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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0560.000 1996-1998 CCT 29 'S7 1E~16 COOKS iN WA?MEA P.1~6 r__ _ i October 29, 1997 Chairman Arakaki : ~ t ~ G i C ~ ~ Please continue your suppor `-for geo,t~he~a1 C~U, ~ ~ , power on the Big Island. And please distribute the following 5 1'pages to your fellow councilmembers. Much aloha, Bill Cook, 'Pel 885-7502, Fax 885-9691 o~ xa 5 to O na. ,~,,o OCT 3 0 1991 OC7 29 '97 1E~16 COG<~ R~ Wa_MEG P.2~6 HAIdAI'I ISLAND GEOTHERMAL ALLIANCE P.U. Box 6960 * KAMUELa, HI 96720 1808) 885-7502 October 28, 1997 Mx. Kenneth Olden, Director NatioAal Institute o! Health Services P.O. BoX 12233 Researoh Triangle Park, NC 27709 Dear Mr. olden: More than a year ago, your Institute funded a health study of residents living near a geothermal plant on the Big Island of Hawaii. A second survey, according to local news media reports, is being eonduated by the same individual Dr. Marvin Legator, director of the Division of Environmental Toxicology of the University of Texas in Galveston. It is sponsored by Puna Malama Pono, an activist organisation opposing geothermal-generated electricity on the Big Island. A story appearing in the xonolulu Aevertisez on September 22, 1997 quotes a state health official as saying Legator~s earlier health study was flawed because of the manner iA which it was conducted. I~ve receive8 an unsubstantiated report that Legator and/or his university have been asked to refund the grant money allocated Por the earlier study funded by your Institute. Would you please comment on this. Has your Institute evaluated Legatcr's earlier study? If so, would you sand me the results, please. I'm associated with the Hawaii Island Geothermal Alliance (RIGA), an organisation which endorses the use of geothermal power to produce electricity. HIGA~B members believe we should produce more than the 30 megawatts now being generated, which have provided about 25 peraent of the Hig Islands electricity for mare than four years. We believe geothermal power is less polluting thaA oil-generated electricity. From all I can determine, Legator floes not work with the State Department of Health in his health survey activities. Re does not work with County officials either. in fact, it appears that a small but vocal group of anti-geothermal.activists prompted and direct these surveys. (more) OCT 29 '97 1E~17 COCK_ II~ WGIMER P.3i6 HI6A LETTER TO NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF HEAL..9 SERVICES Page 2 RIGA members would hope that both of Legator's studies address the relative effect of emissions from the highly regulated geothermal plant and the uncontrolled and aontinuinq volcanic activity on the Big Island, which has beta particularly intense since 1983. I would appreciate hearing from you regarding: Why your institute provided grant money to Legator when our State Health Department has judged the geothermal plant to be safe. This includes continual monitoring. Whether your Institute believes his earlier health survey was conducted appropriately? Whether Legator or the University of Texas at Galveston has been asked to refund your institute's grant money? Whether Legator intends to publish findings from the Institute-iundefl survey so they can be reviewed by the Rational Centers for Disease control and Prevention, and if so, orhen? Please respond at your earliest convenience. Aloha, t Bill Cook ATTACHMENT - HONOLULU ADVERTISER NEWS ARTICLA cc: Hawa1'i Congressional Delegation Hawaii Governor Benjamin Cayetano Hawaii County Mayor Stephen Yamashiro Hawaii Island state Legislators Dr. Bruce Anderson, Deputy Director, State Department of Health George Steuer, Sen. Daniel Inouye's Honolulu office Bill Kikuchi, Sen. Daniel Inouye's Sig Zsland Office Maurice Raya, Hawaii State Energy Division Hawaii Islanfl Economic Development Board higaltr.NIH OCT 29 'g7 16:17 COCKS IN Wg1MEFi P.4i6 HONOLU>_,U ADVERTISER, Taesdn,,~, Sept. 22, 1997 rl"ew study begins at geot~h~ ermial~lant Bq Hngh CIAr$ teal journal for review by peers. Advetttisex8iglatendBuxeau Puna Malama Pono, led by PQHO][Slf, Hawaii -Anew longtime geothermal opponent Adrian Barber, is sponsonng the _ health study of residents living newest survey. The group, neaz the Puna Geothermal V'en- which is opposed to the geother- ture plant in Ogihfkao was ma! plant, said the survey will launched last week on the Big compare the Hilo area with the - island. Pura area. where Legator con- The new geothermal health eluded that 91 percent of the survey ie being conducted by residents suffered from central the same Texas group that con- nervous rystem damage symp- ducted one in 1996, and came as toms such as fatigue and anxi- a surprise tp state health offi- ety. Work began on Sept. lA at cials, who said the previous Hawaii Community College. study has been widely discred- 'We believe this is an iced by sctelttists. extremely important undertak- - "They have not consulted us ing which will provide valuable on the study design,'. said infonnaaon on many factors, BrUCe Anderson, state deputy mWudmg environmental impacts director of health, who has on human health," Barber said described the first survey as iS: a statement, flawed because