2024-10-02 Dr. Gina McGuire Testimony

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Layer citations: Coastal Flood Zones with3.2feet of sealevelrise – TetraTech,Inc. for The Stateof Hawai‘i 2018 HazardMitigation Plan, Hawaii Emergency Management Agency SeaLevel Rise Under Passive Flooding with 3.2 feet of sea level rise – University of Coastal Geology Group Closing Thoughts The Environmental Precautionary Principle (EPP) establishes a need to act in favor of 8 environmental protection when there is uncertainty (Akins et al. 2019). Akins et al. described the need to expand beyond the EPP to a universal precautionary principle (UPP) “which recognizes people’s connection to the land, and elevates community, cultural, and economic wellbeing as equally important values alongside environmental concerns” (2019, 1).This SMA does not provide substantial entrepreneurial, residential, environmental, or cultural benefit to the people of Kalapana. If a universal precautionary principle were applied in this situation, I know that this development would not be approved. environment, the people of Puna, or the ancestral and cultural sites. The SMA states that adverse ecological effects are “clearly outweighed by public health,safety, or compelling public interest benefits from this development but many for the protection of this culturally and ecologically valued site. Both an environmental impact and cultural assessment need to be done before any further harm is caused on this property. I humbly ask that the County take into account their own and associated statepolicies and currently in place to protect and support these communities when making a decision on this SMA. 8 Akins, A., Lyver, P.O.B., Alroe, H.F., and Moller, H. 2019. The Universal Precautionary Principle: New Pillars and Pathways for Environmental, Sociocultural, and Economic Reslience. Sustainability 11. DOI: 10.3390/su11082357.