Hawaii homeowners face stiff fines for illegal seawalls
Homeowners along Sunset Beach, Punaluu and Portlock on Oahu, as well as a property owner on Molokai, are facing tens of thousands of dollars in fines for allegedly constructing illegal seawalls and boulder revetments along Hawaii’s beaches.
The Hawaii Board of Land and Natural Resources, which adopted a no-tolerance policy in 1999 forbidding new seawalls, is scheduled to hear the cases today during its bimonthly board meeting. Oahu already has lost about one-quarter of its beaches to shoreline hardening, and scientists warn that figure could increase to 40% by 2050 if the state doesn’t enforce stricter policies.
As waves hit walls along beaches that are naturally trying to migrate inland, they claw away at the sand in front of them, causing beaches to disappear.
https://www.staradvertiser.com/2021/01/22/hawaii-news/homeowners-face-stiff-fines-for-illegal-seawalls/
