake additional review and refinement of the environmental documentation before pursuing further state review.”
“The Navy and NASA remain committed to continued coordination with DLNR and to providing the [Board of Land and Natural Resources] with environmental documentation that supports an informed review of the proposed real estate action,” the letter concluded.
The BLNR had a deadline to accept the final EIS by the end of September. However, the impacts of Hurricane Lowell on Kaua‘i caused DLNR to suspend that deadline to allow Kaua‘i residents additional time to participate in the public comment period.
With the Navy and NASA rescinding their final EIS, that deadline is now moot. Should the two agencies choose to continue the environmental documentation process, the DLNR announced that they will be required to submit a new draft EIS first, compliant with all state filing requirements, including a new public-comment period, a process that will likely take months to years.
The existing leases and easements the Navy and NASA have for the lands will expire between 2027 and 2030.
DLNR First Deputy Director Dave Day said the DLNR believes the agencies’ decision to be “in the best interest of the people of Hawai‘i.”
“Whether a person agrees or disagrees with this particular project, the Navy and NASA’s decision to withdraw the FEIS and potentially work to address concerns demonstrates respect for Hawaiʻi law and a responsiveness by federal agencies to the views of the people of Hawaiʻi who made their voices heard,” Day said.
The project has been controversial. Public meetings held on Kaua‘i last year saw dozens of Kaua‘i residents criticize the PMRF and accuse it of diverting water from vulnerable wetlands.
The decision to suspend the environmental documentation process would seem to continue a trend of U.S. military lease extensions stalling in the state. In May 2025, the BLNR rejected a proposal by the U.S. Army to extend its lease for the Pōhakuloa Training Area on Hawai‘i Island, which is set to expire in 2029.
And earlier this week, the Honolulu Star-Advertiser reported that the Army has proposed terminating its leases for the Kawailoa-Poamoho Training Area and the Mākua Military Reservation on O‘ahu, and parts of its leases for Pōhakuloa and the Kahuku Training Area.
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