2020-01-22 Meeting Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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1. CALL TO ORDER Chair Bennett called the meeting to order at 9:04 a.m. 2. APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF NOVEMBER 27, 2019 Motion and second: Vice Chair Olson moved to approve the minutes as drafted and Commissioner Gaffney seconded the motion. Discussion: Commissioner Gaffney wanted a correction made to the last paragraph on page 4. He asked the secretary to replace the “council of municipal and county governments” with the proper name of the agency. Vote: All commissioners voted aye to approve the minutes with the requested correction. 3. PUBLIC STATEMENTS ON ITEMS ON THE AGENDA Chair Bennett told Sandra Demoruelle, who had signed up to testify, that the Commission is looking for recommendations and requests they can act upon, and he would appreciate if she could provide comments or a request upon which they could take action. Ms. Demoruelle said there is a request at the end of her comments. Sandra Demoruelle: She stated that when you mess with public testimony, you are messing with constitutional rights. She welcomed the new members and the deputy corporation counsel that was present, and said that the Nāālehu and Pāhala ʻlawsuit is no longer active. The lawsuit was based on her UIPA request for environmental assessments. The case was dismissed. In the meantime, she wanted to address two problematic projects. The first is the EA for the Pāhala project. For some reason it is with a FONSI when it should have an EIS. On the Nāālehu project, she would point to ʻPearl Ridge Estates vs. Siegler. The BLNR should not approve the set aside of the conservation land in Nāālehu. ʻThe land is located behind the hongwanji and is right on top of a right of way for the new highway and powerlines. It is also on top of the Nāālehu well reservoir, which would mean a sewage treatment plant ʻ being placed on top of well water. It would also be in a flood zone. It is a huge tract of land that is being put into the hands of the trail people, and it is a big piece of land the county asked to be set aside. The BLNR approved this without any EA being done. The project has been kicked down the road since 2007. There was a final EA with a finding of no significant impact in 2007 to do sewer conversions, but it got out of hand. She is requesting the Commission find out how much has been spent on the EAs and studies since 2007. Jerome Warren: Mr. Warren spoke on several agenda items. Regarding item 5b (the election of chair and vice chair), the chair must have a degree in some science field. Having a science degree will give the EMC credibility, because the director of the department must have a degree. The department must stop wasting money on esoteric projects that won’t fit into the