2017-05-15 Public Testimony on SMA 16-063 Contested Case

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Let us pray. E lewa kō mākou i kō mau maka e nā mauna, ma laila mai ko kōkua hiki mai, mai ke Akua ka āina a me ka ʻʻ. I will lift my eyes to the hills where my help comes from; my help comes from the Lord who made heaven and earth. Thank you very much. And I thank you for coming to hear, hear us today. Because it’s very important for you to understand that this Island of Hawai‘i is still young; it’s still erupting and spreading out. Commonsense will tell you to keep this in mind. Now, you know very well that our freshwater comes from the mountain, and this is the prayer I just gave. It goes to Lake Waiau and Lake Waiau’s a‘a – a‘a means to, the veins that runs around the island – distribute to you and me. So, these are the kind of things that it’s, it’s important to know. Because when God created men, or He created Earth, rather, first, He made everything on land and in men to create. So, you look at yourself and you hold your arm this way, and you see your veins running in your body; that’s a‘a. We dug that, we all die. We dug the water that’s running from Lake Waiau down to the ocean, we all die. The animals die. The birds die. Everything dies. The trees die. So, this is the kind of thing I wanted to stress out to you today. And that’s why I oppose to any more development along the shoreline. The sewage line being connected – since we are talking about Kahalu‘u, over at the lagoon you have two big ponds that helped the Hawaiian, the ancestors, do their laundry and also use for washing the dishes, for home use. But it’s, on the other side, on the west-south side where the apartments, the homes are, there is a pond there – I can direct you right there, if you want to go and visit, and it’s a good thing for you to go and see, too. And on the lagoon side where Lagoon Hotel is, there is one there. Keauhou Beach Hotel where all the palm trees are, there is one. Kahalu‘u over by the church, there is one. So, these are the water that was serving the village of Kahalu‘u. Today with the sewage line in, this is what’s cutting the a‘a; it cuts the vein. And it’s not going into the water, and it’s killing our seaweed, it’s killing our fish, everything is dying. I went to the beach one day and I see this squid, and it was this color, and it was spread out on a rock. And I’ve never seen that kind of seaweed \[sic\] before, so I kind of wondered, so I sat there and I kept watching and watching. Then I see a crab, a crab come underneath where the, in the pond, to the pond, rather, then I see his a‘a coming up from in the back of the crab. He caught the crab all right. And I was going to catch the squid, because the hole is right down below on the side in the pond. And because he just caught his fish, or his dinner, I said go home with it. So, these are the kind of things that I think of and you should think of, because it is only commonsense; without the water from our Lake Waiau and all of other mountains, your children, your mo‘opuna-s will die. I may go pretty soon, too, myself, who knows. Only God knows. So, I’m with you all. I oppose to this. Another thing: It will be best for you to date Keauhou Beach Hotel when it was built, Kona Lagoon when it was built, Kona Surf when it was built, all of the big apartment condos and everything else. Check the dates when the cesspool lines went in. This is where, along the shoreline, this is where that line is sitting, in saltwater. And worse yet, the tide is coming in yet. It’s rising. So all the sewage line will be sitting in saltwater, and that’s what killing everything else along the shoreline. And if I were you, you take an inventory on that, because this is very important. Everything is dying. I’m disappointed to see Kahalu‘u Beach Park. There is no more sand. Waikua‘a‘ala is empty. And that pond was just as big as this. And they opened up an outlet to let the water out from the pond, and that’s a no-no. Because that’s where Jon Hall made his 2 2017-05-15 Public Testimony on SMA 16-063 Contested Case