HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0064.020 2018-2020 Pt Conti
c 0 Ui>1 TY C ir. (
COMM. 6u
COUNTY OF HAWAII
From: David Hunt
To: Council Testimony 71119 MAR 27 AM 9: 28
Subject: Bill for Ordinance#16 Testimony
Date: Wednesday,March 27,2019 5:23:33 AM
3/27/19
Council Members.
I want to ensure that council members are aware of the big picture & history regarding the Bill
for Ordinance #16 (below) being proposed.
1. The Windward Planning Commission has voted against this matter 5-1 (and one prior vote
to table/postpone).
2. There is (and has been continuing) overwhelming public opposition to this project. This
opposition is based upon many, very legitimate cultural, environmental, economic and land-
use incompatibility, reasons.
3. Ms. Kierkiewicz introduced this Bill - in spite of the WPC's previous votes. She apparently
does not care where the community or the WPC stands on this matter. She appears
determined to do what is only in the interest of her former clients and their prospective buyer.
4. You should be aware that there is a 4/22/19 hearing scheduled to hear a formal ethics
petition regarding Ms. Kierkiewicz's history and actions related to"this very proposed bill.
To take any action on Bill#16 prior to resolution of ethics petition 2019-01 would be
grossly negligent. This ethics petition and hearing have been covered in the Hawaii Tribune-
Herald.
I urge you to vote against bill for ordinance#16.
Further, I am attaching the 3/1/19 letter that I wrote regarding this matter.
FR: David J Hunt, Honokaa, HI
RE: "Applicant Piilani Partners LLC's Motion for Reconsideration of Action Taken on
February 7, 2019 on Special Management Area Use Permit Application No. 18-000070."
Date: 03/01/2019
Dear Mayor Kim, Members of the Windward Planning Commission, and County Council
Members,
I have just obtained and read the letter to the WPC and Chair Joseph Clarkson from Pi'ilani's
representative Pamela Bunn, Dentons US LLP dated 2/25/19 - "Applicant Piilani Partners
LLC's Motion for Reconsideration of Action Taken on February 7, 2019 on Special
Management Area Use Permit Application No. 18-000070."
I herein formally request that you DENY Applicant Piilani Partners LLC's Motion for
Reconsideration of Action Taken on February 7, 2019 on Special Management Area Use
Permit Application No. 18-000070.
In her 2/25/19 letter,Pamela Bunn attempts to create the impression that the Draft Water
Comm. No. (0.14.2-0
Ref. To: Picouncil
Ref. Dote MAR 2 7 2019/
Resource Protection Plan (WRPP draft), and Commission on Water Resource Management
(CWRM) process to finalize that plan has no impact or bearing upon the WPC's past decision
or SMA Use Permit Application.
I wish to correct that purported misconception. The Draft WRPP was put out for public
comments - as required. Those comments will be reviewed and considered. The Draft WRPP
will be edited and amended to incorporate those comments, concerns, suggestions, and
recommendations from the public as appropriate. The FINAL WRPP will become the state's
new water resource plan that guides ALL decision making relating to our state's water
resources, including guiding decision making by our state legislature and all county and state
agencies, commissions, and councils (WPC included).
I am attaching my own testimony to the CWRM regarding the WRPP draft, (below)which
includes comments, suggestions, and recommendations, demonstrating that this process
COULD most definitely impact the FINAL WRPP and thusly, CWRM's and your decisions
regarding Pi'ilani's SMA Use Permit Application.
Pi'ilani, through their counsel, has presented a less-than-complete representation of the WRPP
and CWRM process in an attempt to influence your 2/7/18 decision, and to attempt to rush
their application through the WPC PRIOR to the Final WRPP release.
I know that I am only one of MANY who have made comments and recommendations to the
CWRM & WRPP regarding this matter.
Pi'ilani's counsel's letter states. "The WPC should defer to the CWRM with respect to
protecting the water source, and instead fulfill its duty to carry out the objectives of the special
management area.
This tactic rings shallow, and I hope you are able to clearly see it. YOUR FIRST and MORST
IMPORTANT duty is to render Planning Commission decisions that are in the best interest of
the public's health, the public's safety, and the public's interest- and that duty logically,
includes UTILIZING the (final) WRPP in consideration of this decision.
