2019-02-08 Letter to Mike Gabbard SB 436 Relating to Noise Control

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Harry Kim Mayor County of Hawai Office of the Mayor Wil Okabe Managing Director Barbara J. Kossow Deputy Managing Director 25 Aupuni Street, Suite 2603 • Hilo, Hawaii 96720 • (808) 961-8211 • Fax (808) 961-6553 KONA: 74-5044 Ane Keohokalole Hwy., Bldg C • Kailua-Kona, Hawaii 96740 (808) 323-4444 • Fax (808) 323-4440 February 8, 2019 Senator Mike Gabbard, Chair Committee on Agriculture and Environment Dear Chair Gabbard and Committee Members: RE: SB 436 Relating to Noise Control Thank you for this opportunity to testify in support of SB 436. Helicopters are a valued component of our tourism industry. They also have been a source of endless complaints from communities that lie in their flight paths, and there should be no doubt that noise can constitute both a nuisance and a health hazard, especially in otherwise tranquil rural areas. I have met with tour operators and asked them to develop a plan to address noise and safety. They have taken some initial steps, and I commend them for that. Moreover, I am hopeful that tour operators and community members can work together. However, the history laid out in SCR 183 (2018) is eye-opening: "In 2000, the National Environmental Policy Act, in conjunction with the National Parks Air Tour Management Act of 2000, required an Air Tour Management Plan to be implemented at various national parks throughout the country... The objective of an Air Tour Management Plan is "to develop acceptable and effective measures to mitigate or prevent the significant adverse impacts, if any, of commercial air tour operations upon the natural and cultural resources, visitor experiences and tribal lands...In 2005, the project was upgraded to an Environmental Impact Statement, and the Federal Aviation Administration published a notice of opportunity for commercial air tour operators granted interim operating authority to review and self -correct annual authorizations. In 2008, Federal Aviation Administration and National Park Service staff met with Hawaii air tour operators, and acoustic monitoring of three sites at Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park was conducted. In 2011, a preliminary draft Air Tour Management Plan for Hawaii Volcanoes National Park was published, but...seven years later, in 2018, there [was] still no final Air Tour Management Plan for Hawaii Volcanoes National Park... In addition, after more than sixteen years, no Air Tour Management Plan for any national park in the nation has been completed..." How can our residents be asked to tolerate the status quo when it has been 15 years since the Federal Aviation Administration and National Park Service asked for comments on an Air Tour Management Plan Environmental Assessment, and eight years since a preliminary draft Air Tour Management Plan for Hawaii Volcanoes National Park was published. That is an outrage. SB 436 correctly goes beyond the impact on the National Park, and would study the impact on all our residents. That is the right way to go, and I urge a favorable vote. Respectfully Submitted, I Harry Kim MAYOR County of Hawai`i is an Equal Opportunity Provider and Employer.