2019-01-03 Public Testimony Transcript - Piilani Partners SMA 18-070

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FERGERSTROM: Thank you, and good morning, Planning Commission. My name is Hank Fergerstrom. I'm the spokesperson for Na Kupuna Moku O Keawe, which is a kupuna organization representing all six districts of the Island of Hawaii. My testimony is very short. First of all, I want to let you know that we are in absolute opposition to the, this bottling plant. Some of the stuff has been brought up before, but I want to reiterate that, that water is a public trust asset, and you're talking about using public trust assets for a private purpose. Also, the area that you're talking about is close to the Wailoa Park. That was where the old Canec factory was. And, in case you didn't know, most of the debris from the last big tsunami that hit Hilo is buried in that park, and so the leakage of metals over the time, over time, has got to be in that area. It just doesn't make any sense to even think about drawing water from that area where we already know that above it is all kinds of toxic stuff There is a big question, too, is a trade-off of permitting, because if I understand this correctly, this was an old permit from Suisan that they're trying to bring back to life. This is a totally different type of operation, and it needs to go through a whole different, whole new process of permitting. With that, I'm going to go ahead and close now, and I will be back for this next meeting. I do want to say that this is getting kind of crazy, you know, that we come here—this is the third time we're here, okay? And, we're having the same problem getting our testimonies out into the public in front of the right people. Unfortunately, I've been at this too long. I know most of these will end up in the trash. Thank you. HARROLD: Thank you, Planning Commission for your work listening to the public in a democratic way. I'm Gary Harrold. Touching the heavens, mountains called the sierra mound. Plastic, straws, lids, cups, bags bottles. Plastic surround. Maybe someday Pele will ejaculate `heath the ground incinerating Cup `O Noodles and tupperware with a burping sound. Our higher power knows we over consume. On our `aina, we've got so little room. Our garages fill up. Our rubbish stuff fills up. So does our dump. Instead of plastic bottles, infill our transfer station with Trump. Ship water across the world by fossil fuels. Mother Nature knows we don't follow the rules. Your reusable water bottle, schlep it. Then, Gary will not have a snit or fit. Leave water in the ground just like dirty oil. Our dear resources we must remain, we must respect and be loyal. Thank you. SCHOMER: My name is Ellen Schomer. I appreciate being able to participate in government and speak freely. My heart sank when I saw Hilo is considering having a water bottling plant. My hope was our society and government were going to see the light and make plastic bottled water illegal very soon and start passing legislation regarding plastic use and packaging. Plastic has been a great invention, but there's such a thing as too much of a good thing. Governor Ige and Hokule`a have spoken well about the idea of Hawaii being able to demonstrate to the world how to be sustainable. Planet Hawaii within Planet Earth. So, we are EXHIBIT C 6