HI SCR148

Request the Department of Agriculture and Department of Land and Natural Resources to develop a plan to purchase the entire Kohala Ditch system in North Kohala, Hawaii Island.

Direct the Department of Agriculture to serve as the lead agency and determine the estimated cost of purchasing the Kohala Ditch, with findings and recommendations due to the Legislature no later than twenty days before the 2016 Regular Session.

Require collaboration between the two departments, private landowners, Kohala Ditch users, and the Kohala Ditch Foundation to develop an optimal long-term management plan for the ditch's viability and operation.

Acknowledge the 22.5-mile Kohala Ditch (completed in 1906) as essential to agriculture in North Kohala and note that the ditch is currently owned and operated by Morrison Grove Capital Investment Company.

Provide context that the ditch has sustained significant damage from a 2006 earthquake and December 2014 flooding, requiring state and federal appropriations for repairs, with the ditch becoming operational again in late 2010.