2014-01-09 Windward Exh B - Items 5 & 6

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actually worked for 25 years as a laser engineer, and I have a Ph.D. in physics. And the reason I mention this right now is having worked in a number of research facilities and university departments, I’m aware that even respectable well-funded university departments have some desire to gather money for research, and I bring this up in the context of the proposal from the John Burns School of Medicine for the meta-analysis. It seems that they have missed the point of the Geothermal Study Group’s report. And although one of the lower items in the list of recommendations from the Study Group is to do a meta-analysis, as we heard from Mr. Melrose just now, the primary recommendation from the Study Group is that we need to do a health study, and that is very clear to me. What I see here is a list of items that are being requested for funding from the Asset Fund, and I do not actually know how much money is in the Asset Fund, but it looks like a pretty good part of money for all these things, and if these actual health study that is necessary is not prioritized, then this list of items will get funded and the health study will not have the appropriate funding. I think that’s very key, because a good health study is not cheap, and obviously none of these items on this list are cheap. So I would recommend that the meta-analysis from the John Burns School of Medicine really take a very low priority, because the Health Study Group has done a very thorough job of gathering together resources, they have a good reference list, they really looked into this, and there are other sources for the kind of information that’s being requested by the School of Medicine. GONZALES: Ms. Wakelin, I have to cut you off. WAKELIN: Okay. Are there any few minutes for me to finish up? GONZALES: That’s three minutes per person. Sorry. Sir, your name, where you live, and you have three minutes. KENDALL: Aloha. My name is Paul Kuy Kendall. I live in Pāhoa, just a mile as the crow flies from PGV and HGP-A. I’d like to begin by thanking the members of this Planning Commission for considering funding for the recommendations of the Geothermal Public Health Assessment Working Group. It is essential to the citizens of Puna these recommendations be implemented as soon as possible. These recommendations are not only a list of what needs to be done; they are a list of what has not been done to ensure the safety and health of the people in the ‘āina of Puna, that is, there have been no adequate health studies, no adequate monitoring of emissions, no adequate testing of drinking and near-ocean water, no testing for contamination, and poor communication around alerts, and other problems with the plant. The sad truth is that this has not been done for 38 years since HGP-A, the first geothermal well, was completed in 1976. I mentioned the long sad history of geothermal power in Puna, because while I applaud and appreciate the Mayor’s proposal to implement the studies recommended by the Geothermal Health Assessment Working Group, there is one serious flaw with this proposal, and that is the primary recommendation of the Working Group was that a comprehensive health study should be performed. This was the first and foremost recommendation. The Mayor talked about reaching highest consensus; this was the highest consensus, the No. 1 recommendation. The proposal on the other hand that the Mayor has before you proposes to do a meta-study before writing the RFP for the health study, and would further delay a comprehensive health study. This is an egregious error when considered in light of the geothermal history in Puna. To see the magnitude of the error, it helps to remember recent history. In 2012 the Hawai‘i County Council passed two bills regarding geothermal power. One of them was requiring a health study. The Mayor vetoed both bills at that time, saying there were already funds available for health studies. Shortly thereafter in August of 2012 Puna Pono Alliance made a 7 EXHIBIT B