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t cs.372-IS
COW.620
From: Mary Afable 1
LaJ
Sent: Monday, December 04, 2023 4:04 PM
To: Council Testimony
--tom
Subject: Resolution 372-23 rt —a
Aloha Chair Kimball and members of the Hawaii County Council, >
My name is Mary Afable and I live in Hilo. I am opposed to using the funds requested by the mayor to hire
outside counsel to fight Hui Malama Honokohau v. County ofHawai`i. A better use of these funds would be to
approve the restricted use of the funds for the sole purpose of hiring outside counsel to negotiate a settlement
with Hui Malama Honokohau.
For decades, the Kealakehe Wastewater Treatment plant has released millions of gallons of treated sewage into
groundwater that flows into our Honokohau Harbor, causing irreversible damage to the surrounding nearshore
waters and the countless lives that depend on them.
We should learn from the mistake of Maui County. Maui County spent hundreds of thousands of dollars over
eight plus years fighting a similar lawsuit over their Lahaina Wastewater Treatment Plant, to ultimately lose in
the US Supreme Court. County of Maui v. Hawai`i Wildlife Fund has now set the precedent for Kealakehe and
many other groundwater polluters.
Please do not let Mayor Roth waste tax payer money to defend pollution of our environment with sewage. Do
not approve the funds requested by the mayor and use your powers to urge the administration to settle the
litigation, upgrade the Kealakehe Wastewater Treatment Plant, and do what is right for Hawaii's environment
and people.
Sincerely,
Mary Afable
Comm. o I .1
Ref. To:
1 Ref. Date! gfc - 6 2073,