POLL: Should the ZBlocks Stay or Be Removed

[Shaka Doug]

POLL: Should the ZBlocks Stay or Be Removed

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Aloha Friends and Ohana,

I'm creating this poll to gather information on how you all feel about the Z lock artificial reef disaster here on Maui. If you are not familiar with the story, here is the short version;

We have an existing artificial reef (old car dump) that is about 45 years old about 1/2 mile off Keawakapu Beach in S Kihei, Maui. The depth averages between 60 and 100 feet or so. It was successfully enhanced in the early 1990's with a couple thousand tire tube structures (8-10 tires in a bed of concrete). In 1997 a shipwreck was added, it's called the St. Anthony. There are tons of fish and marine life is abundant. Coral growth is noticeable but not particularly lush by any means.

Nov 30 the HI State Dept of Land and Natural Resources contracted a barge to drop another 1500 concrete structures in the area to make the artifical reef bigger and better. They were reckless with the drop and essentially missed their target zone and instead dropped 80 or more large Z Blocks right on top of a thriving nursery reef in about 45-50 of water. The rest of the blocks are just strewn about the sandy bottom of the ocean and no real structure was assembled or constructed. Esentially the sea floor is simply littered with huge pieces of smooth cement. Because of the circumstances the DLNR has initiated a full investigation into what, why, how, who, etc. This investigation is scheduled to be completed by the end of March 2010 (a full 4 months after the incident!). No one really wants to accept the blame here and there has been a lot of finger pointing and a lot of wasted time.

For more info, please see these two threads on the subject:


http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/hawaii-ohana/314484-mauis-artificial-reef-expanded.html

http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/hawaii-ohana/316299-two-independent-federal-investigations-keawakapu-z-block-damage.html

The debate we are having is should we leave the blocks there or get them off the reef? There seem to be many different opinions. Please post your answers in the POLL above.

 

[kidspot]

I say leave them - more damage would be done by their removal whereas leaving them put the reef will cement them to the existing structure.

Maybe add more to those out in the sand that are 'strewn' so as to make an actual structure with them ... no clue why they would disperse them when they are meant to be interlocking in some kind of structure. The ones in the sand I assume will simply be buried soon enough - not sure if recovery or addition is more cost efficient though.

Aloha, Tim

 

[Shaka Doug]

The cement slabs at the other original artificial reef zone are not even close to being buried Tim. They just sit there on the bottom looking like MOOP! (Matter Out Of Place) In my mind, MOOP is the same thing as TRASH. Their smooth texture does not promote strong coral adhesion or growth. This is clear to see, just go have a look with your own eyes, no need to be a marine biologist to come to a conclusion. This is a mistake, they need to fix it. If no one complains or makes any noise they will just try to forget about it. As a CORA operator, who is being required to go to a cultural awareness program in a couple of weeks as part of my standards for being CORA, it is my duty to say something. As a steward of the reef ecosystem I plan on making noise about this. I could use some help! There is still time to save this reef. It had 80+ two ton blocks dropped on it's collective head. It's not dead yet but it could use a little TLC and FIRST AID. I say "Take them off and put them where they belong."

Imagine this, you are the barge company. They come to you and say, "hey, build us an artificial reef on the bottom of the sea and use these 1,500 pieces of cement we had specially constructed for the project. We'll pay you a lot of money!"

That would be quite a task if they actually tried to BUILD with these things. (You try to build something with these Z blocks and cubes...it's not exactly legos or an erector set. I did construction for many years and I would have a hard time figuring out how to "Build" with this material. You could stack them on top of each other but other than that there's no way to fasten them together into a structure.) Instead they just dropped them off the barge as fast as they could (reported as up 10 or 12 a minute) to get the job over and cash the check. How easy is that? It's the bottom of the ocean? Who's gonna see it anyway??

They have attachment rings on them so it wouldn't be that hard to raise them ten feet with some lift bags, float them to the side and lower them in the sand. I'll do it for $150K, give me a couple of weeks and it will all be off the reef. That should be a lot less than the fine that would be assessed if this was a private company that did this!

 

[DA Aquamaster]

With rings attached, it would be fairly easy to lift them with a large pillow bag. Just rig the bag so that it is about 10-15' under water and inflate it with surfaced supplied air, tow it where you want to place it (marked with bouy) and have divers in the water do the final positioning and bag deflation to lower the block.

It I had a contract like that, I would have probably dropped the blocks off the barge in the sand near/on the site where the construction would take place, then move them into positon with lift bags. Time intensive though and expensive when you have divers in the water for days on end...

Just my opinon, but I am missing the advantages of using large smooth blocks in the first place. In many respects, it makes more sense to just use large irregular rip rap piled on the bottom as it provides small spaces for small critters to hide until coral growth begins to take over. It just needs to be piled high enough to keep it out of the sand.

 

[Lisianski]

Here are some excerpts from some documentation that was recently sent to me re: the Keawakapu reef project. The most intersesting item is the discussion on the expiring Army Corps of Engineers permit.

The Keawakapu Artificial Reef project started in the early 1960’s. Here is a brief description of the project taken from a 1998 DLNR Division of Aquatic Resources publication:

The Keawakapu Artificial Reef is located on a flat sandy bottom on the south side of Maui. It is one of 5 artificial reefs in the State. First established in 1962, one hundred-fifty car bodies were dropped to a depth of 80 to 85 feet creating the beginnings of the artificial reef. Fish recruited to the area but over time, the car bodies disintegrated and the remains were covered by sand. In January 1989, the Keawakapu Artificial Reef was re-established with 922 concrete modules and 35 concrete "table" shelters dropped to a depth of 60 to 70 feet on the sandy bottom. In February 1990, another 1,170 concrete-tire modules were added to this area.

No additional work had been done on the reef up until the November 30, 2009 “Z-block“ dump” – some 20 years later.

A search of the Hawaii Office of Environmental Quality’s (keeper of all Hawaii state EA and EIS documents) website and the web in general revealed no evidence that that an EA or an Environmental Impact Statement was ever prepared for Keawakapu Artificial Reef project. If one has been prepared – it most likely would have had to have been done sometime between 1976 and 1990 – over 20 years ago. You can go to the this OEQC internet page and type in “artificial reef” in the search box.

oeqc.doh.hawaii.gov/Shared%20Documents/Forms/AllItems.aspx?RootFolder=%2fShared%20Documents%2fEA%5fand%5fEIS%5fOnline%5fLibrary&View=%7bC0C5C897%2d3066%2d4821%2d864E%2d36FB3D77F5D5%7d]Shared Documents

The search shoul result in at least two different Environmental Impact Statements for two artificial reef projects (approved by DAR), one in 2005 and another in 2007. You can download the pdf files. Look at the Table of Contents and Executive Summary for the 2005 EIS that was prepared for the Atlantis artificial reef project off of Lahina back in 2005; and the same from a 2007 EIS, prepared by DAR in 2007 for an artificial reef project off of Oahu’s Puamana Beach. The TOC’s provide a pretty good example as to what is supposed to go into one of these studies. You may want to note all of the attention paid to the nature of the seafloor, the fact that the project is occurring in the Whale sanctuary, the presence of marine mammals and most relevant to the Keawakapu project the presence of the endangered green sea turtles.

With respect to the 2007 Oahu project, you will see that they made extensive use of Z-Blocks. One of the earlier posters was correct when they explained that these blocks were meant to be piled atop one another to create habitats, and were never intended to be scattered across the ocean floor.

“Z-Blocks”

This is the name of the type of one-two ton concrete forms used for the Keawakapu project. According to DAR website on artificial reefs, they did not begin using Z-blocks until 1991.

hawaii.gov/dlnr/dar/artificial_reefs.html]Artificial Reefs

Any EIS written prior to 1990 could not have assessed the environmental impacts associated with the use of Z-blocks; and more importantly would not have examined their use at this particular location off of Keawakapu beach. Any reliance by DAR on existence of an “ancient” EIS (should it exist) would be sorely misplaced. Much has been learned about pro’s and con’s of artificial reef development, precautions that need to be taken, the need to investigate specific impacts at specific site and the like over the last 20 years. The second (Puamana) EIS is particularly relevant in that it contemplated the use of “Z-Blocks for that particular project.

