HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0620.030 2022-2024 p t Coun6 Re*.
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From: Lisa Kealoha ti
Sent: Sunday, December 03, 2023 8:21 PM c.
To: Council Testimony c
Subject: Testimony re: Res 372-23
Aloha Chair Kimball and members of the Hawaii County Council, -4r
My name is Lisa Kealoha and I am from Puna district. I am writing to you today`to urge
you to reject the funds requested by the mayor to hire outside counsel to fight Hui Ma-lama
HonokOhau v. County of Hawaii and instead approve the restricted use of the funds for the sole
purpose of hiring outside counsel to negotiate a settlement with Hui Mama 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.
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 make the same mistake as Mayor Victorino. 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
Hawai`i's environment and people.
Sincerely,
Lisa Kealoha
Big Island Resident
Comm. No. ZO.
Ref. To:
Ref. Date 0 2023
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