It also appears to me that Pi'ilani,through their counsel P. Bunn, has attempted to use the
7/10/18 letter from Roy Hardy to Christian Kay (Subject: Piilani Partners LLC SMA
Comments) to justify their request for reconsideration (exhibit"D" in their 2/25/19 letter).
P. Bunn stated "the DWRM's Ground Water Hydrologic Program Manager's only comments
were that Pi'ilani would need a Well Permit before constructing the well, and that the
Department of Health should also be consulted."Again, please do not be swayed by this
attemptto minimize and use a necessarily required neutral and instructive comment to support
their request for reconsideration. It is not.
An SMA Special Use Area permit IS by definition TIED to a specific "Special Use". It would
be incredibly short sighted to grant an SMA permit WITHOUT the certainty that the Special
Use requested was in fact guaranteed, and certainly, Pi'ilani does NOT have that guarantee to
offer. Your past decision to table your decision is supported by this logic.
Finally, S. Bunn on behalf of Pi'ilani, provided NO exhibit that they fulfilled Roy Hardy's
specific comment"the Department of Health should also be Consulted" in the 2/25/19 letter
requesting reconsideration.
L
In closing, I wish to reiterate my formal request that you DENYApplicant Piilani Partners
LLC's Motion for Reconsideration of Action Taken on February 7, 2019 on Special
Management Area Use Permit Application No. 18-000070.
Sincerely and Respectfully,
David J Hunt
P 0 Box 1052
Honokaa, HI. 96727
davidjameshunt@hotmail.com
Below are my CWRM Comments, Submitted 2/28/19
David J Hunt
PO Box 1052
Honokaa, HI 96727
davidjameshunt@hotmail.com
(208) 660-8498
Please accept my comments on the Water Resource Protection Plan (WRPP)
for the public record- as well as for the hearing: 6 PM Thursday, February 28, 2019, at the
Hilo High School Hearing.
This WRPP update is absolutely critical to the protection of Hawaii's precious waters.
Thank you for your efforts to accomplish this common goal and for your thoughtful
consideration of my comments and recommendations.
I begin with pressing current concerns and needs. We MUST face, admit, and address past
errors and omissions that have allowed current poor decision-making and choices such as
those relating to:
• Big Island Dairy, and the years of blatant environmental crimes committed there -AND
the complete failure of our county, state, and federal agencies to successfully intervene
and STOP this poster-child for water pollution on a massive scale.
• Hu Honua, and their criminal chemical dump that was observed, reported, and yet
minimized, avoided, and largely ignored by the perpetrators, our own DOH, and our
legislature.
• The (proposed)free giveaway and privatization of a portion of our public-trust fresh-
water Mauna Kea aquifer for the sole benefit and profit by Pi'ilani and the property
owner).
We must improve our WRPP also -to be better prepared for the many future concerns, issues,
threats, and applications facing our precious water.
Our public health and safety, our food security, and our environmental quality depends
upon this WRPP, and the primary role the WRPP has in guiding policy making and local,
county, and state decision making.
Our history highlights our past mistakes that must be henceforth prevented:
• First come, first-served mentality and the adjudication and litigation that comes with it.
• Hawaii's Plantation history and the privatization, consumption, diversion,
contamination, and waste of our waters - literally choking off the water needs of local
individuals and communities.
• In recent history, we have our own local and state elected representatives who prioritize
the interests of corporate profiteers over those whom they are ethically sworn to
represent- often spending our public's tax dollars for the sole benefit of those private
and corporate Special Interest$. This includes choices and decisions regarding our
public-trust water resources. Our WRPP must protect our waters and the public good
from political back-room good-ol-boy deals that have occurred, are currently
occurring, and will continue whenever there is unequal opportunity benefitting
position,power, and wealth.
• Inefficiency and waste. There are many past and current utilizations of our water
resources that wasted and/or waste water due to inefficient, outdated methods and
infrastructure. Our WRPP must permit revisiting these uses and allow for the requiring
of improvements that conserve and protect our waters.
Some of the current, ongoing concerns and threats to our public-trust water resources (and
public good) include:
• Big Island Dairy. DOH KNOWS of the ongoing massive water pollution occurring
DAILY there, yet-they do not even bother to directly monitor, quantify, or address it.
DOH relies upon a single, unpaid local concerned resident to explain what is happening
on-site. THIS is a perfect metaphor for DOH's abdication of duty to protect public
health and our water resources.
