HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0070.013 1998-2000 0 0
Lanny Sinkin
58 Furneaux Lane, Suite 5
Hilo, Hawai'i 96720
(808) 969 -7768 CL.) u 2 `�
FAX: (808) 934 -9609
Email: lanny@ailhawaii.net fl` ;,.;;;
March 8, 1999
Chairman Arakaki and Members of the County Council
25 Aupuni Street
Hilo, Hawaii 96720
Dear Chairman Arakaki and Members of the Council,
I am writing to express my concern regarding the silence of the Council on the Y2K issue.
After reading a number of books and magazine articles, researching the subject on the web,
and otherwise seeking to inform myself, I believe the Council is making a serious error in
judgment to leave the community without information and guidance from its government.
While many of us will be working to educate and organize at the neighborhood and
community level, the absence of support for our efforts from the government and the
potential impact of that lack of support creates unnecessary risks to the health, safety, and
well being of the community.
In the opening prayer at the last Council meeting, the minister asked that we be forgiven if
we turn our heads and close our eyes in the face of problems we should address. The
minister also prayed that this Council would have the courage to face problems never before
faced by a County Council. Both those prayers apply to Y2K and the County's non- response
to date. I regret that the current policy of putting speakers related to topics not on the
agenda at the end of the meeting and the long meeting last Thursday meant that 1 was not
still present at the time I could have addressed this topic publicly.
In my research, I find that there are a range of responses by local governments. Consider
this information from an article published on February 19, 1999 in the Oregonian, the major
newspaper in Portland, Oregon. "City officials are drafting ambitious plans to organize
Portland's 200,000 households into small, self sufficient units, marshaled by potentially
thousands of neighborhood leaders trained to head off problems resulting from the Year 2000
computer problem." The Portland approach calls for "groups of roughly 150 households ...
each coordinated by a volunteer block leader. ... Each group will receive a workbook and
literature explaining the Year 2000 computer problem, potential consequences and
appropriate ways to prepare for contingencies. Because nobody knows how long any Y2K-
related disruptions may last, residents will be coached on how to prepare for failures of basic
services that last for 72 hours, two weeks, and two months."
Comm. No. 7 0. 1 3
File No., F I N
Ref. To: I-4SE
Ref. Date MAR 9 4"
0
Chairman Arakaki and Members of the Council
Page Two
March 8, 1999
My parents live in San Antonio, so I visited the San Antonio web site to determine how that
city government is responding. 1 found that San Antonio has a Y2K committee composed of
the largest grocery chain, the public utilities, the emergency services, the largest bank, etc.
Their focus appears to be ensuring that their systems are Y2K compliant and that the major
institutions are prepared for significant disruptions. While the web site contained a single
page making suggestions for household level preparations, such as stockpiling some food,
cash, water, etc., the San Antonio response does not include anything like the comprehensive
response found in Portland.
Then at the far end of the spectrum is the Hawaii County response, which appears to be
limited to ensuring the computers at the County work so that employees get their paychecks
on time. I urge you to consider that response totally insufficient. Read the report of the
United States Senate, if you have any lingering doubts that Y2K is a serious problem.
www.senate.gov/—y2k.
My concerns are many. Let me focus on just one. The United States Senate report on Y2K
found the oil and gas industry woefully unprepared. Venezuela and Saudi Arabia are so far
behind that achieving Y2K compliance is all but impossible. The Senate found that "most of
the critical systems in the [gas and oil] industry are still in the inventory and assessment
phase leaving little time for the more difficult phases of Y2K remediation and testing." The
common figure 1 have seen is that inventory and assessment represent 7% of the total effort
needed to reach compliance.
A second area of great concern is the maritime industry, which is also far behind. One
interface between the oil industry and the maritime industry is the computer software
controlling all aspects of loading and off - loading of oil. That software is apparently no
where near compliant.
As you know, we are dependent upon the oil industry and the shipping industry for
practically all of our transportation and energy systems and for practically all of our
consumer goods. If there is significant disruption in the production, transportation, and
distribution of oil, we will be in trouble within a short period of time. If there is a
significant disruption in shipping, we will be in far more than trouble.
The energy sector is only one of many different sectors which could individually cause major
problems or interact with other sectors to cause major problems. Faced with such scenarios,
I urge you not to turn your head and close your eyes, not to find reasons to avoid taking
action.