Lastly, any explanation by DLNR that the Keawakapu project was somehow grandfathered in to the Hawaii EIS law, or that a 20+ year old EIS (should it exist) covered the project would be nonsensical. Using that logic, DAR would be able lay a concrete Z-Block trail all the way out to Molokini as long as it started at the old Keawakapu artificial reef location without completing a new EIS or obtaining a new or amended CDUP.

Other permits were required for this project

Permitting: This was taken from a 2008 report to the legislature on the use of artificial reefs to enhance surfing opportunities in the state (includes reference to Z-Blocks). (also attached):

DLNR is required to obtain State and Federal permits for its artificial reefs. It is assumed that the artificial reef designed for surfing would require the same permits. The permits for artificial reefs include: an Army Corps of Engineers (ACOE) permit, a State Department of Health (DOH) water quality certification, a State Coastal Zone Management Program (CZM) Federal consistency certification (obtained from the Office of planning in the Department of Business, Economic Development & Tourism), and an DLNR - Office of Conservation and Coastal Lands (OCCL) Conservation District Use Permit.(CDUP) To make changes to an existing artificial reef program, amendment to these permits and certifications can take between 12-18 months. For a new artificial reef, it can take up to 5 years to obtain all of the necessary permits and certifications. This is because an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) needs to be completed which can take up to 3 years to complete.”

The Board of Land and Natural Resources must approve all Conservation District Use permits. There is no evidence available that shows that BLNR approved a new DLNR OCCL CDUP or approved an amendment to a CDUP for the Keawakapu project.
BLNR did approve a CDUP for the 2008 Puamana (Kalaeloa) project at a meeting held on May 9, 2008. The permit application materials that were given to the BLNR on that day are found at

hawaii.gov/dlnr/chair/meeting/submittals/080509/K-OCCL-Submittals-K5.pdf

Of relevance to the Keawakapu project are statements found on page 10. Additionally, see the Fish and Wildlife Service's comments on the use of concrete Z-blocks (on the need to confirm that the placement of the blocks will cause minimal negative impact to reef substrate and biota on page 6) and DAR's response on pg. 7.

“Permits” (also taken from: hawaii.gov/dlnr/dar/artificial_reefs.html]Artificial Reefs )

(This next bit is important – it might help explain why this project appears to have been so rushed and recklessly done)

“Any entity (public or private) trying to establish an artificial reef in U.S. waters must get a permit from the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers. The USACE is the lead Federal agency responsible for permitting artificial reef development under authority of the National Fishing Enhancement Act of 1984.

In February 2004 the DAR sent an application to the USACE for a new Department of Army permit. At the same time, the DAR applied for the Coastal Zone Management's Federal Consistency Certification and the Department of Health's Section 401 Water Quality Certification, as part of the ACE permit. In February 2005, the DAR's application for a Department of Army permit was approved. This permit expires on December 2, 2009”

The last sentence was emphasized because the Keawakapu incident occurred on or soon after November 30, 2009 – some two day prior to the expiration of a permit that according to DAR would have required at least 12-18 months securing a new one (assuming the USACE would have approved on at all. Unless one is a strong believer in coincidence - it would be difficult to believe that the upcoming expiration date played no role in the decision to discharge the blocks just prior to December 2. When projects are rushed, mistakes are made.

Unable to determine if a Coastal Zone Management consistency determination was ever prepared to this project. As noted above, the Office of Planning in Hawaii’s DBEDT would be the contact to determine whether one was prepared.

The USACE sould be able to provide information on Army Corps of Engineers permit and 401 water quality certification for the Keawakapu project.

 

[Shaka Doug]

Good Job Lisianski!!! You really did some homework on this one.

See.....something smells rotten...