HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0620.038 2022-2024 P / Council'I
R5.372.23
COMM. 620
From: Email Service
Sent: Tuesday, December 05, 2023 1:50 PM a
To: Council Testimony
Cc: drjoeka@gmail.com; Misha Kassel
Subject: Written Testimony re: Resolution 372-23 G+`
r;v � .,
Aloha Chair Kimball and members of the Hawai'i County Council, t '�
Aloha, 0 Clare Loprinzi kou inoa.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 Hawai'i 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. Lives on so
many levels, na kanaka, na ia, na life on papahonua.
This is shameful on the part of the mayor and not acceptable. Not acceptable that he has allowed more pipes to be put
in the ground coming from Kohala side to add to this disaster that we are already dealing with. Waste Water Authorities
from the mainland have come to see if the existing wastewater treatment plant can be remedied and told me that it
cannot be fixed. County Council must protect lives and be pono.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.
Me ka haahaa,
Clare Loprinzi, Indigenous Practitioner
Comm. N.. ! •3g
Ref. To: t BM
1 Ref. Date = tC ® 6 2023