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Home My WebLink AboutCOM 0242.003 2010-2012ISSUE biofuels Bioenergy Hawaii Comments on Comm. 242 re. presentation by Guy Kaniho of Pacific Waste/ Bio- Energy Hawai'i (BEH) on public- private partnership utilizing the County of Hawai'i sort station and recovery facility in Hilo for County Environmental Management Committee,9 AM Wednesday, July 6, 2011, Hilo County Building by Cory Harden, PO Box 10265, Hilo, Occupied Hawaii 96721 808- 968 -8965 mh @interpac.net Use of the sort station by BEH would be a first step towards trucking garbage to its proposed incincerator at NELHA (Natural Energy Laboratory of Hawai'i). So please urge BEH to address these concerns about its incinerator. Possible pollutants Dioxin Heavy metals Particulates Nitrous oxide Carbon dioxide —are emissions estimates correct? "Don Thomas. a University of Hawai'i professor of engineering and head of NELHA's scientific advisory committee" said " `The proposal says you'll reclaim 100 percent of the carbon dioxide generated by the facility. Yet... I don't see any infrastructure for extracting 100 percent of this CO2.' ... [Stephen] O'Leary, the algae expert from Canada [flown in at BEH expense for a NELHA meeting] said [this was] based on being able to sequester the entirety of the CO2. That's a goal to aim for, but as a scientist, I'd never put my neck out so far.' " [Trash Treatment Plant Proposed for NELHA gets OK from Board, Environment Hawai'i, July 2008] Costs to County "Put or pay " -- County pays Waste Management even if there's less garbage than expected at the Kona landfill Less income for County and Waste Management from tipping fees at the Kona landfill if waste goes to BEH Costs for trucking and incineration at BEH Public policy County Supports zero waste The County will "embrace and adopt the priniciples of zero waste as a long -term goal" per Resolution 356 -07 passed in 2007 Rejected waste -to- energy In 2002, the County planned for a waste reduction facility using waste -to- energy, thermal gasification, or anaerobic digestion. But in 2008 it rejected a waste -to- energy proposal because of high costs. In 2009 it planned no waste reduction technology for the next five years. [County Integrated Resources and Solid Waste Management Plan Update, Dec. 2009] State priorities 1 st -- source reduction 2 nd-- recycling (to include composting) 3 d -- Iandfilling and incineration [Report to the Twenty- Fourth State Legislature, 2008, Solid Waste Management, p. 2] Comm. No. 2 412. 3 Ref. To: JUL / 6MG Ref. Dote 6 2011 Recycling Does Pacific Waste recycle? "According to [Mike] Dworsky [County solid waste director] ,,,'Pacific Waste doesn't recycle anything...And people under contract to them can't recycle, either,' being forced to pay more for trash pickups if the volume they put out is reduced, he said." [Proposed Waste Plant Could Disrupt Landfil Operation in West Hawai'i, Environment Hawai'i, July 2008] Will there be less recycling and composting, to ensure enough waste to feed the BEH facility? Traffic - -how many trucks per hour are needed to haul about 400 tons of waste per day to BEH, and about 100 tons (unacceptable waste and burn residue) back to the landfill? Planning- -does use of NELHA land exempt BEH from the County planning process? Community benefits Who is allowed to bring waste to BEH? Costs to residential and commercial users for trucking and incineration Algae biofuel production Output estimates— realistic? "The initial figures they presented to the NELHA board earlier this week, a prediction of 6.8 million gallons of biodiesel produced annually, were higher than their primary algae - to -oil researcher was comfortable with, though, [Guy] Kaniho [general manager of Pacific Waste] said..." [Gasification plan steps forward, West Hawai'i Today, 5- 30 -08] Thomas said " The numbers I come up with suggest that your production rate [for algae production and algae -based biodiesel] is a factor of 20 higher than what is considered the so- called industry standard...'... 'I agree completely,' replied O'Leary. The numbers are about 20 times what is currently available.' ...if the volume of waste treated fell short of the amount on which their algae production figures was calculated, the yields would be even less." [Trash Treatment Plant Proposed for NELHA gets OK from Board; Environment Hawai'i, July 2008] Cost - effectiveness "Algae are very difficult to harvest..." [Wrestling with Algae, Onearth, 2- 10 -10] Water -- amount needed Algae "food" —type, impacts to produce and ship Chemicals —to extract lipids; types; impacts Genetically modified algae —will be used? Salt water —if it's used, how will BEH avoid poisoning the soil with salt? Evaporation -- impacts on local humidity and ecosystems Output water— impacts Net greenhouse gas emissions Plans for algae, after useful life is over Fly ash —will be used? "Fly ash...will be `mixed with concrete and used in construction,' according to the [BEH] video. Similar claims have been made for the residual ash from HPOWER [in Honolulu], but the ash has yet to be incorporated into any large -scale application." " [Trash Treatment Plant Proposed for NELHA gets OK from Board, Environment Hawaii, July 2008] Electricity customers - -have those identified by BEH committed to buying the electricity generated (HELCO, Kona Airport, NELHA tenants)? Track record What is the record of BEH and its principals for following legal and contract requirements? If this technology was used elsewhere, did it work?