HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0620.059 2022-2024 P/Coun cA
RA5.3?2-23
COMM,620
From: Matter Snell
Sent: Monday, December 04, 2023 1:35 PM
To: Council Testimony
Subject: Written Testimony re: Resolution 372-23
Aloha Chair Kimball and members of the Hawaii County Council,
My name is Motter Anne Snell and I am from the Big Island.
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.
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,
M. Snell
96725 _ C)
CCD
ems.
Comm. No. VD• v ;
Ref. To: l orgIci
1 Ref. Date tOEC — 6 2023,