Hawaii UXO Earmarks for FY2011 Defense Budget

Washington, D.C. The office of Sen. Daniel K. Inouye, D-Hawaii issued a news release on their website on the earmarks slated for Hawaii in the FY2011 Defense Appropriations Bill recently approved by the Senate Committee on Appropriations. The earmarks include over $7M for UXO related projects including:

$1.75 million for initiatives related to military munitions, particularly along the Leeward Coast as part of the $5M Army Conservation and Ecosystem Management Funds to support the Army's stewardship of the land through ordnance monitoring, fire control management, and community outreach.

$3M for the Hawaii Undersea Military Munitions Assessment project to assess the location, condition, and potential risk to human populations and the environment of discarded military munitions, including chemical munitions, disposed off of Oahu between 1933 and 1946.

$3M for the Pacific Island UXO Detection and Munition Study which will focus on integrating airborne and ground sensors for "rapid UXO detection" in wet, highly weathered, and densely forested environments.

The spending measure passed the full committee by a vote of 18-12 with Chairman Inouye voting in favor of the package. The measure will now go before the full Senate for a vote.