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Home My WebLink AboutRES 102 Draft 01 1992-1994OFFICE INFORMATION ONLY Meeting: Hawaii County Council - 12/22/93 Action: Close file - 12/22/93 council meeting Re. Res. 102-93; C-548.02 COUNTY OF HAWAII STATE OF HAWAII RESOLUTION N0. ~ 102 93 WHEREAS, The State of Hawaii, through its Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism, desires to establish a rocket launch facility or "spaceport" in the Ka'u District of the County of Hawaii and has caused a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) to be prepared; and WHEREAS, the members of this body have made a preliminary review of the DEIS and have referenced other relevant documents and information; and WHEREAS, based on such review and research the council finds the following: (1) The DEIS provides no substantive information or assessment regarding any of the payloads possible or likely to be imported, transported to and launched from the proposed facility, including nuclear materials or weapons which the federal government may elect to import and launch from the facility, the characteristics of all conventional materials involved and the nature and extent of the solid waste stream which will certainly result from such importation; (2) According to a formal opinion issued by State Attorney General Warren Price on January 31, 1991 neither the State nor the County will have any control over the payloads which the federal government or its contractors may launch or cause to be launched from the facility and therefore the use of certain nuclear materials should be assumed to occur more than once; (3) No rocket launching facility has proven or is likely to be free of transport, launch pad or lift-off accidents and disasters, and to some extent such accidents are certain to occur in the County of Hawaii as a result of this facility's operation; (4) The rocket launching facility at Ka'u will create enormous health and safety hazards for residents and visitors throughout East Hawaii because of various inherent practices and risks, including but not limited to: (a) the truck transport from Hilo dockside to Ka'u of extremely toxic, volatile, and explosive liquids and solids which provide fuel, propellants and pressurization for the rockets to be launched, and which will include dangerous fuels such as Hydrazine and Nitrogen Tetroaide which is an oxidizer equally as dangerous as Methyl Isocyanate, the leakage of which caused the Union Carbide Bhopal disaster where 2,500 people died and 100,000 were injured; (b) the truck transport of such dangerous substances over roadways crossing known earthquake fault lines in the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, where highway signs warn drivers to be aware of spontaneous cracks, chasms, and shifts in roadway alignment resulting from fault line activity; (c) an on-route spill or explosion in the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park would have a serious ecological and economic impact on the Park which presently draws approximately 2.5 million visitors per year and thus is the largest single visitor attraction in the County of Hawaii and is vital to the economy of East Hawaii in particular; (d) a "cold spill" or exposure of fuels at the rocket launching site will release carcinogenic and mutagenic chemicals into our atmosphere, earth, and ocean waters, which chemicals are likely to have a lingering, long term effect on our fishing industry through a poisoned food chain; (e) the likelihood of a severe earthquake occurring within the "southeastern rift zone" of Mauna Loa, and the ramifications of that occurring when a rocket is loaded or being loaded with fuel on the rocket launch pad, which is an inherently unstable structure; (f) an on-site explosion, such as that which recently occurred at Vandenburg Air Force Base or which would result from a collapsed, loaded rocket on its launch pad following a severe earthquake, would cause serious, life threatening damage within the communities of Na'alehu and Pahala and the Punalu'u recreation and visitor facilities and would have severe, irreversible economic and social impacts; (5) Unreasonably high noise and light levels will be projected into wilderness portions of the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park; (6) The health risk assessment component of the DEIS grossly underestimates the impacts of the proposed use on people in a number of respects, including but not limited to: (a) the assessment is based on a launch failure rate that is much lower than documented elsewhere in the DEIS for the common types of rockets which are