2024-01-03 (2) Email Claudia Rohr Testimony PD Report on SMA Minor Permits

Home

catalogued at DLNR). The specific pages being dated February 12 and 13, 1878. These notes as well as others in the vicinity were used to create Registered Map 910 and Registered Map 938. v /J[1 •.•r/j,� �y`:. z.a-ors Taqv ti The impounded waters create a large pond before flowing out to sea in a steady stream at the far south side of the beach. The pond supports several estuary types of fish and shellfish. Common Godi fish inhabit the area near the exit into the ocean.Young mullet and Aholehole swim in the deeper waters of the pond and non- native Tahitian prawns are prevalent in the rocky bottom areas. During periods of heavy rainfall,the river can reach flood status and the entire ili'ili beach will disappear,washed into the ocean. Not long after these flood events the waves will restore the berm and the puniawa pond returns to its calm and serene state. Mill Beach as it appears today was not accessible to the public during the entire term of sugarcane milling operations. The milling operations completely dominated both the river and ocean in the mill vicinity. Anecdotal stories from the old timers that worked the mill tell a story of a much more degraded beach and ocean interaction with Mill waste, spent sugarcane bagasse, furnace slag and ash pushed into the river, and cleaning plant wash waters depositing soil, rocks and debris into the river and bay. The enactment of the EPA Clean Water Act in 1972 required the mills along the Hamakua Coast including Papaikou mill to stop all dumping of bagasse and soil into the ocean. The result of the Clean Water Act was the shutting down of Hilo Sugar Company's Wainaku Mill and Hakalau Plantation's Mill in 1974. The Papaikou Mill stayed open another two years milling all cane formerly handled at the Wainaku Mill. The cane storage areas upon the subject parcel were expanded to accept this doubling of material,thus today one can see large areas of concrete floors poured and unloading stations constructed to handle the increased amount of cane to process at Papaikou Mill. All bagasse and cane cleaning wastes were hauled by truck to the fields above the mill.