What can you do Rule 8 of your rules allows you to establish an Ad Hoc Committee of the
Council. Better late than never, 1 urge you to establish such a committee to address Y2K.
Such a committee can develop a plan on an emergency basis for informing the general
a
0
Chairman Arakaki and Members of the Council
Page Three
March 8, 1999
community, mobilizing a response, and otherwise preparing for any potential disruptions.
The county can provide access to information for the public, including store front centers in
Hilo and Kona and a web site with Y2K information both at a general level and at an island
specific level. The county can appropriate funds for an organizing effort to involve existing
organizations, such as churches, civic groups, chambers of commerce, etc. in gathering
needed information from households and preparing responses that rely on community
cooperation.
I don't have all the answer and don't expect you to. I do expect you to stop denying the
problem and take affirmative steps to protect the general public. I know that when we speak
frankly and acknowledge problems, we are already on the path toward resolving them. 1 am
personally committed to contributing as much of my time and creativity as possible to help
develop an island -wide and a neighborhood -level response. At the same time, I would really
appreciate not having to do the job you were elected to do and not having to worry about
those who are unprepared because you did not step up to your responsibilities.
The Mayor of Portland said that the Y2K preparation program is a "wonderful opportunity to
prepare citizens for any kind of natural disaster." Communities around the country are
finding a full blown Y2K process eliminates fears and brings a sense.of unity that is often
missing. Whatever you believe about Y2K, certainly you can take the approach that
preparing the population to deal with disaster scenarios is worthwhile on an island with so
many such scenarios possible.
The hour is late. Please do not remove the county government from being part of the
community level response. Mahalo for your consideration.
Aloha, �� �
er Y 44 $ Inkin
c.c. Interested people
o ,
0 O
•
Portland drafts plans
for dealing with Y2K
The ambitious effort includes organizing
neighborhoods to prepare for disruptions
caused by the computer problem
Friday February 19, 1999
By Steve Woodward of The Oregonian staff
Portland engineers identify a dozen critical
spots
This is not -- repeat, not -- a Y2K drill.
City officials are drafting ambitious plans to organize Portland's 200,000
households into small, self - sufficient units, marshaled by potentially thousands of
neighborhood leaders trained to head off problems resulting from the Year 2000 computer
problem.
If approved and executed beginning this spring, he effort would be one of the
nation's largest municipal Y2K preparedness efforts.
"We're taking this seriously," Mayor Vera Katz said Thursday. "The purpose is
not to raise a tremendous amount of concern, but to be prepared for an emergency. It
doesn't mean it's going to happen."
Portland's approach, though mammoth in scale, will try to walk a middle ground
between doomsayers who predict social collapse and naysayers who predict a colossal
yawn on Jan. 1, 2000.
"It's a wonderful opportunity for us to prepare citizens for any kind of natural
disaster," said Katz, who rallied citizens to action during the 1996 floods
The City Council will be asked in coming weeks to approve as much as 150,000
to finance the outreach campaign, including a full-time public information officer, a
telephone- and- Internet referral network, a city Y2K Web site, outreach materials and
assistance from the Global Action Plan for the Earth, an international environmental
organization that created the community- organizing model.
With little more than 10 months left until the end of the 1900s, Portland citizens
have been calling City Hall with fears about the local power supply, food and water
availability, emergency services and other basic necessities.
•
o ,
0 0
Many callers worry that "significant social breakdown is a distinct possibility,"
according to a draft preparedness document that has been circulating among city officials
this month. Katz hears from residents who are unnerved by "rumors, misinformation and
speculation."
"They're very surprised about how many of their friends are thinking in
survivalist mode," she said
The source of fear is the Year 2000 computer problem. Computers that use two -
digit dates, such as 99, may malfunction when the year rolls over to 00. They may read the
new year as 1900 rather than 2000, resulting in consequences that Y2K pundits argue
could range from misdated reports to complete shutdowns of systems that control modern
civilization's vital functions.
