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Home My WebLink About2026-10-14 Protect Ke'opuka Ohana Testimony 4 a8 bar c Ujst•d Read Protect Ke'opuka Ohana I Water & Data Center Petrmt 11•=•.16' Printable testimony, agency questions, and permit-challenge preparation I October 14, 2026 Jim Mokuohai Kahunanui Medeiros Sr., President I Michelle Niihau Wright, Secretary 1. Opening: why water comes first • Protect drinking-water aquifers, coastal springs, reefs, and customary fishing. • Demand project-specific evidence before authorizing withdrawals or discharge. •Identify the exact developer, site,TMK, and pending permits. Say or ask: PKO requests complete disclosure and a review based on evidence, not assurances.We are not asserting that a specific project has contaminated water. 2. Water demand and sources • Obtain daily, peak, annual and drought-period demand. •Identify municipal,well, reclaimed or other sources. • Demand a water balance: intake, evaporation, reuse, blowdown and disposal. Say or ask:What is the maximum gallons-per-day demand?What happens during drought or water restrictions? 3. Cooling design and chemicals •Identify air cooling, liquid cooling, evaporative towers and backup systems. • Request chemical inventories, safety data sheets and dosing rates. •Test expected blowdown for salts, metals,treatment additives and relevant byproducts. Say or ask:Which contaminants are expected in each wastewater stream, and how were estimates validated? 4. Treatment is not the end of disposal • Demand treatment process diagrams and performance data. •Track brine, sludge, spent filters and off-site hauling. • Require contingency plans for upset conditions, spills and power loss. Say or ask:Where does every residual end up?What happens if treatment fails? 5. Injection wells and groundwater •Identify proposed well class, location, depth and UIC status. • Request geology, groundwater gradients,transport studies and baseline sampling. •Assess coastal groundwater discharge where supported by site-specific evidence. Say or ask: How does the applicant demonstrate compliance with applicable injection standards and protection of underground drinking-water sources? 6. Coastal waters and cultural practices •Identify nearby springs, reefs,fisheries and traditional gathering areas. •Ask whether discharge could reach waters subject to Clean Water Act requirements. • Document place-specific customary practices and culturally important resources. Say or ask: How will the review address potential impacts on fishing, gathering and nearshore ecosystems? 7. Agency map: who decides what? • DOH Safe Drinking Water Branch: Underground Injection Control. • DOH Clean Water Branch: applicable NPDES/surface-water discharge oversight. • CWRM: relevant wells and water-resource authorizations. • Hawai'i County and other agencies: land use, building and environmental review as applicable. Say or ask:Which agency has authority over each approval?Supply a written permit matrix with application and decision dates. 8. Public records: request the whole record •Applications, drawings,TMKs, agency correspondence and completeness determinations. •Water balances, hydrogeology,treatment studies, chemical lists and sampling. • Draft permits, conditions, monitoring reports, public notices and comments. •Ask for electronic records and a fee estimate before extensive copying. Say or ask: Request records by project name, developer, location and permit number; ask for an index of withheld records and grounds for withholding. 9. Permit challenge: make a factual record •Track comment deadlines and hearing-request requirements for each permit. •Identify the exact standard and the missing or contradictory evidence. • Submit numbered technical questions and supporting exhibits. • Request written responses and reconsideration where available. Say or ask: Do not assume a public hearing or contested case is automatic; procedures, standing and deadlines vary. 10. Contested-case readiness •Identify the decision, applicable statute/rule, standing and filing deadline. • Preserve evidence of concrete affected interests and customary practices. • Organize expert declarations,site observations and permit deficiencies. • Consult Hawai'i administrative-law counsel promptly. Say or ask:Ask counsel to assess whether a contested case is available for this particular agency action. Do not miss a short deadline while gathering records. 11. Monitoring, enforcement and remedies • Baseline groundwater and nearshore sampling before operations. • Monitoring locations matched to hydrogeology; public results and thresholds. • Spill notification, corrective action, shutdown triggers and financial responsibility. •Ask who enforces conditions and how violations are reported. Say or ask:What specific result would trigger an investigation, discharge suspension or corrective action? 12. Requests at the end of testimony • Provide the complete permit and scientific record. • Extend or reopen comment where key information is missing, if legally available. • Hold a public hearing where authorized and warranted. • Deny or withhold approval where applicable legal standards are not met. • Provide a written response to PKO's substantive concerns. Say or ask: PKO is asking for a lawful, evidence-based decision, not presuming that every data center uses injection wells. 13. Other impacts to evaluate later • Electricity demand and ratepayer effects. • Diesel backup generators, air quality and noise. • Land use, construction, stormwater and cultural sites. • Emergency response, cumulative impacts and alternatives. Say or ask:Water is the first focused workstream;these issues should be developed separately with project-specific records. 14. Next actions for Protect Ke'opuka Ohana • Confirm exact project names and parcels. • Send agency-specific records requests under Hawai'i's UIPA where applicable. • Build a permit calendar and evidence log. • Prepare comments and hearing requests after reviewing actual files. Say or ask: No requests have yet been submitted.This packet is a preparation tool, not a legal filing. Reusable written testimony / comment template To: [Agency and permit program] Re: [Applicant/project/TMK/permit number] Protect Ke'opuka Ohana requests review of the complete scientific and administrative record before any decision on the identified water withdrawal,wastewater discharge, or underground injection authorization. Please provide the applicant's water balance, chemical inventory,treatment and residuals-disposal plans, hydrogeologic analysis, baseline sampling, proposed monitoring, and emergency response measures. We request a written explanation identifying each applicable legal standard and the evidence supporting compliance. Please address groundwater flow and any site-specific potential connection to coastal springs and marine waters, as well as documented Native Hawaiian customary fishing and gathering practices. If the application does not establish compliance with applicable requirements,we request that approval be withheld or denied. We also request notice of public-comment deadlines and any available public hearing or contested-case procedures. Sincerely, Jim Mokuohai Kahunanui Medeiros Sr., President Michelle Niihau Wright, Secretary Protect Ke'opuka Ohana Recordkeeping worksheet Project/TMK: Agency/permit no.: Application received: Public comment deadline: Hearing request deadline: Contested-case deadline(verify): Evidence/exhibits: Agency response/next action: