HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0620.039 2022-2024 COMM.C20
From: Annett Meyer
Sent: Monday, December 04, 2023 5:17 PM
To: Council Testimony
Subject: Testimony re: Resolution 372-23
Aloha Chair Kimball and members of the Hawai'i County Council,
My name is Annett Meyer and I am from Kailua-Kona. 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 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
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. Hawaii 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,
Annett Meyer
CD
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Comm. No. ' f .
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Ref. Date .iEC — 6 2023
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