of the manner Anderson said he has asked in which it was-conducted, for the federal review of Lega- Anderson said he haft asked tor's January claims in [he federal officials to examine .the interest of public health. conclusions of the llrst survey, On July 31, Anderson wrote done by Dr. Ivlarvln Legator, to the state Department of director of the division' of enVi- Human Services, saying that ronmental toxicology at the the geothermal plant health Univers[ty of Texas Galveston issue needed "an independeTit Medical Branch. The survey and na[ionafIy recognized found there were serious health agency specializing m health problf;ms from exposure to hazard assessment" to review hydrogen sulfide for people Legator's work. who lived near the plant. Anderson said the state con. In a. letter received late lass times to stress that exposure"to montl^~ from the national Centers low levels of hydrogen sulfide for Disease Control and Preven- by residents near the geother- uon, officials told Anderson they nisi plant is not cumulative afld would ceview Legator's work that only extremely acute lev- once it is published. which has eis of exposure is dangerous. not yet happened. For medical He said there is no evidence researchers, 'published' means to support claims of emission- the re a-lilts are mclude,~ isi a med- caused birth defects or cancer CCT 2° '97 16 19 COOK= IN ~'aIMEA P.Si6 HAI~AI`I ISLAND GEOTHERMAL ALLIANCE P.O. Box 6960 * KAMUELA, HI 96720 (808) 885-7502 October 2$, 1997 Ma. Stacey Pagoraelaki Environmental Protection Spetialist U.B. EPA, Region 9 (AF-5) 75 Hawthorne street San Francisco, CA 94105 Dear Hs. Pagoraelaki: Earlier this month, I phoned you and we discussed a $20,000 EPA grant to an anti-geothermal activist group on the Biq Island of Hawaii to perform air quality monitoring. That was about three weeks ago, anfl I~ve yet to receive the material you promised to mail to me a 25-page report on what was accomplished with the $20,000 grant. Again, my Pax number is (808) 885-9691. The mailing address and phone are indicated in the above letterhead. To recap our phone conference, you told me the grant was used to lease monitoring equipment an8 to train the activists to use the equipment. You said the grantees wanted more timely data about air quality; that the equipment was mobile and that it was moved around to measuse specific areas where the grantees were informed there were bad. odors in the air, presumably caused by the geothermal plant at Pohoiki on the Big Island of Hawaii. Further, you told me the $20,000 data was not used by SPA, that EPA got i.ts air samples from the State Depaztment of Health and Puma Geothermal Venture (PGV), owners and operators of t:he geothermal plant. You also told me the grant was awarded in 1995, and that the ~~checkout" or completion of the work to be performed under the con!lltions oY the air monitoring grant was August 1997. I assume EPA received the 25-page report at that time. A]'.so please mail or fax to me the conflitions EPA set forth to the grantees, and what kind of oversight, if any, the EI?A maintained over the grantees. For instance, did you approve the monitoring equipment lease arrangements? What company leased the equipment to the lessees? who trained them to uce the equipment? Were the trainees paidY Whete exactly wer9 the measurements taken? was a third party required to be present to verify location and ~sccuracy? ocr i6:ie cooks zN warnEA P.6 ~ RIGA LETTER TO E ,1MS. STACEY PAGORZELSKI Page 2 i would appreoiate receiving from you figures detailing how the $20,000 was expended and to whom. You also told me that when "stationary monitors read high, so did the citiaea monitors." ]My notes don't reflect it, but I thought you said the stationery monitors wore, those operated by the State and PGV. would you clarify this for me, please? Finally, you asked me if the organization i represent, Hawaii Island Geothermal Alliance, planae8 to 8o n n®wa release based on our phone conference. i promised i would not 4o that without first discussing the 520,000 EPA great with your public information officer. I get no answer for the phone number you gave me: (d 15) 7d4-1172. Please verify this number. On a related matter, T would hope the EPA would endorse more geothermal-generated electricity because it is so much cleaner a.n8 environmentally benign as compared with oil-generated electricity. President Clinton recently proposed $5 billion in tax breaks to encourage America to reduce its deP~endency on fossil fuels. It seems to members of the: Hawaii Island Geothermal Alliance that the EPA should be encouraging more use of geothermal-generated electricity ir~steafl of funding anti-geothermal activists to oollect aix~ quality data that even EPA doesn't need or use. Please respond at your earliest convenience. Sin sly, ~ ~ Bill Cook oc: Hawai'i congressional Delegation Hawaii Governor Benjamin Cayetano Hawaii <;ounty Mayor Stephen Yamashiro Hawaii ][eland State Legislators Dr. Bruce Anderson, Deputy Director, State Department of Haalth George Steuar, Sen. Daniel Inouye's Honolulu Office Bill xikuehi, Sen. Daniel Inouye's Big Island office Maurice FCaya, Hawaii state Energy Division Hawaii Island Economic Development Hoard higaltr.107