Hawaii DOT Refusal to Switch Out Lights Means Likely Federal Indictment
The U.S. Department of Justice says that Hawaii’s street lights are killing endangered birds, turtles and moths 鈥 and it’s threatening criminal action to get the state to fix the problem.
In response, Hawaii has lawyered up to fight the multi-year federal probe.
The DOJ notified the state Department of Transportation in December that its lights are killing a considerable number of wedge-tailed shearwaters on Oahu, which are protected along with the moths and turtles under the Endangered Species Act or Migratory Bird Treaty Act.
To defend the state in the threatened criminal case, the attorney general鈥檚 office in January to spend up to $150,000 on outside legal counsel.
鈥淚t is imperative that DOT have counsel available to advise and strategize and assist in negotiations and discussions with DOJ before any indictments are issued,鈥 the AG鈥檚 office said in its from the state procurement code.
The feds told the state in January that the DOT has the option of either entering into a plea agreement with the United States or facing a criminal trial, according to a memo from Deputy Attorney General Laura Kim.
first that the feds have notified the state of the possible criminal violations.
No indictments have been issued to date, AG spokeswoman Anne Lopez said Monday.
Unable to comment on pending litigation, DOT spokeswoman Caroline Sluyter declined to speculate on the ramifications of a criminal conviction for the department.
Since 2007, the DOT has required all new projects to use full cutoff lens fixtures, which help reduce light pollution, she said. These shielded lights protect certain seabirds that can become disoriented when flying, leading to their injury or death.
The state has installed roughly 1,800 of these lights along highways, Ala Moana Boulevard and other roads. There are approximately 11,000 lights under DOT highway jurisdiction, Sluyter said.
鈥淚t would be really expensive to just go and change out everything at one time,鈥 she said. Sluyter did not have an exact estimate of how much it would cost.
Setting An Example
Two years ago the feds tried to make an example out of Kauai.
A multi-year DOJ investigation led to Kauai Island Utility Cooperative entering a plea agreement to resolve violations of the ESA and MBTA.
KIUC pleaded guilty in December 2010 to killing or harming at least 32 Newell鈥檚 shearwaters.
“The Department of Justice sought a criminal prosecution of KIUC only after a long history of attempts to resolve ongoing violations,” Ignacia Moreno, assistant attorney general for the Environment and Natural Resources Division of the Department of Justice, said in a at the time. “The resolution of this case will set an example for others and help in the successful recovery of the Newell鈥檚 shearwaters, a threatened native species that is part of Hawaii鈥檚 cultural and natural heritage.”
KIUC was fined $40,000, put on probation for 18 months and had to pay $225,000 to the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation for the benefit of protected seabirds on Kauai. The co-op also had to modify power lines with the highest incidences of bird deaths.
The current DOJ investigation is statewide, but its priority is on Oahu. The AG鈥檚 office says it will need more funding should there be an indictment and the case goes to trial.
