2016-03-03 Hearing Transcript - Update Puna Pono Alliance et al GAF Claim

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been made by the Planning Department to work with the Claimants to move this thing forward. Now, there’s a problem there. There’s an obstruction of the process. It seems deliberate to me. It’s not accidental. The Claimants are willing to work to move this thing forward. The obstruction is with the Planning Department, and I really question Mr. Ikeda’s motivation when he called for the reconsideration of this a year ago, too. You were a County Clerk. You were a County Councilmember. Now, you’re a Planning Commission member. If there’s anyone on this Commission that knows the process and how to jam it up, sabotage it, it is you. You could be working to make this thing go forward, too, if you really supported the Native Hawaiians’ position that this study should be done. And, I challenge all of the Commissioners, especially Mr. Ikeda since he made the motion for reconsideration. HEAUKULANI: You know, Mr. Albertini, I’m going to have to call you on that one. I have a problem with you challenging Commissioner Ikeda. He filed the—he moved to remand it. I seconded it, and I seconded the motion because the—what I didn’t want to have happen, and as it turns out, it happened that way anyway, but what I didn’t want to have happen was for this thing to get stuck in Finance because of procurement and get ignored for a couple of years. I didn’t want you folks to have to file suit and have it, have it loll away across the way for another three years. So, I—I share in your, I share in your concern. I think it’s inappropriate for you to attack Commissioner Ikeda on this one. He filed—he moved to remand it for the same reason that I had the second, because neither of us thought that it would do anyone any good to let this funding go float around in Finance for a while. ALBERTINI: Well, then, get it done— HEAUKULANI: I don’t disagree with you that— ALBERTINI: —if your good faith is—get it done! HEAUKULANI: My problem is, I think you, you need to focus on what the issue is and not focus on individuals. ALBERTINI: How long do we wait before there’s another suit? It’s been thirty-some years with geothermal, and this is the most basic study you can possibly do. Look at the impacts to Native Hawaiians from drilling into Pele. HEAUKULANI: I don’t think anybody has a problem with substantive issue with this. I looked at the transcript. I looked at Director Kanuha’s testimony on the record. I looked at Mr. Brilhante’s comments on the record. No one there had a substantive problem with it. Now, I will grant you that sometimes you can procedural games, and you can stop substantive movement forward by playing games behind the scenes. I’ll grant you that. But, no, I don’t think—I didn’t hear anyone in the room disagree that the study was warranted and necessary. ALBERTINI: You heard Daryn Arai, and you heard Tom Travis’s testimony. Nothing’s been done in a year— 18 EXHIBIT E