A federal judge has criticized the Army for an "extraordinary and inexcusable delay" in taking the steps needed to allow more cultural access in Makua Valley.

The Army agreed in 2001 to identify certain cultural sites by October 2002 and eventually provide access to those sites. The Army still has not provided access to those sites because it has not yet identified all the sites and has not cleared the areas of unexploded ordnance, said U.S. District Judge Susan Oki Mollway in a ruling in Honolulu last week.

Mollway ordered the Army in the spring of 2008 to comply with the 2001 agreement. Last week Mollway said the court is "intent on ending the Army's extraordinary and inexcusable delay." She asked the Army to present a "good faith" plan and schedule for ordnance cleanup near the cultural sites by October.

The Wai'anae Coast valley has been used as a military target range since the 1920s. Hawaiian practitioners also say it is rich in cultural resources, with more than 100 Native Hawaiian sites, including heiau (temples), ahu (altars), burials and petroglyphs.

The Army, in a statement to The Advertiser, said it has not always met the benchmarks in the 2001 agreement but said it has consistently worked to ensure safe cultural access at Makua.

In late 2007, a World War II 250-pound bomb was discovered, along with an 81-millimeter mortar and 61-millimeter anti-tank round.

The site identification and unexploded ordnance clearance process "has been complicated by several factors that neither the Army nor Malama Makua contemplated in 2001," the Army said.

The Army said one factor was a fire in 2003. An intentionally set fire meant to clear vegetation for archeological surveys and unexploded ordnance clearance jumped the firebreak system and burned more than half the valley.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service raised concerns that suspended further controlled burning until 2006, the Army said. A second "major complicating factor" resulted from an inspection by the U.S. Army Technical Center for Explosives Safety in 2005, the service said.

The center issued a requirement that all areas accessed by civilians be cleared of unexploded ordnance to a depth of one foot below ground.

From that point on, the Army's clearance efforts focused on restoring access to the most popularly visited cultural sites in accordance with those safety standards, the Army said. The Army said it has spent more than $1 million on ordnance clearance and was able to open access to 12 sites in Makua.

In April last year, the Army identified high-priority sites to be cleared of ordnance based on information that was available in 2002, and did not take into account additional cultural discoveries that were made in the 4,190-acre Wai'anae Coast valley since that time, according to Mollway's court order last week and officials.

The federal judge in her latest ruling said the Army must take into account "all information currently available." Mollway also ordered that the Army complete an updated list by Feb. 26, conduct a public comment period, and identify the high priority sites for unexploded ordnance cleanup by June 12.

Environmental law firm Earthjustice, which represents Malama Makua, said the Army both relied on outdated information in providing a list of high priority sites in 2008, and excluded public participation.

"In negotiating the 2001 settlement, Malama Makua insisted that high priority sites be identified and cleared of unexploded ordnance because that's the only way to bring cultural life back to Makua," said Malama Makua president Sparky Rodrigues. "By refusing to ask local practitioners to give their mana'o (input) about their highest priorities, the Army turned the process into a sham. We're pleased the court understands that and has insisted that the Army give the people of the Wai'anae Coast meaningful opportunities to participate."