KAILUA-KONA, Hawaii-- Yesterday, citizen
groups 'Ohana Pale Ke Ao, Kohanaiki 'Ohana, GMO Free Hawai'i, and Sierra
Club, Hawai'i Chapter, represented by Earthjustice, obtained a court
judgment in their favor in a lawsuit they brought in the Circuit Court
of the State of Hawai'i, Third Circuit, challenging the state Board of
Agriculture's approval of a project to mass-produce potentially
dangerous genetically engineered algae on the Kona coast of the Island
of Hawai'i. Circuit Court Judge Elizabeth A. Strance agreed with the
citizen groups that the Board was required to comply with the
environmental review process under the Hawai'i Environmental Policy Act
(HEPA) before approving the project. The Court granted the groups'
request for a judgment declaring that, at minimum, an environmental
assessment (EA) was required for the project, and that the Board's
approval without such review was invalid.
"We're glad that the court upheld this important process of examining
the risks of this project and its alternatives," said Earthjustice
attorney Isaac Moriwake. "The state needs to be reminded that
environmental review is not a nuisance to be brushed aside, but a basic
public duty of all agencies."U.S. Newswire
