Posted on October 8, 2020
US Senator Mazie K. Hirono announced that Hawai?i County will receive $1,494,360 from the Federal Emergency Management Agency as part of a grant agreement based on losses at Isaac Hale Beach Park due to the 2018 K?lauea eruption. The funding will utilized for park related infrastructure to assist with Puna’s recovery.
“We have come to realize and value the importance of our parks and outdoor spaces during this coronavirus pandemic, particularly when our activities were restricted. This funding will go towards park related infrastructure to assist with Puna’s recovery, so that residents and visitors can safely enjoy the park,” Senator Hirono said.
Senator Hirono has called for continued federal investment in Hawai?i Island’s recovery following the 2018 K?lauea eruption. Last week, the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee passed a provision based on Senator Hirono’s legislation to help VA home loan recipients rebuild after natural disasters, responding to concerns from a Hawai?i Island Army veteran who lost his home in the K?lauea eruption. In April, Senator Hirono announced that Hawai?i Island would receive $30 million to rebuild water systems and $61 million to repair roads damaged in the eruption.
In March 2019, Senator Hirono pushed then-Acting Department of the Interior Secretary Bernhardt to commit to listening to community and Congressional input on where to rebuild the US Geological Survey Hawaiian Volcano Observatory. In May 2019, the Senator announced that USGS Director Jim Reilly committed to rebuilding the observatory on Hawai?i Island, and that she had successfully secured $72.3 million in the 2019 Disaster Supplemental Bill to continue USGS operations at a temporary site while constructing the new HVO facility. In December 2019, Senator Hirono also secured $21 million to construct a HVO field station in Hawai?i Volcanoes National Park.
Source: mauinow
