Laserfiche WebLink
the community at all. And there was Commissioner Crook, who asked what happened to the <br />community’s rules, and Fred Giannini – I’m paraphrasing it, of course – Fred, because he’s been <br />there for 20 years or a long time, Fred Giannini says he would have to check into it, but, yeah, he <br />was advising the County at the time as Corporate Counsel on that; so that seemed a little <br />disingenuous answer that he had. After, anyway, the hearing was closed after the rules were <br />adopted. And I never reviewed the rules. I never saw the rules before they were adopted, couldn’t <br />comment on it. None of the community commented on it. The County did not have any experience <br />with geothermal development before they did this, and so they relied on the developer to come up <br />with a lot of the rules. A lot of the rules reflect what the developer wanted and not what the <br />community wanted. Norman Hayashi was the director, Rodney Nakano was a wealth of <br />knowledge, and they knew what was going on. The record of the Commission meeting will reflect <br />a lot of what I’m saying. The County probably does not have their documentation anymore; I think <br />they got rid of it. But we’ve retained our records. We can, you know, we can show what’s, how <br />this thing got developed and how the community really got run over. Virginia Goldstein was <br />involved at one time. I’m not sure the developer’s money should be funding these studies. There <br />was never intended the Geothermal Asset Fund to be doing the job of what the government should <br />be doing, okay? This is because the County and the State decided to put an industrial activity that <br />has poisonous gases and heavy metals sited right next to a preexisting community with a 40-foot <br />setback. That’s why it’s important to have the Geothermal Asset Fund, because the plant, when you <br />have mediation and not a contested case, that means we are going to do it, and we are going to try to <br />mediate the impacts, mitigate the impacts, we are not going to stop it. So that’s why the <br />Geothermal Asset Fund was so important to move the people out when you put an industrial activity <br />with a 40-foot setback. It’s never worked because it was never permitted properly. We never had, <br />we never, the things we wanted was BACT, Best Agreeable Control Technology; we never got it. <br />Goddard report, Goddard & Goddard report was not put into it that stated that we didn’t have to do <br />open venting. And lastly, I just want to close with, my son was six weeks old at the time when the <br />blowout happened. He was gassed in his crib a mile and a half away from the plant, and that was <br />completely legal. And the only way we are going to get to the bottom of this, to do it right, is to get <br />a contested case hearing where I bring my people under oath, threat of perjury, and you bring your <br />people, and we do it that way like any other development in the state. We shouldn’t be put in the <br />position of second-class citizens, second-class property owners. <br /> <br />GONZALES: Okay. Thank you, sir. Can I get your name, too, for the record? <br /> <br />PHILIPS: Steve Philips. I was the chairman of the Geothermal Asset Fund Rules Committee. Also <br />I was at every mediation that we ever had. <br /> <br />GONZALES: Thank you, Mr. Philips. Thank you. Sir? <br /> <br />TRAVIS: I am Tom Travis. I live on Papaya Farms Road in Lower Puna. I was both a member of, <br />although I was a member of the Adler’s group, I am not speaking for the group; I’m rather speaking <br />just for myself. I’m speaking in support of hiring a claims adjuster to provide the funds that the <br />Mayor is requesting. But this support is contingent upon the County taking swift action to initiate a <br />comprehensive health study. A major thrust of the Geothermal Public Health Assessment report <br />was that a comprehensive health study should be performed. And although several <br />recommendations of this report are now being active in the Mayor’s proposal, the priority effort has <br />not yet been acted upon. The John A. Burns School of Medicine proposal to do a meta-study before <br />doing a comprehensive health study muddies the waters and, to the degree that the County allows it <br />10 <br />EXHIBIT B <br /> <br />