HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0620.046 2022-2024 p/courici f
COMM.620
From: M. Ranta
Sent: Sunday, December 03, 2023 8:39 AM
To: Council Testimony
Subject: Testimony re: Resolution 372-23
Aloha Chair Kimball and members of the Hawai'i County Council,
My name is Mike Ranta and I am from Fair Oaks, CA. Kona is my paradise. I am writing to you today to urge you to reject
the funds requested by the mayor to hire outside counsel to fight Hui Molama 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,
Mike RantaCD
w pC �
C)53
--4
,C)
a7; �T
Comm. No I .4
Ref. To:
1 Ref. Date i tEC - 6 202