|
cost of studying how to do the comprehensive health study, much less the study itself. Where,
<br />where do you anticipate that this money might come from? Is there any way, I mean, it’s not up
<br />to us, but it’s probably up to the County Council. Is there any way to involve, you know, Puna
<br />Geothermal, the people that are profiting so much off of the geothermal plant to kick in a little
<br />more to cover the, how it impacts the people that live around their plant.
<br />
<br />MELROSE: I really can’t, you know, comment too much about what the cost of it is. We know
<br />it’s going to be more than what, what these smaller studies have been. These are easy to
<br />estimate. You know what it costs to do a phase, an enhanced phase one. You know what it costs
<br />to do water samples and the like. And until you kind of get this bigger picture, you don’t know
<br />what that looks like. I would say that they are and have been other sources of funds out there.
<br />The National Endowment of Health, the CDC. Others have grants, and these grants have been
<br />deployed in, on this island for the last ten years doing vog studies for instance. There’s a ten-
<br />year study that’s tracked children through ten years of life affected by the SO2 gases that had
<br />been done by the school of medicine and Dr. Elizabeth Tam. And those are largely funded by
<br />National Endowment of Health, and others, so if we get the CDC, and so as we get to the actual
<br />pricing process of that, I would hope that we actually go outside of the County taxpayers to find
<br />those monies. And, if we have to, to go do that to match it but the idea is to get an excellent
<br />study that answers lot of questions and money shouldn’t be the issue. We should be able to find
<br />those monies and how to do that, let’s figure out what the cost is and we can work from there.
<br />
<br />HENKEL: Thanks.
<br />
<br />ISHIBASHI: Further questions, Commissioners? What we had with Adler’s report? Was that
<br />disseminated and—
<br />
<br />MELROSE: I believe it’s been disseminated to all of you. You’ve all gotten a copy of it, and—
<br />
<br />ISHIBASHI: No, to the public and—
<br />
<br />MELROSE: --it’s been posted, it’s available, and so that’s exactly what we’re working off of.
<br />We’re taking that report and the recommendation specifically and the meta study was required, it
<br />was recommended. HGP-A study, the monitoring issue, and the fourth one, were all part. So,
<br />we’re just going directly at those recommendations, and that’s what the Mayor said. He said this
<br />report was well done, and the commitment of the people, that the Travis’s and others and others
<br />were a part of this was not to be treated lightly, and that we are to go ahead and make that
<br />happen as soon and as fast and as reasonably as we can do so, so.
<br />
<br />ISHIBASHI: Thank you. Ok, Commissioners, any further questions of staff or the Mayor’s
<br />office? Ok, seeing none. Take the first item.
<br />
<br />ARAI: And, Mr. Chairman, just to follow up on the testimony provided by the Office of the
<br />Mayor and in response to your question, Commissioner Henkel, the study, the comprehensive
<br />study could look at funding from elsewhere but again, while the asset fund is not an endless pit, I
<br />mean or endless resource, you know, there are monies in the geothermal asset fund so it still
<br />could be reasonably looked at as a source of funding for the comprehensive health study. You
<br />9
<br />EXHIBIT F
<br />
<br />
<br />
|