presumed to be used at the facility; (b) the assessment is based on a launch frequency rate (the annual number of launches) which is much lower than is actually proposed or projected by state officials, and these two factors combined with others recited herein imply a far greater degree of danger and risk to the people of the County of Hawaii than the DEIS supposes; (c) the assessment fails to account at all for the impacts on surrounding communities and recreation areas of air-borne shock waves produced by a launch pad or lift-off explosion, as such shock waves are described elsewhere in the DEIS; (7) The DEIS fails to contemplate the impact on proposed visitor, recreation and residential facilities within the Sazale Punalu'u resort area, and the consequences therefrom on the job and business opportunities proposed to arise from development of that resort area; (8) The nature of the rocket launch facility, including the physical controls and hazards involved, will hinder many other business and recreational opportunities in Ka'u; (9) The DEIS fails to contemplate and provide a study as to whether or not there may be a compounded or interactive chemical effect of rocket fuel emissions with existing "voq" on the atmosphere of the North and South Kona Districts of Hawaii County, where unique atmospheric conditions keep vog-polluted air trapped along the island's leeward flank and such vog alone has a clinically proven record of causing discomfort and serious health problems for some residents in West Hawaii; (10) Any likelihood of increased air pollution episodes could have serious, harmful effects on the visitor and agricultural industries within the Kona area and thereby negatively impact the quality of life and job base in Kona; (11) The number of long term jobs which are to be created are inadequate and out of proportion with the eztent and severity of the negative impacts; (12) The image of such a facility which will be conveyed by the public media will certainly and fundamentally conflict with the natural, cultural and hospitality image of the Big Island of Hawaii which we actively promote to attract visitors; (13) For the reasons stated above the rocket launch facility contravenes many of the goals and policies of the County General Plan; (14) A rocket launching facility contradicts the requirements of Article XI, Section 1 of the Constitution of the State of Hawaii, which mandates the conservation and protection of Hawaii's natural beauty and all natural resources; WHEREAS, polls done by (1) State House Representatives Jerry Chang and Virginia Isbell and State Senator Andy Levin and (2) the EIS consultant (per page 5-11, titled Social impacts) evidenced that 65~ of Hawaii County residents islandwide are opposed to the rocket launch facility; NOW THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE COUNTY OF HAWAII that the County of Hawaii is opposed to the designation, funding or establishment of a rocket launch facility on the Island of Hawaii and requests the State government to abandon any and all efforts to support, authorize or create such a facility. BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that copies of this resolution be delivered to The Honorable Daniel K. Inouye, United States Senator; The Honorable Daniel Akaka, United States Senator; The Honorable Patsy Mink, United States Representative; The Honorable Neil Abercrombie, United States Representative; The Honorable John Waihee, Governor, State of Hawaii; Mr. Mufi Hannemann, Director, Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism; Mr. Takeshi Yoshihara, Deputy Director, Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism; and The Honorable Stephen K. Yamashiro, Mayor, County of Hawaii. Dated at Hilo, Hawaii, this day of , 1993. INTRODUCED BY: COUNCILMEMBER, COUNTY OF HAWAII COUNTY COUNCIL County of Hawaii Hilo, Hawaii I hereby certify that the foregoing RESOLUTION was by the vote indicated to the right hereof adopted by the COUNCIL of the County of Hawaii on ATTEST: COUNTY CLERK CHAIRMAN & PRESIDING OFFICER ROLL CALL VOTE AYES NOES ABS EX Reference C-548.02/P(/CNrs~ RESOLUTION NO. l,y`. 93 J+(V OI y~ Win' 'r~..• . ., I ~ •~ 1T~ OI MI'i~, OFFICE OF 2'HE COUl~`TY CLERK County of Hauaii Hauwii County ButWing 25 Aupuni Strait Hib, Hauaii 96720 AUGUST 19, 1993 TO: SPENCER K. SCHUTTE, CHAIRMAN HAWAII COUNTY COUNCIL _ FROM: KEOLA CHILDS, COUNCI ~ ER ~~ JIM RATH COUNCILMEMB~- RE: RESOLUTION 102 Attached, please find Resolution 102 to be referred to the proper committee for review and consideration. Thank you for your attention to this matter. Attachment. R.!5 /01 OOAM7k NO. 1 ' OZ Ta: PC