Press Conference<\/p>\n\n\n\n
November 1, 2019\u00a0 Friday<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We are deeply disappointed that we\nhave received the silent treatment from Governor David Ige at this point.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“The most affected people and the most affected community have been opposing these additional eight (8) industrial turbines for over ten (10) years. The answer to the authorities had always been ‘no’ to the Fortune 500 Corporations, HECO and also those involved in the Environment Review Process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, their voices have\nconsistently been ignored and dissed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Kahuku already has twelve (12)\nindustrial turbines. It is already bearing the disproportionate burden of wind\nenergy. Its residents have already been\nsuffering the health impacts from these existing turbines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The PUC action of December 31, 2014\nwas a blatant violation of Hawaii\u2019s renowned Environmental Laws specifically\ncontained in the HAR Chapter 343. Consultation with the affected community is\nthe first of several elements of public participation in the environmental\nreview process established under Chapter 343. \nThe centrality of public participation to rational environmental\nmanagement has long been recognized as good policy, and it is explicitly\nidentified as a founding principle in the legislative findings that preface the\nEIS law.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u00a7343-1 Findings and purpose. The legislature finds that the quality of\nhumanity\u2019s environment is critical to humanity\u2019s well being, that humanity\u2019s\nactivities have broad and profound effects upon the interrelations of all\ncomponents of the environment, and that an environmental review process will\nintegrate the review of environmental concerns with existing planning processes\nof the State and counties and alert decision makers to significant\nenvironmental effects which may result from the implementation of certain\nactions. The legislature further finds\nthat the process of reviewing environmental effects is desirable because\nenvironmental consciousness is enhanced, cooperation and coordination are\nencouraged, and public participation during the review process benefits all\nparties involved and society as a whole.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n To further violate the standing\nenvironmental laws to the face of the most affected people, the Public\nUtilities Commission further violated the laws by approving the contract\nbetween HECO and then Champlin\/GEI in order to assist the corporations in its\nfederal tax incentives deadline.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Recently, a former PUC Counsel revealed that he counseled against the December 31, 2014 decision because the EIS for this project was pending and NOT completed yet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Furthermore, the Hawaii Consumer Advocate at the time, Jeffrey Ono, also advised for\nPUC to wait for the environmental review to be completed before approving the\nwind farm. Mr.Ono\u2019s opinion was that the \u201cEIS\ncould inform a decision on whether the project was in the public interest:\nspecifically whether its benefits outweighed its negative impacts on the\ncommunity.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Because of the flawed process, there continues to be controversies. Approximately 200 residents were arrested in resistance to this process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Keep the North Shore Country has filed a lawsuit challenging the Hawaii\nBoard of Land and Natural Resources\u2019 acceptance of a conservation plan and\nlicense to kill certain numbers of endangered Hawaiian hoary bats as an\nincidental side effect of the project.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Life of the Land\u2019s challenge focuses on the PUC\u2019s approval of the\ncontract between the wind farm and HECO, which the PUC approved.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Governor Ige\u2019s\nstatement by his communications team that \u201cwe were told<\/p>\n\n\n\n Despite all the known facts about\nthis flawed process, the AES COO, Mark Miller continues his arrogant and\nrobotic PR answer to all compelling concerns:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe remain in close touch with people throughout the North Shore\ncommunity \u2013 including those who have lingering questions about our project. We\nare here and ready to talk to anyone interested in learning more.\u201d But he\npushing onward and forward and not taking \u201cno\u201d for an answer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n On October 16, 2019 to the Star\nAdvertiser, \u201cThe company planning to\nbuild a wind farm in Kahuku \u201cshould be allowed to proceed,<\/em>\u201d Gov. David\nIge\u2019s office. <\/p>\n\n\n\n We call on Governor Ige to take\ncare of his primary kuleana – to put the public interest nor the well being of\nhis constituents\u2019, including the children, interests and well-being. The\nindustrial turbines will be too close to the Kahuku Elementary School, the\nKahuku High School, residential homes, hospital and farmer\u2019s dwellings, and\nalso the Bobby Benson Center.<\/p>\n\n\n\n What are residents supposed to do\nif the very government regulatory agencies that must protect the process and\nthe public interest violated its very laws and rules on the books?<\/p>\n\n\n\n When residents exercise their\ndesperate protests to be heard, they are met with the strong force of the HPD\nand arrests.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We call on Governor Ige to implement\npono leadership on these irreparable damages being done to his constituents\ntoday. <\/p>\n\n\n\n 1. To allow the citizen\u2019s various\nlegal pending processes to be heard before allowing further deliveries to the\nsites.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 2, to direct the Attorney General\nto expunge the approx.127 arrests made thus far. The people were simply trying\nto be heard because the very agencies that are supposed to protect them broke\nits own laws and regulations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Hawaii has one of the best\nenvironmental laws in the nation. If all state and county agencies had adhered\nto the laws in the books, these acrimonious and actions could have been easily\navoided.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Kahuku residents cannot continue to\nbe guinea pigs. Green Energy is important for our island home but environment\njustice and social justice must integral parts of this movement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n References: <\/p>\n\n\n\nPUC’s Former Lawyer Says Approval Of Kahuku Wind Farm Violated Law<\/a><\/blockquote>