A stop work order has been placed on a septic installation project in Hanalei while the State Historic Preservation Division investigates the finding of iwi kupuna on the property. The installation of a septic wastewater system at a coastal property in Hanalei on Kauai has been halted so the state can investigate the management of ancestral remains found there. The Hawaii Department of Health said in a statement it put a stop work order in place Wednesday for a property at Oneone Road after discussions with the State Historic Preservation Division.
The stop work order will remain in place while SHPD completes its investigation, DOH said. Members of the Native Hawaiian community have protested at the property in recent weeks over concerns about the disturbance of iwi kupuna during the conversion of four cesspools. The order comes less than a week after police arrested three people for trespass when a group occupied the property for several days.
Megan Wong, who is among the group who say they are descendants of those whose remains were found, said “the order to stop work on the Naue burial grounds of our iwi kupuna is a relief. But the work is far from over.” Bernie Bays, an attorney for owners Chris and Jennifer Arreguin, said that the DOH stop work order was moot because the owners were already following a burial treatment plan created by SHPD in early October.
That plan had been created because the owners reported the presence of iwi kupuna during work on the septic sys.
