The Department of Agriculture is seeking to renew the contract of Hawaii’s acting biosecurity chief, Carol Okada, a controversial figure who many in the conservation community fear is protecting the industry she is supposed to be regulating.

Okada, whose title is Acting Plant Industry Division Administrator, is the primary state official overseeing the plant nursery industry, whose products have been found to spread destructive pests throughout Hawaii. The nursery industry has been blamed for the statewide spread of coconut rhinoceros beetles and the firm establishment of little fire ants on Oahu. 

Okada retired in 2019 but returned to DOA last year. She previously worked under former DOA director Scott Enright. It “is without a doubt,” Enright says, that Okada “was a very good friend of the nursery industry.”

Her relationship with the nursery industry has fueled concern among lawmakers too, who are raising the same questions about whether she is protecting the industry.

DOA Director Sharon Hurd referred any questions about Okada to the Department of Human Resources Development. But Hurd said that finding sufficiently experienced staff is difficult, citing the agency’s high and longstanding staff vacancy rates.

Okada did not respond to requests for an interview.

Okada worked as an inspector for the DOA’s Plant Quarantine Branch from 1991 until 2005, when she was promoted to branch manager. Okada kept the role until her retirement in 2019.

But Enright effectively sidelined Okada for the last five years she headed up the Plant Quarantine Branch. He placed her on a “special assignment,” removing her from her managerial position. She retained her title, benefits and salary – and salary increases.

Personality clashes, managerial qualms and concerns over Okada’s relationship with nurseries were among the main reasons, Enright said.

The general consensus at the time was that “Okada was hindering the state’s program with invasive species,” Enright said.

The former DOA director said he chose to sideline Okada because firing state employees is a “very time-consuming game.”

And while Okada’s special project was intended to help find replacements for pest-prone imported plants, “she became a non-producing entity” and “languished.”

Now the same concerns are coming up again.

Conflicting Interests?

Coconut rhinoceros beetles were detected on Kauai, Maui and the Big Island over the course of 2023, following almost a decade of containment on Oahu. Windward Oahu communities, meanwhile, sounded the alarm over the spread of little fire ants.

In January 2023, the DOA was finalizing a set of tougher rules on the nursery trade, intended to stop the spread of pests on and between islands.

Helmuth Rogg, Okada’s predecessor, said last year he developed the rules because “it’s the Wild West in Hawaii, for nurseries. They can do whatever they want.”

But Rogg resigned in June and the agency reconsidered the rules. The about-face followed a conversation between Hurd, Okada and Hawaii Floriculture and Nursery Association President Eric Tanouye. Tanouye said the rules would “kill agriculture.”

Okada was then rehired in June on an 89-day contract as deputy to the DOA director. Okada has since been rehired twice as Acting Plant Industry Division Administrator.

The decision to stall the rule-change process prompted an outcry from the public and lawmakers who were experiencing dozens of outbreaks of out-of-control pests in Windward Oahu. Lawmakers eventually called a public hearing late last year to try to address the problems.

Sen. Jarrett Keohokalole and Rep. Scot Matayoshi represent Windward communities infested with little fire ants and were among those who took DOA to task.

They raised concerns about the industry’s input during the meeting between Hurd, Okada and Tanouye. Hurd told lawmakers at the legislative hearing that the DOA had a list of five nurseries knowingly selling pest-infested plant material but would not disclose their locations.

The department eventually resumed the rule-making process in late October. The rules are yet to be implemented but an interim rule was signed in late March.

Matayoshi says it is apparent the DOA has a conflict because it is supposed to advocate for agriculture and farmers.

The agency’s mandate is to “promote the conservation, development, and utilization” of agriculture throughout Hawaii, according to the law. Its enabling statutes do not mention the enforcement of biosecurity measures specifically.

“The Department of Agriculture’s stated purpose is to look after the agriculture industry, not necessarily the state, which seems weird right? I would actually disagree with (DOA’s) interpretation of that,” Matayoshi said.

“They’re protecting these bad actor farmers which is at the expense of other farmers which is frustrating,” he added.

Keohokalole still takes issue with what he believes is both the lack of accountability in the nursery trade, but also within the department.

So this year Keohokalole submitted a resolution to have Okada’s division audited for its performance.

“It’s this entity (DOA) that’s in charge of holding these operators accountable,” Keohokalole said. “We don’t have clear lines of accountability in that organization, so we shouldn’t be surprised that we’re having these issues.”

The Plant Quarantine Branch, which Okada managed until her sidelining in 2014, was audited in 2017. The audit raised several chronic issues stemming as far back as 2007, such as inconsistent biosecurity practices at the border and lack of staff oversight and guidance.

Hurd still maintains that bringing the industry into the rule-making process last year was an effort to try to “educate before you regulate” and an attempt to ensure the rule changes were fair.

But the notion that the DOA’s decision to delay the rule changes was kowtowing to certain industry players is “madness,” Hurd said.

Hurd said the department’s relationships with the industry would withstand any scrutiny and that “I’m going to go with the law 100% of the time.”

“I don’t care how well I know you … I don’t care how well I know Eric Tanouye,” Hurd said.

“Hawaii Grown” is funded in part by grants from the Stupski Foundation, Ulupono Fund at the Hawaii Community Foundation and the Frost Family Foundation.