Gov. Josh Green has reversed course on a controversial path to fill a state water commission seat reserved for a traditional Native Hawaiian water management expert.
Green on Thursday appointed Hannah Kihalani Springer to fill the special seat on the Commission on Water Resource Management after twice previously passing her over in moves that led to litigation.
Springer’s appointment was effective immediately, though she is subject to confirmation by the state Senate to serve a full term through June 30, 2028.
Green informed the Senate of his appointment in a memo Thursday, and in a news release praised Springer for work championing the integration of traditional knowledge and community voices into decisions affecting land and water in Hawaii.
“Hannah Springer’s lifelong commitment to aina (land) stewardship, cultural wisdom and public service makes her an invaluable addition to the Commission on Water Resource Management,” Green said in a statement. “Her perspective will help ensure that our approach to managing water resources reflects the values and priorities of Hawaii’s people and places. I am proud to appoint her to this important role.”
Springer is a former Office of Hawaiian Affairs trustee who also has served on numerous advisory councils, nonprofit boards and state commissions, including the Hawaii County Planning Commission, the Ka‘upulehu Marine Life Advisory Committee, the Akaka Foundation for Tropical Forests and the Public Access, Open Space and Natural Resources Preservation Commission.
In a statement, Springer, who is from Kaupulehu on Hawaii island, said she looks forward to “bringing the sensibility of a kamaaina of a water-scarce and fire-prone region, to the work of the commission” if confirmed.
By picking Springer, Green appears to have defused litigation over how he handled the selection process for a unique position.
The seven-member commission attached to the state Department of Land and Natural Resources governs the state water code, which can include determining how the public-trust resource is divided by competing interests such as developers, industrial agriculture, small farmers and natural ecosystems.
One seat on the commission, sometimes referred to as the loea, or expert, seat, must be occupied by a person who has substantial experience or expertise in traditional Hawaiian water resource management techniques, including riparian use.
In February 2024 a nominating committee sent Green a list of four candidates to succeed Neil Hannahs, who was leaving June 30 after completing two four-year terms.
Green, however, declined to make an appointment after two candidates withdrew, leaving Springer and Lori Buchanan as his remaining choices.
State law governing commission selections requires that the nominating committee give the governor a list with at least three candidates.
The governor claimed that by law he needed at least three candidates from which to choose a new commission member, so he requested that a new selection committee be formed to recommend at least three more candidates.
After the commission solicited new applications in September, about 70 Hawaii environmental and Hawaiian cultural organizations expressed concern in a letter to Green about his candidate list do-over.
The new committee submitted a list of three candidates, one of whom was Springer. In October, Green appointed V.R. Hinano Rodrigues, a Native Hawaiian from Maui who grows his own taro and previously served as the History and Culture Branch chief at the State Historic Preservation Division of DLNR.
A group of Hawaii residents responded in January by filing a lawsuit seeking to invalidate the appointment of Rodrigues and force Green to pick from the two leftover candidates from the original list.
The lawsuit, filed by environmental law firm Earthjustice on behalf of community group Hui Kanawai ‘Oia‘i‘o, in part contended that Green unlawfully circumvented state law because he didn’t want to appoint Springer or Buchanan, a former chair of the Molokai Planning Commission.
The lawsuit cited a Hawaii News Now interview in which Green referred to Springer and Buchanan as great people who would bring an “ideological perspective that was going to cause chaos” amid an effort to find compromises between competing interests that include restoring streams and building homes.
On March 11, DLNR announced that Rodrigues had resigned and that new applications to be reviewed by a new nominating committee would be sought.
On Thursday, Earthjustice attorney Harley Broyles thanked Green for selecting Springer instead of pursuing a second do-over list.
“We are happy that the governor has finally made a lawful appointment,” she said.
