HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0710.095 2010-2012 Pi Gousit.
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FROM THE DESK OF
(808)965-5040 SKY DOHERTY (808)333-7763
August I,2012
ATTN:Hawaii County Council
Hilo,HI
Dear Council,
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I have lived on Hawaii for over 10 years. I came here and immediately began working on farms,working to
improve myself and my knowledge,to be a better person for this World. I've spent more time with the Aina
than some who have lived here their whole lives. I consider this my home,where I was born,because I was
reborn here. I love this land and I love it's people. I want to live here forever. I now have a small and growing
business in Pahoa,fixing people's Apple devices,as an Apple Certified Technician. I am a proudly contributing
member of this community,so please take into consideration my concern.
I now live in Lielani Estates. In my humble opinion,and keep this a secret,it's the nicest neighborhood on the
Island. I've lived here for several years in three different places. I lived up mauka on Maile,up mauka on Ka-
hukai,and now I live makai on Makamae. I want to live here forever. I want to buy land and build a house or ._
buy one here. This is the only place on the island I want to do so! Leilani is a special place!
I became aware of the Puna Geothermal Venture,which I'll refer to as PGV from now on,when it began drill-
ing. The noise was extreme. It kept me up at night. I looked at the website of PGV to see what readings they
were reporting for sound from the plant and know it was below 50 decibels. I'm absolutely sure that the reading
could have been above 140 decibels,as the sound coming from the plant was echoing across the land for miles.
It could be understandable if this was only done in the daytime,but the noise went on for days and only stopped
from about 2am-8am. This makes me suspicious that PGV has no moral consideration for the community.
I began to research PGV and fmd that there is a lot of issues surrounding it. Many people in the community are
adverse to it's growth...they want to see it better regulated by third party firms...or see it shut down altogether.
It makes perfect sense to me to scrutinize the business of a company with a history of making potentially fatal
mistakes. So I joined the group of Citizens who are addressing you in contest to PGV growing and going on
unregulated. I feel strongly that PGV should not be allowed to maintain their own sensors and regulatory de-
vices intended to protect the surrounding community. I believe that if my Government,You,will not enforce
this,than PGV should be shut down. I don't believe the risks outweigh the benefits,with all factors considered.
Since living at the lower end of Leilani Estates,on Makamae Street,I've been inflicted with a steady stream of
health issues. I live at about a 1 mile distance from PGV,and can hear it ALL of the time,sounding like a series
of loud fans or engines running constantly. I didn't think anything of the health issues,mostly respiratory infec-
tions,until my Mother and a friend also mentioned that I was getting sick a lot. I began to suspect that PGV
was being dishonest about the levels of toxic gasses emitted from it's actions. The most intense health problem
for me was a sudden and extreme allergic reaction where the entire left side of my face swelled to the point
where I could not see out of my eye. I went to the Emergency Room. The doctor told me it was an allergy,but
definitely not something that I ate...it was something in the environment. I have always had a deviated septum
on my right side and can only breath through my left,so I suspect that toxic gasses leaked from the PGV site the
night before I woke up with the reactions.
Some of the other members of the community may argue that they have lived in Leilani for many years and
had no issues. I understand that they may be worried that if PGV is forced to have a 1 mile buffer zone or more
issues are raised,that their property values may go down,and want to drop the matter.This does not resolve the
critical issue at hand,that PGV may very well be slowly and quietly poisoning people. We must protect our-
selves. I urge you to consider us all and make the choice to support the people and the land,and put industry
and commerce second.
Sincerely yours,
Sky Doherty
Comm. No.
13-3362 MAKAMAE STREET Ref.TO:
PAHOA,HI 96778 Ref. Dote vt) ° 1