Committee advances $200,000 state grant and budget amendment to fight coconut rhinoceros beetle

The Hawaii County Council Finance Committee voted May 14 to forward Resolution 516-24 and Bill 162 to the full council with favorable recommendations, enabling receipt and budget preservation of $200,000 in state funds to control the coconut rhinoceros beetle (CRB).

Deputy Director Brenda Yokepa Moses of the Department of Environmental Management said the county has seen recent CRB detections on the island and that the grant would pay for outreach, additional detection traps, a detector dog, and trucking to move treated mulch off-site when necessary. Craig, a DEM coordinator, described the facility protocol: when green waste is ground into mulch for windrows, the material should sit 15 days, be turned at least five times and be maintained at about 131°F to kill beetles and larvae. Staff also said they are installing remote cameras and traps at the facility to monitor activity.

Council members pressed DEM about costs and operational constraints. DEM explained their regular backhauling is limited to fire-mitigation needs and that routine county hauling already fills truck availability; the grant would pay commercial truckers to avoid reducing routine waste collection. Members urged robust public outreach; DEM said outreach will include newspaper, radio, TV, school programs and community workshops coordinated with the Department of Health and the Big Island Invasive Species Council. The committee recommended both the grant authorization and the budget amendment be forwarded to council for final action.

Bill 162, the companion budget amendment to retain $200,000 in a coconut-rhinoceros-beetle grant account, was also forwarded with a favorable recommendation. County staff said immediate use of the funds is to increase hauling and public education while ensuring mulch is processed to temperature standards that kill CRB.