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HomeMy WebLinkAboutREP AWESC 002 05/16/2012 2010-2012 REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE, WATER AND ENERGY SUSTAINABILITY DATE: May 16, 2012 RE: Comm. No. 710/Bill No. 256 PLACE: Council Chambers Hilo, Hawai`i TIME: 10:10 a.m. Council Chair and Members Hawai`i County Council Hilo, Hawai`i 96720 Your Committee on Agriculture, Water and Energy Sustainability, to which was referred Bill No. 256, reports as follows: Bill No. 256, transmitted by Council Chair Dominic Yagong via Communication No. 710, dated May 8, 2012, amends Chapter 2, Article 36, Hawai`i County Code 1983 (2005 edition, as amended), by renaming and redefining the Geothermal Relocation and Community Benefits Program to the Geothermal Relocation and Public Safety Program. There were 48 testifiers from the public: 30 from the Hilo Council Chambers and 18 from the Pahoa Council Office. Of the 48 testifiers, 11 provided comments, 29 spoke in support, and 8 spoke in opposition. There were also 29 written testimonies submitted: 3 in support and 26 opposed. Mr. Yagong submitted amendments to "Section 2-182._" via Communication No. 710.1, which changed the title from "Terms of relocation" to "Qualifications for relocation" and deleted the deadline of December 31, 2012, for homeowners to apply for relocation. The amendments passed unanimously (Mr. Ikeda, Mr. Onishi, and Mr. Pilago were absent). During discussions on the main motion, Committee Members expressed their concerns and suggested some amendments for consideration as follows: Mr. Hoffmann felt there were some inconsistencies with the bill and asked why all references to the County selling acquired properties through the relocation program were not deleted. If the County will be selling acquired properties, then the title in Section 2-178 should remain the same as "Purchase and sale of affected properties" without deleting "and sale." Mr. Yagong responded that he wanted to leave the option open for Puna Geothermal Venture (PGV) to purchase acquired properties so that they could be used as a buffer zone. Mr. Hoffmann also mentioned that in Section 2-177, "the Puna Geothermal Venture's Plant" was deleted and replaced with "a geothermal power producing facility," which implies any geothermal plant that may be located anywhere on the island; however, in Section 2-181, the amendments state that expenditures relating to public health and safety shall be expended only in Lower Puna. AWESC Report No. 2 AWESC-2 Page 2 May 16, 2012 Mr. Yagong replied that the reference to Lower Puna was part of the original language and that he left it in so that these areas didn't feel like they were being excluded from receiving any public safety devices. Ms. Smart was concerned that based on the language in Bill No. 256, if a geothermal plant was developed in another area of the island, the funds from that plant would go to Lower Puna; therefore, Section 2-181 should be amended to reflect that any funds collected from a geothermal facility should be expended in the same area of that facility. In addition, instead of saying ``public safety" in various sections, it should say "public health and safety" in order to be consistent throughout the bill, since the intent of the bill is to address both public health and public safety issues. Ms. Smart asked if there will be some type of management plan to keep squatters out from the vacant properties. Mr. Yagong replied that he would like to see the structures relocated to other areas, but right now the main priority is to relocate the owner- occupants and leave the properties uninhabited. Disposal, relocation or management of the uninhabited structures can be addressed later. Ms. Smart then asked for clarification on Section 2-181(5) on whether the Civil Defense Administrator has to make the recommendations for expenditures relating to public health and safety. Mr. Yagong explained that the relocation fund is managed by the Planning Director, but all health and safety issues fall under Civil Defense. The Civil Defense Administrator is the expert and should be the one to make recommendations related to health and safety. Lastly, Ms. Smart expressed her concerns on the removal of ``community benefits" from the program, because the Pahoa Office will be affected and may have to close. Ms. Ford made the following suggestions: 1) Section 2-178 should include the word "lease," so it would say "purchase or lease of..."; 2) the Planning Director does not purchase properties, so Section 2-178 should be amended to say that the Planning Director recommends to the Finance Director which properties to purchase; 3) the description of Lower Puna in Section 2-181 should be deleted so that expenditures relating to public health and safety can be applied to any area of the island where a geothermal plant is located, should another one be developed; and 4) to prevent problems with squatters, the amendment in Section 2-178 should be reworded so that the structures are not left uninhabited. Instead, it should say that the structures are either demolished or moved by the owner within a designated time frame. Planning Director Bobby Jean Leithead-Todd was called forward and also made some suggestions as follows: 1) the bill should give authority to sell or auction the structure to someone who will move it; 2) if someone is willing to purchase and move the structure, authority should be given to negotiate the price of the structure; 3) the geothermal funds should pay for all costs associated with demolishing the structure; and 4) what are the priorities when looking at expenditures. Will purchasing properties be on a first-come-first-serve