HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0620.025 2022-2024 Council
CO is��1 'i' U�r� s°: GOMM 203
HULI COUNTY U tii ` 'A,i
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13 DEC it 9 SO
Aloha e Chair Kimball and Honorable Council Members, Nov. 4, 2023
Today HULI PAC strongly opposes Res 372-23, approving funds to hire outside counsel in Hui Malama Honokohau vs.
County of Hawaii.
I recommend we seek a local mediator, possibly retired Judge Ibarra,who knows the long-standing issues and the nuances
of our Hawai'i State Constitutional laws being challenged here. He would also be familiar with the Lahaina Wastewater
Treatment Plant lawsuit that ultimately lost in the US Supreme Court. County of Maui v. Hawai'i Wildlife Fund.
I am disappointed that our Mayor would, instead, seek our tax dollars to sue our residents using lawyers from the continental
US who will take our money off the island who do not grasp our culture, long-standing demands, complex history, landscape,
environment, people, community, and our unique laws.
This lawsuit can be resolved through alternative dispute resolution. The county can request and pay retired Judge Ibarra to
be the mediator; he is well-respected in our community. Our tax dollars should be utilized to support solution-based
conversations and fix this known 25-year-old wastewater issue. The Mayor should recognize and acknowledge this
community's long-standing concerns around over a million gallons per day of treated sewage pouring into groundwater that
flows into Honokohau Harbor, causing lasting damage to the surrounding nearshore waters and the countless lives that
depend on this reef ecosystem as a food source for our community—not passing bills to build on our island faster without
proper care taken to community around our long-standing sewage, archeological sites, natural resource, economic diversity
and affordable housing concerns.
Much Western scientific data in this area speaks loudly and clearly about their concerns for land-to-sea impact.
NOAA Fisheries published this article about the west side of Hawai'i Island on August 09, 2023.
Coral Reefs Benefit From Reduced Land-Sea Impacts Under Ocean Warming
Local human impacts combine with global ocean warming to threaten coral reef persistence. New research finds that
simultaneously reducing land-and sea-based human impacts supports coral reef persistence in our changing climate.
This lawsuit will cause more harm to our community and will not create trust or build relationships. We must fix the problem
and recognize that Hui Malama Honokohau had to bring a lawsuit to the County of Hawai'i to be heard, seen, and taken
seriously. To have a seat at the table for a respectful conversation. So we advise listening to our community's concerns and
warnings and resolving to create a restorative plan together with our residents.
Thank you for this opportunity,
Aloha
Maki Morinoue, Holualoa, 96725
HULI PAC, member
Comm. N•. I .
Ref. To: IUT1'ITII
Ref. Date I EC - 6 20''23