2019-03-07 Hearing Transcript - Piilani Partners Request for Reconsideration SMA 18-000070

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the permit was not granted before the outcome of the Commission on Water Resource Management and the 90 [sic -60] days had passed [inaudible], that it would have rendered the application in default denial. The attorney now wants the Planning Commission to reconsider their own decision claiming there's nothing that would change with respect to the application from the Council [Commission] on Water Resource Management. I disagree with this statement. I attended the meeting at the, of the Commission on Water Resource Management in Hilo last week, where by the way I didn't happen to see the Applicant, and there was a lot of discussion surrounding the Mauna Kea Aquifer. There was a lot of testimony given that directly related to the Mauna Kea Aquifer and the need to understand more of what are some of the impacts known or unknown regarding the tapping of this sealed aquifer. The talk included considering not only not allowing this aquifer to be touched but rather preserved for future generations or a possible back-up in the event of the Mauna Loa Aquifer somehow compromised. This request should be—this request for reconsideration should be denied. The Planning Commission should wait until the release of the findings of the Commission on Water Resource Management is made available. The Planning Commission should hold fast to the decision they made, and you should also note that there has yet to be one person to testify in favor of this project. One of the outstanding statements that was made at the Council [Commission] on Water Resource Management is that they and the local Planning Commission have a right to use their own discretion, and when it comes to matters such as this, we must, we must remember that just because that something is not against the law, it does not mean the project is in the best interest of the public and especially for our children. We should be able to be assured that we have protected their interests. I want to also reiterate what I had said in the last testimony, and I also said it at the Commission—that the State and the counties are merely trustees of resources that were stolen from the Hawaiian Kingdom including the land that is identified by the Piilani bottling plant. Thank you. SOUZA: Good morning, Brother Joe, always good to see you. Thank you guys, thank you everybody for the work you guys do. You know II know how difficult this is. And, thank you everybody for showing up. I've been in communities where this doesn't, in fact, happen. So, it's nice to know that the health of our communities is still engaged in process and dialogue around these things. So, of course, I'm in opposition to the facility. I'm just going to read a quick statement. Some polls recently have found that as much as 43 percent of the American public refuses to believe climate change is even occurring. Recent extreme weather events these last few months have given rise to a few converts from this extreme group of conservatives. As one of several representatives from Hawaii, I am part of the NCAR, National Center for Atmospheric Research, rising voices, indigenous knowledge, and modern science effort. It's ongoing for seven years in partnership with the United Kingdom, United States and its agencies such as NOAA, the National Ocean and Atmospheric Administration, National Weather Service, and FEMA, who I work for as you know. EXHIBIT B 7