HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 1142.004 2006-2008
Hawai'i County Council
Testimony of Addison M. Bowman, of Pa'auilo Mauka,
at the County Council meeting in Kona on 21 April 2008
Related to the anticlpated Air Force Mposal for a Military Training Route
for low-level flights by C-17 Globemaster aircraft.
The Hawai'i County Council, on behalf of Hawai'i County and its
residents, should adopt a resolution in strong opposition to any initiative
by the U.S. Air Force to obtain a Military Training Route for C-17 aircraft
in the airspace over the Big Island. In addition, the County Council should
seek to be permitted to participate in the production of the Environmental
Assessment that the Air Force is reportedly in the process of writing. The
reasons why the County Council should act in this matter are as follows:
(1) It has been reported that the Air Force has circulated a draft
Environmental Assessment describimg a training corridor, several miles in
width, that begins over Honoka'a Town, proceeds southwestwardly just
below Waimea Town, then goes in a southern direction between Hualalai
and Mauna Loa mountains, and exits the Big Island just to the west of
South Point, near Ocean View. The Air Force has confirmed that it intends
to publish an Environmental Assessment proposing this flight corridor as a
C-17 low level, high speed Military Training Route with flight altitudes
varying between 300 and 2,000 feet.
(2) Department of the Aiur Force, DOD, regulation § 989.14,
entitled "Environmental Assessment," specifies in subsection 1: "The Air
Force will involve other federal agencies, state, Tribal, and local
governments, and the public in the preparation of EAs (40 CFR 1501.4(b)
and 1506.6). The extent of involvement usually coincides with the
magnitude and complexity of the proposed action and its potential
environmental effect on the area." See Title 32, National Defense, Chapter
VII, Department of the Air Force, Part 989, "Environmental Impact Analysis
Process." Thus, the Air Force is duty bound to involve the Hawaii State
and Hawai'i County governments in the preparation of the "EA" that it
plans to issue in May, and the County Council resolution called for in this
testimony should insist on meaningful involvement by Hawai'i County in
this entire process, beginning with preparation of the Environmental
Assessment. The resolution should make the further point that county
Comm. No. Z
Ref. To.- "reseal
Ref. DoteAPR 21 2008
involvement should be at a level that comports with the magnitude and
the "potential environmental effect" of this particular proposal.
(3) The County Council should find that the proposed MTR will, at a
minimum, have a profound and deleterious impact on the environment
and quality of life in Honoka'a Town and the Big Island in general, for the
following reasons:
* Honoka'a Town is hardly a "sparsely populated area," as it is a
typical American small town with about 2,500 permanent residents.
* Honoka'a Town has a public high school with 750 students and an
elementary school with 380 students. Nearby, and also in the flight
corridor, is Pa'auilo Elementary and Intermediate School with some 200
students. There is a Middle School in Waimea plus two private schools
there. Waikoloa, also in the C-17 training path, boasts an elementary
school. Art Souza, a highly regarded deputy district superintendent of
public schools, is on record as opposing the C-17 proposal because of its
predictably adverse effects on education and student life.
* The predictable adverse effects of the low-level training flights
include extreme noise, toxic particulate emissions, and general despoiling
of the aina. The noise will effect not only the concentration of students,
but the health and well being of every resident exposed to the engine
screaming and wing turbulence of these monster planes. The author's
home, at 2,400 feet elevation and above county water, uses catchment
water. Many people in this area use catchment systems. It is feared that
the C-17 emissions will poison these water systems.
* The Honoka'a and Waimea areas contain agricultural and ranching
communities. Cattle, sheep, and goats are raised. Feral pigs are hunted.
The countryside is home to many species of animals and birds, including
the endangered Hawaiian 'lo Hawk, who is found only on the Big Island
and is endangered, currently numbering only 1,200 birds. See Hawaii's
Comprehensive Wildlife Conservation Strategy, October 1, 2005.
Residents believe that the C-17 flights will disastrously impact these
populations.
(4) Rather than speculate about the environmental effects of the
proposed MTR, the Hawai'i County government should move promptly to
conduct scientific studies of these matters. In this way, local government
"involvement" will entail a meaningful level of participation in the
assessment of the overall desirability of the Air Force proposal.
Respectfully submitted,
Addison M. Bowman
21 April 2008