Proposed steel sea wall for an Ewa Beach shoreline raises concerns

HONOLULU, Hawaii (HawaiiNewsNow) -Hawaii Sen. Brian Schatz is asking the Marine Corps to take a hard look at their plans to protect a training facility.

The Marine corps Puuloa Rifle training range in Ewa Beach includes earthen berms that are threatened by erosion due to sea level rise.

To protect the facility, they are proposing to install a 500-yard steel sea wall. The wall would go between the berms and the beach, and be pounded into the sediment

But Sen. Schatz is urging them to find another way to mitigate the impacts of sea level rise.

“A 1,500-foot wall is really a massive project along the shoreline and I don’t think this is necessarily the only way to protect their resources," Sen. Brian Schatz said.

State officials and the community say hardening the shoreline at the range could have adverse effects and actually lead to more erosion at White Plains beach next door.

The Marine Corps has told regulators that the steel wall is the best alternative and that erosion and other impacts can be mitigated.

“Part of being a good partner is listening and talking and keeping people informed and I think they could have done a better job of doing that in this instance,” Schatz added.

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