Advocates for a new rule aimed at stopping the spread of the invasive coconut rhinoceros beetle on Hawaii Island say that its implementation and enforcement has been lacking since going into effect earlier this year.

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Advocates for a new rule aimed at stopping the spread of the invasive coconut rhinoceros beetle on Hawaii Island say that its implementation and enforcement has been lacking since going into effect earlier this year.

Under the state Department of Agriculture and Biosecurity, the rule regulates the movement of material known to serve as breeding sites for CRB including mulch, green waste and potting soil. It focuses specifically on the designated infested area on the Kona side of the island where CRB has been present since 2023.

The rule requires that those handling and transporting such material in the area receive training on best management practices to prevent the spread of CRB and enter into a compliance agreement with DAB to uphold those practices, with a violation resulting in a misdemeanor charge and fine.

The rule was adopted by DAB on an interim basis in March as the result of a petition by local nonprofits Hawaii Wildlife Fund and Pohaku Pelemake to help prevent the potentially ecosystem-devastating impacts of the beetle.

However, leaders from the two organizations said they have seen little action being taken at the state level to actually implement the rule and asked the County Council during its meeting on Wednesday to pass a nonbinding resolution urging DAB to do more to enforce it.

“Back in March, when we finally got the rule passed, we’re now — April, May, June, July, August — almost five months past the rule, and it’s been a consistent battle with the state Department of Ag and Biosecurity to have them implement the rule,” Pohaku Pelemake Executive Director Leila Kealoha said at the meeting.

Since the rule’s adoption, the Big Island Invasive Species Committee has provided over 30 training opportunities and helped businesses submit the required documentation to DAB, according to BIISC Public Outreach Coordinator Kawehi Young. However, she said, there have been significant delays in the department approving the required compliance agreements.

Young testified at the meeting in favor of the resolution and also spoke with the Tribune-Herald afterward.

“There’s been a little bit of a hiccup in terms of when we train and send those papers over to the Department of Agriculture. There is a lag time from that time and when the business is actually issued their finalized agreement,” Young said after the meeting.

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She said she also thinks there is a lack of awareness about the new rule and its requirements, part of what prompted the push for the county resolution.

“I think the importance of this resolution is just really the county putting more pressure on the department,” Young said. “It wasn’t just to pass the rule, but also to implement and enforce it, so we want to make sure that businesses are doing the training. A lot of businesses don’t even know that this is a requirement.”

While the county has pursued other measures to prevent the spread of the CRB, including voluntary compliance orders, the authority to actually enforce such regulation lies with the state, according to Stephanie Easley, a legal fellow with the Coordinating Group on Alien Pest Species.

“A county is certainly free to use its resources to undertake control and eradication actions — you know, doing tree treatments or setting traps, trying to delimit — but if they want to regulate and say you have to manage the material that could move coconut rhinoceros beetles a certain way, and you’re required to do that, only the Department of Agriculture and Biosecurity can do that,”she said.

Easley also testified at the council meeting in support of the resolution.

“DAB is like every other government agency; they have a lot of priorities and limited resources,” she told council members. “But hopefully, (because of) the attention that you’re giving it, the community groups on Big Island will move this up DAB’s priority list so it can be fully implemented to protect the rest of Big Island from CRB infestation.”

While no DAB representatives spoke at Wednesday’s meeting, Plant Quarantine Branch Manager Jonathan Ho took questions from council members at a committee meeting last month. He said that limited staffing and resources on Hawaii Island are a factor in the department’s approach to regulation, which has been primarily complaint-based so far.

“Staff are doing what they can,” he said at that meeting. “We have three staff in Kona, so we’ve been complaint-driven as it relates to responses. So, as we’ve been receiving issues that we’re aware of, we’re sending out staff to go out and get folks into compliance … .”

The council unanimously approved the resolution on Wednesday.

“As we heard from our community partners and nonprofit organizations in the community, the coconut rhinoceros beetle, as you all know, poses a serious threat to coconut palms and other culturally significant, economically important plants here on Hawaii Island and across the state,” said Kohala Councilman James Hustace.

“We’re asking the Department of Agriculture and Biosecurity to fully implement the rule, expedite compliance agreements, strengthen outreach, and provide a dedicated plant quarantine representative here on Hawaii Island, so that businesses, agricultural producers and residents have the support they need to comply.”

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Email Grace Inez Adams at [email protected].