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<br />3. STATEMENTS FROM THE PUBLIC ON AGENDA ITEMS <br /> <br />Two members of the public, Jerome Warren and Sandra Demoruelle, had signed up <br />to testify. <br /> <br />Jerome Warren: Regarding agenda item 6(4), he said the Environmental <br />Management Commission gives advice to the Council, and Vice Chair Olson testifies at <br />Council meetings on behalf of the Commission. Vice Chair Olson lives in Council District 4, <br />and he frequently testifies by videoconferencing from Pāhoa. However, Commissioner <br />Osborne also lives in District 4. Since two commissioners are from the same district, there <br />is a credibility problem. <br /> <br />Regarding agenda item 5.a., the Commission’s current practice on government <br />documents is to not look at them. The EMC’s discussions on Nāālehu’s wastewater EPA ʻ <br />mandate have always been dismissive. Here again, the EMC’s credibility is at stake. They <br />tend to take a see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil approach, and are like the cat that <br />swallowed the canary. The EMC should not put their current “obfuscational” practices into <br />public policy. He hopes this agenda item is not going to restrict any commissioner’s ability <br />to do what they’re authorized to do. He is looking forward to seeing new commissioners <br />who are willing to study mandates and regulations. New commissioners should interface <br />with DOH officials and should not be hamstrung in their authority to protect the <br />environment. The EMC should not have blinders on and go backwards. They need to stop <br />wasting time talking about their personal frustrations and anecdotes. EAs, EISs, and <br />government documents and communications do provide proof and do protect the <br />environment. That is what the EMC is here to do, to protect the environment. If they don’t <br />examine documents and put details into motion, nothing happens and the environment <br />remains unprotected. <br /> <br />Regarding agenda item 6(1), the Nāālehu wastewater treatment plantʻ, this is a <br />groundwater project and is why we’re in this boondoggle. Nāālehu continues to dump raw ʻ <br />sewage into a gang cesspool. The sewage comes from 160 homes, and no commissioner <br />has ever expressed any concern about this practice. It should have been stopped in 2005. <br />At the June meeting, Commissioner Olson perpetuated the plantation propaganda that the <br />company went out of business. He used the politrick of asking a question of him (Mr. <br />Warren), putting a spin on the subject, and not allowing him to reply. He hopes the two <br />new commissioners will bring civility to this body. Doing nothing means Nāālehu remains ʻ <br />with a primitive sewer system. The current utopian plan will place the entire county in a <br />financial crunch, but it will give new and old plantation investors free infrastructure for <br />their development. Every dystopia started out with a utopian concept. There is dystopia in <br />Nāālehu. ʻ <br /> <br />Regarding the director’s report, item K of the Wastewater Division is on sewer bills. <br />According to the EPA, Nāālehu’s ʻcounty-run sewer dystopia has been illegally polluting <br />Kaū groundwater for 13 years, and the County has ʻbeen charging the people $15 a month <br />for the illegal operation. The county took him to court to collect the debt. People who don’t <br />pay get taken to court, and people and the environment are suffering. If the sewer <br /> <br /> <br />