(BIVN) – The Hawaii County Council is pushing for an appropriate process that would lead to the proper naming of the Fissure 8 vent in Leilani Estates.

Testifiers spoke in favor of Resolution 640 during a meeting of the Council Committee on Governmental Relations and Economic Development held in Hilo on Tuesday. The resolution, introduced by councilwoman Sue Lee Loy, requests the State Board on Geographic Names “to consult with community members who have direct traditional, cultural, and familial ties to the district of Puna to establish an appropriate name for the Fissure 8 vent.”

Currently, there is only a small active lava lake within the Fissure 8 cone, the same place where a voluminous eruption sent lava into a channel just a few days ago. Since Kilauea Volcano’s lower East Rift Zone eruption began in May, Fissure 8 has become the focus of the eruptive activity.

“The naming of this fissure and other new volcanic features associated with this eruption in the Hawaiian language may be based on its physical characteristics, historical events associated with its formation, ecological surroundings, geographical location, or related oral histories,” the meeting agenda stated.

A number of respected Hawaiian cultural practitioners testified at the council meeting in support of the measure, as long as the process was pono, and not rushed to completion.