The predominant view of city officials is that the risk of long - lasting, widespread
Y2K- related failures is small, but that the dangers of bad preparation could be big
If everyone hoards cash and gasoline, for example, the risk of injury from
burglary or fire is "probably significantly greater" than breakdowns of bank ATMs or
electrical failures, according to the draft preparedness document
City officials sought out Global Action Plan after fonder David Gershon recently
unveiled his community - organizing model in testimony before a congressional Y2K
committee. Global Action, based in Woodstock, N.Y., has been under city contract in
Portland for the past three years to develop "Eco Teams," small groups of households that
work together to pool resources and reduce waste.
The Y2K model calls for expansion of the Eco Team concept into groups of
roughly 150 households, or about 10 city blocks, each coordinated by a volunteer block
leader. The approach can also be adapted for individuals or for groups other than
neighbors. Each group will receive a workbook and literature explaining the Year 2000
computer problem, potential consequences and appropriate ways to prepare for
contingencies. Because nobody knows how long any Y2K- related disruptions may last,
residents will be coached on how to prepare for failures of basic services that last for 72
hours, two weeks and two months.
"What we have in Portland is a city that is taking their charge seriously for
taking care of their citizens," said Gershon, well known as a founder of the 1986 First
Earth Run, a global relay that became the largest project of the United Nations'
International Year of Peace. "Portland is setting a national precedent for how cities can
prepare themselves "
Other large U.S municipalities lauded widely for their Y2K preparations include
San Diego; Montgomery County, Md.; and Boulder County, Colo.
0 0
The city's preparedness strategy would tackle the problem from two key
directions:
First, the city wants to become a one -stop source of information on every phase
of the Y2K issue that could have a major impact on residents. That would include not only
• the status of the city's own $3 million Y2K repair effort but also the status of other local
services, such as utilities, public safety, health care and transportation.
Second, the city wants to create a network of knowledgeable citizens who will
lead others in preparing their own households and neighborhoods for potential disruptions
in goods and services.
To organize nearly half a million residents, the city would enlist the aid of
existing organizations, from the city's 93 neighborhood associations to Boy Scout troops
to schools, churches and social clubs. Oversight of the process would fall to the city's
Office of Neighborhood Involvement, which already oversees the neighborhood
associations and community programs ranging from crime prevention to refugees to
neighborhood mediation
"My focus is on what's good, solid community preparedness," said Celia Heron,
interim director of the Office of Neighborhood Involvement. "The solution to the (Y2K)
problem and many others is neighborhood involvement."
0 0
Senate special committee of the Year 2000 technology problem
chapter on power - electric industry
(quotes taken over telephone 3/4/99)
The pace of remedial efforts was too slow and there was so much remaining to be done that
there was significant cause for concern. Only two of the eight firms reported completion of
assessment, [7 %] making assertions of Y2K compliance by December 1999 highly suspect.
Committee concern was heightened because the most difficult task - renovation and testing -
were yet to come. [40-70%]
The survey results raised significant results of concern given that the firms surveyed were
among the largest utilities and were dedicating many resources to Y2K. Collectively over
$400 million. Smaller firms with fewer resources are presumably further behind in their
Y2K remediation efforts.
While the NERC surveys show progress, the question is whether there is sufficient time to
complete Y2K remediation efforts. The data presented do not seem to support the optimistic
tone presented in the executive summary. Of particular concern is that with only a little over
a year to go, 34% of the firms are operating without a written plan.
In addition the assessment phase is only 75% complete. Given that Y2K experts contend that
betwenn 40 -70% of the effort will be spent in testing alone, there may not be time to
complete this. The highly interconnected nature of the grids raising concerns about •
cascading failures.
Nuclear facilities are lagging behind other election facilities in their Y2K assessment and
remediation efforts.
Most of the critical systems in the [gas and oil] industry are still in the inventory and
assessment phase leaving little time for the more difficult phases of Y2K remediation and
testing. As a result, the industry is not likely to complete repairs of all its systems in time,
which in turn means that possible disruptions in the production, transportation, and
distribution of gas and oil are possible.
Thousands of embedded systems in millions of miles of pipelines all must be checked and if
necessary replaced. Vulnerable systems include distributor control systems, programmable
logic controllers, digital recorders, control stations, recorders, meters, meter reading and
calibration software, and SCADA [system oil fields loading onto freighters and unload].
Any date dependent application, system or component may experience problems that result in
complete system or station shutdown.
Report: www.senate.gov / —y2k