State boards · The Environmental Notice · Aug. 8, 2026

Kawaihae Commercial Harbor Improvements – Final EA (FONSI)

Environmental review · Hawaiʻi · South Kohala

Tax map key, as printed

(3) 6-1-003:023 Por., :024, :026, :028, :032, :033, :034, :036 Por., :037, :038, :039, :041 Por., :044, :046, :047, :048 Por., :049, :050 Por., :052, :053, :054, :055 Por., :057, :058, :059, :061, :062, :063, :064, (3) 6-1-003:999 (Right-Of-Way), and (3) 6-1-002:999 (Right-Of-Way)

Agency, as printed

State of Hawaiʻi Department of Transportation, Harbors (HDOT-HAR)

Permits, as printed

Section 106, National Historic Preservation Act consultation; Section 7, Endangered Species Act (ESA); State Historic Preservation Review (HRS Chapter 6E); CWA Water Quality Certification, CWA Section 401, Blanket Certification; Clean Water Act, Section 402 National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Permit; Air Quality Permit; Community Noise Permit; HRS Section 103-50 (Disability and Communication Access Board Review)

Status, as printed

Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) determination

Area

South Kohala (placed by the tax map key it prints)

The state's document

The Environmental Notice, Aug. 8, 2026 (PDF)

The Proposed Action consists of improvements to the Kawaihae Commercial Harbor cargo yard that would include replacing existing asphalt surfaces with new reinforced concrete pavement in selected areas and paving pockets of unimproved fill areas; adding new 80-foot high mast lighting to replace lower-lighting equipment; installing conduit and raised transformer pads for future harbor upgrades; and relocating the HDOT-HAR district office building and maintenance shed to increase cargo yard footprint. The Proposed Action would also widen a portion of Kawaihae Road (Hawaiʻi Route 270) to include a new left-turn and storage lane at the harbor main gate. The Project Area is approximately 56 acres. The purpose of the project is to improve operating conditions and efficiencies within the cargo terminal, as well as reduce traffic congestion along Kawaihae Road caused by truck queues. Through these upgrades, the project also intends to enhance the capability of Kawaihae Commercial Harbor to serve as an alternate harbor should an emergency or natural disaster affect Hilo Harbor.

Basis. Read from the issue's PDF by script (pipeline/fetch_environmental_notice.py), published by the State of Hawaiʻi Office of Planning and Sustainable Development; first on the record Sept. 19, 2026. Wording is the notice's; contact names, telephone numbers and email addresses are not carried. Corrections: the corrections log.