HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0620.068 2022-2024 P / Council
Res.
(OK. 620
From: Healani Cahill COUNTY CLERIC
Sent: Saturday, December 09, 2023 12:19 PM COUNTY OF HAWAI'I
To: Council Testimony RECEIVED
Time 7%40 OA• By
L.,
Subject: Written Testimony re: Resolution 372-23 Date DEC 1 2 i2
Aloha Chair Kimball and members of the Hawai'i County Council,
My name is Healani Cahill and I am from [92-8890 Hawaii Blvd.Oceanview, HI 96737.
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,
Healani Cahill
96737
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Comm. No. I .
Ref. To: 'JINNI 1l
1 Ref. Date at , 1_..9 2023