1976-1977

Building Roads, Power Lines, and Research Capacity

View The 1976-1977 Annual Report >>

1976

The Environmental Assessment and Phase I Master Plan for NELH were approved, and the Legislature authorized $750,000 for capital improvements. NELH-related studies multiplied, supported by a growing research community. In November, a seaward Ocean Research and Baseline Data Collection Area was established, and the Environmental Impact Statement for development was approved the following month.

Highlights:

  • January: EA and Phase I Master Plan for NELH accepted; capital improvement funds of $750,000 requested from the State
  • April: Improvement funds of $750,000 approved by the State Legislature
  • NELH-related proposed studies begin flourishing
  • November: Establishment of Ocean Research and Baseline Data Collection Area, 1,000 ft. wide and extending one mile seaward
  • December: EIS approved

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1977

NELH began to take physical shape, with interim facilities including a diesel power plant, small office, and monitoring lab. The State approved $750,000 for infrastructure such as a surfaced access road, water supply, sewage facilities, and a high-capacity power line. A bathymetric study was conducted offshore, mapping depths to 3,000 feet. Meanwhile, ocean research expanded into areas like benthic ecosystem surveys, mariculture, algal production, and biofouling and corrosion studies, supported by DOE and ERDA contracts.

highlights:

  • Interim facilities at the site include a diesel-generating plant, a small office, and a project monitoring lab
  • The state authorizes $750,000 for a surfaced access road from the highway, a water supply line, interim sewage disposal facilities, and a 300 kV electric power supply line, to be followed by phone and data service, an enclosed service support area, and a graded test area
  • In the summer, the State of Hawaii funds a bathymetry study. Precise depth records are run from seaward of the U.S. Coast Guard lighthouse to a depth of about 3,000 feet
  • NELH-related ocean studies continue to expand and include the Environmental Survey of the Benthic Ecosystem, the OTEC Mariculture/Algal Project, DOE/ERDA multiple Biofouling and Corrosion contracts, and a Site Selection Bathymetry Survey required for submersible dives to 370 meters to collect visual observations and photographic recordings of the bottom conditions and biota
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