basis? Is it to those that live closest to the geothermal plant? With limited funds, should the funds be spent first on relocating or safety issues? Ms. Leithead-Todd also had concerns that there are not enough funds to purchase all the properties within the one-mile radius. There is only $2,155,000 remaining, which could purchase about eight to ten properties. Mr. Yagong asked Ms. Leithead-Todd to confirm the amount, because he was told that there was $3.7 million remaining. Ms. Leithead-Todd explained that some funds may already be encumbered for other pending projects, but not yet expended. She also informed the Council that they are already working with Mr. Blas, the Mayor's Office and Civil Defense to coordinate a geothermal evacuation drill based on the emergency response plan submitted by PGV. AWESC-2 Page 3 May 16, 2012 Mr. Onishi stated that he contacted the Department of Health about the geothermal issue. He was told that the Department of Health does have monitors out there that they check on and that gas levels will vary depending on temperature and wind. He also asked if it was possible to purchase devices called "Jerome" that could be given to the Fire Department to check gas levels. Mr. Ikeda asked Ms. Leithead-Todd how much money is in the geothermal relocation fund. She replied that there is $3.7 million, but only $2,155,000 is available because the rest is encumbered for other expenditures, some of which are ongoing like the lease for the Pahoa Council Office and security for Pohoiki and the Pahoa Community Center. If geothermal funds can no longer pay for these expenses, then the Council will have to look for funding in the General Fund to continue these services. Mr. Ikeda also asked how much does PGV contribute into the relocation fund each year. Ms. Leithead-Todd responded that about $500,000 is contributed every year, depending on PGV's revenues. The contribution is ten percent of the royalties paid to the State. He then asked about the geothermal asset fund. She stated that the asset fund gets $50,000 per year and is governed by the geothermal permit. It has limited purposes and the Council doesn't have the authority to amend the conditions of the permit. The asset fund is intended for relocation, mitigation and damages caused by PGV. The royalty fund is separate from the asset fund. Mr. Ikeda then asked if the asset fund can be used to purchase some of the safety devices. Ms. Leithead-Todd said she would have to double-check, but it's possible that some of it could be used for relocation and health and safety expenses. Mr. Ikeda stated that he understands that relocating residents is a top priority, but he does not want "community benefits" to be taken out. Once the funds start building up again, he wants future Councils to have the option of using the funds for the community. Mr. Yagong responded that at the time the "community benefits" was added, there were no applicants for relocation because of the condition that your house had to have been built by 1989. This bill now opens it up to allow anyone within one mile of the facility to apply for relocation. Mr. Ikeda also feels that the buffer zone should be expanded, based on what he heard from testifiers. Mr. Yagong responded that we should take care of those closest to the facility first. Once everyone is taken care of, then we can look at expanding the buffer zone. Mr. Hoffmann indicated that he would like to see some community benefits left in. He then called forward Puna Geothermal Plant Manager Mike Kaleikini to ask him why there was no environmental impact statement (EIS) done. Mr. Kaleikini replied that they did one in the late 80's-early 90's. Ms. Ford asked Mr. Kaleikini if magma came up in any wells and if their permit has any conditions regarding magma coming up the wells. He responded that at one time magma did come up a well about 20 feet, but it self-plugged. He doesn't think there is anything in the permit regarding that, but he would double-check. Ms. Ford commented that there should be a law, perhaps in this bill or another bill, which would require realtors to disclose that a property is within so many miles of a geothermal plant before selling it. Ms. Smart expressed her concerns with taking away geothermal funds to provide infrastructure when Puna has serious traffic problems that could have an adverse affect on an evacuation. Mr. Yagong replied that first we need to come up with a comprehensive plan and then we can determine the costs to deal with public safety. AWESC-2 Page 4 May 16, 2012 Mr. Yagong asked Ms. Leithead-Todd to send a copy of the Planning Department's Administrative Rules relating to relocation to all the Council Members. He also asked her to submit to his office an amendment for Section 2-178, so that she can have the flexibility to negotiate assessed values for a fair and equitable solution to both parties. Mr. Yoshimoto agreed with most of the comments and suggested amendments made by other Council Members. He also agreed that the "community benefits" should be kept in and that a criterion to determine the relocation priorities should be included in this bill so that the Planning Director and the public know what to expect. Your Committee on Agriculture, Water and Energy Sustainability is in accord with the purpose and intent of Bill No. 256, as amended to Draft 2, and recommends its passage on first reading. dwe AYES NOES A&E EX Respectfully submitted, BLAS X FORD x COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE, WATER HOFFMANN x AND ENERGY SUSTAINABILITY IKEDA X ONISHI X PILAGO X .J _ SMART X J YOS ��TO, CHAIR YAGONG x AWESC REPORT NO. 2 YOSHIMOTO x ADOPTED: JUN 0 6 2012