• CAFOs, AFOs. and Feedlots must no longer be permitted on our islands. Our land and
climate are simply NOT suitable for these operations. The Big Island Dairy PROVES
this beyond ANY doubt.
• Hu Honua. Injecting contaminated, heated water BACK into our aquifer is
unacceptable.
• The revised WRPP must prohibit the injection of heated. and/or chemically
contaminated water back into our aquifer OR coastal waters. In this day and
technologically advanced era, this practice is NOT necessary. It is tantamount to
urinating into your water bottle.It serves NO public benefit. This must be prohibited in
the WRPP revision/update.
• Pi'ilani Water Bottling proposal: Juxtaposethe free giveaway of hundreds of
thousands of gallons per day of our public-trust aquifer to Pi'ilani/against a
simultaneously proposed Desalination proposal. (SB 1440, wherein our legislature is
proposing state sponsored bonds to benefit a Corporate for-
profitDesalination project). This is inexcusable ignorance-even without listing the
MANY environmental and economic COSTS associated with both proposals. NONE
of this serves the public good, but rather literally TAKES the public's water resources
and tax dollars to benefit$pecial Intrest$seeking only profits.
• Our precious aquifer water should not be used for bottled water-especially for
private profits, and knowing well that this is an unsustainable practice that directly
worsens the plastic-waste catastrophe that is already destroying our oceans, aquatic
and bird life globally! "One hand must know what the other is doing!" We can not
remedy these very real threats by continuing with business as usual.
Additional concerns, comments, and recommendations:
• County and local watershed protection programs,with mandatory compliance should be
required and adequately funded. The future of our water quantity and quality depends
upon it.
• The revised WRPP should address an adequatewell-head protection protocol and
program that adequately remedies the many older wells that threaten possible
contamination of our aquifer waters.
• In-stream minimum flows should be re-established for all streams. Beneficial uses must
include cultural and intrinsic - in-stream values.
• The relationship between aquifer and near-shore (flows, uses, impacts, etc.)must be
considered.
• SMALL, non-corporate-agribusinesses, LOCAL farming IS a sustainable practice that
contributes to our islands' food security, utilizes irrigation waters responsibly, and
provides for the diversified economic health of real, LOCAL people. The WRPP should
recognize, support, and promote this and also protect free-flowing streams to enable
diversified agriculture and local food production.
• The USN's leaking Red Hill Fuel Storage facility above Oahu's drinking waters must be
re-dressed to ensure a safe drinking water supply. The USN must not be excused from
their"duties" !
• Military water use and consequences from bombing practices MUST be quantified. We
simply operate in the dark without this important information.
• Counties should be responsible for owning, maintaining, monitoring and insuring the
safety of their own public freshwater wells. "Middle-men" owners &purveyors siphon
millions in profits and do not have the same responsibilities and accountability that
counties carry regarding public health and safety.
• Catchment is a reality. While not a public-trust source per se, counties should institute
helpful programs to better protect public health. Illness and disease will continue to
increase otherwise, and this carries associated costs. DOH's "hands-off approach"
further isolated citizens who are more financially limited.
• Aquifer sourced water for golf courses should be restricted. Recycled(treated)water use
makes responsible economic and environmental sense wherever possible.
• Each Island has a sustainable carrying-capacity (population). We must face and
ADDRESS these capacities, especially when considering the capacities of our aquifers.
Continuing the unregulated attracting and developing cycle without established carrying
capacity limits is a prescription for disaster. The WRPP must establish at least initial
sustainable capacity numbers to quantify our limitations and help guide future decision
matters in this important area.
• 2018 flooding on Kauai and Hawaii Islands demonstrates the need to require County
planning departments, government and private road builders, to include more permeable
surfaces, grassy swales, improved drainage away from streams, and rain gardens as are
seen in many mainland communities.
• Corporations and businesses should generally be charged a reasonable fee for well
water to promote responsible use and conservation, and to assist in funding watershed
management plans from which they benefit.
• WRPP should require the CWRM to install and monitor WATER-usage gauges to
measure water use for all large consumers. Compliance has been too intermittent
• Roadway Herbicide Spraying must be further replaced with better practices that do NOT
contaminate watersheds and jeopardize public health.
Sincerely,
David Hunt, Honokaa
davidjameshunt@hotmail.com
, • &
Aloha, Peace, Love, & Music