HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0620.031 2022-2024 P/Council
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From: Malina Keawe
Sent: Monday, December 04, 2023 5:35 PM
To: Council Testimony
Subject: Written Testimony re: Resolution 372-23
Aloha Chair Kimball and members of the Hawaii County Council,
My name is Dana Keawe and I am from the district of Puna . I am writing to you today to
urge you to reject the funds requested by the mayor to hire outside counsel to fight Hui
Malama 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
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. 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,
Dana Keawe w cc-,
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