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I want to begin by telling you that I completely support the creation of alternative forms of fuel.
<br />I completely support that. I also completely support the creation of jobs and the revitalization of
<br />the Pepe`ekeo and Hamakua Coast. That goes without question. But, it has to be done legally,
<br />and it has to be done responsibly. Specifically, Hu Honua must operate their power plant within
<br />what they are permitted to do. That is without question. They agreed to conditions in SMA 221
<br />and made promises. They said what needed to be said to get their permit and their PPA from the
<br />PUC. And, it all went just fine. Per Condition No. 5, as you know, they agreed to operate at all
<br />times at a dB[A] level of 55 or below. Now that the rubber's hit the road, they're having issues.
<br />They can't stay within that condition, and now they want you guys to give `em new rules. How
<br />many other conditions are they going to be unable to meet? When does this stop? They are at
<br />the very least disruptive of our everyday lives. They state the zoning is Industrial allowing for
<br />70 dB [A], this is true, that's the law. But, they are on a postage -stamp size piece of property
<br />compared to the hundreds of acres of residents that live around them, and the Department of
<br />Health states that should be at 55 dB[A]. So you give their postage stamp 70, that means the rest
<br />of us have to live with 70 and that's outside of the Department of Health recommendation and
<br />the law. I urge this Commission to declare Condition No. 5 to be kept at 55 dB[A] at all times,
<br />including construction, as it presently states. Thank you for your time.
<br />PAIK: Aloha, it's Koohan Paik again, and, well, this reminds me of this one time I hired a guy
<br />to the my bathroom and he told me it was going to be $1,500, and half way through he said, oh,
<br />you know what, I didn't expect this, that, and the other, so it's going to be $3,000, and I didn't
<br />have $3,000, so I had to take him to court and win. Well, I just don't think it's fair that the law
<br />gets to be changed for some people and not changed for other people. Like, for example,
<br />Claudia Rohr was denied standing because she missed the deadline for seven days back in 2011,
<br />so she couldn't get a contested court hearing, but it seems to me that this is seven or eight years
<br />delay, and now after this SMA permit spells out very clearly what is the rules, now they have to
<br />come back and change the rules. I just, it's so unfair when there's two sets of laws for two
<br />groups of people. The residents versus the big money, and the insiders that they hire who
<br />happen to be the former head of HELCO and the former head of the Department of Public
<br />Works. To me, sounds like a conflict of interest that works against the interest of the public, the
<br />shoreline, the `aina, the water, and democracy. So, I find it very troubling. I don't live near
<br />Pepe`ekeo. I don't get paid to be here like the people who get paid by Hu Honua indirectly or
<br />directly. I just care about our island and about our government. And, I want to thank you all for
<br />volunteering, because I'm volunteering here today to be here and testify.
<br />So, another troubling aspect about this issue is that in the letter that Mr. Lee wrote to
<br />Mr. Clarkson, February 27, 2018, he cites the need to expedite this process so that Honua Ola
<br />can meet a Federal tax deadline. Now, I, there is nothing wrong at all with qualifying for tax
<br />benefit, but there is something terribly wrong when the rush to meet this deadline interferes with
<br />serving the public interest. In fact, this company has been behaving all along as if meeting this
<br />deadline is all that matters to them. That's why they deceived the PUC when they claimed that
<br />they were going to be trucking all of the waste to the West Hawaii landfill, and that's why they
<br />are now applying for a variance on this noise ordinance as they themselves admit in the letter so
<br />they can expedite construction, working anytime, exceeding DOH limits, causing enormous
<br />trouble and suffering, as you can hear in the voices of the people here today. I've spoken with
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