2015-01-08 Hearing Transcript-GAF Puna Pono Alliance

Home

TRAVIS: My name’s Tom Travis. I was a member of the Geothermal Public Health Assessment Working Group organized by Mayor Kenoi. And, over the last year, last two or three years, I have been working on trying to get a health study. Puna Pono Alliance proposed a health study in late 2012. Conduct of that study was approved by the County Council and then was vetoed by Mayor Kenoi. Mayor Kenoi’s, one of the reasons that he vetoed that in his public statements was that the County Council had chosen the wrong fund to fund the study, the Geothermal Relocation Fund, rather than using the Geothermal Asset Fund. Mayor Kenoi went on to say that he would organize a group under Peter Adler, the Geothermal Public Health Assessment Group and that, that group would look at what health study was needed. I worked on that as a member of that working group for a--a couple of years. I’m also the vice-president of Puna Pono Alliance, by the way. I worked on that. We started in late 2012 with the first meeting in January of 2013. As a result of about two years of effort, we recommended a series of studies. The County picked up the recommendation on those studies that included a Geothermal Health Study which you previously authorized about two or three months ago. Environmental Impact Study looking at what impact HGP-A alpha had on the environment, a water impact study, as well as other, several other expenditures of the Geothermal Asset Fund. Throughout this process, including the authorization of those other studies, a claims adjuster was, had to use, and I don’t think anybody here would disagree that Rule 12 is probably an inappropriate tool, describes an inappropriate process for deciding whether we should do a study or not. A claims adjuster has no particular qualifications to decide what studies are important. But, using that process, the County of Hawai‛i was able to authorize these studies on health, environmental impact, and water. Using similar logic, this study should also be considered by the Planning Commission and the legalistic objections posed by the claims adjuster, which really don’t hold water if you look at whether they were applied equally to the health, environmental impact, and water studies. I don’t think there should be two standards for use of the Geothermal Asset Fund, one by the County administration and then another standard by the community. The community Asset Fund, in fact, is part of the community, and the community should have access to that without this legalistic process going on. Thank you. MIYASATO: Commissioners, any questions? HEAUKULANI: I had a couple of questions for Mr. Travis. Sir, I do recall that you were on the study group. I wanted to ask you a couple of questions about that if I can? TRAVIS: Yes, sir. HEAUKULANI: Is it true, I saw somewhere today, is it true that there was not a single Hawaiian in the study group? 6 EXHIBIT D