Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 1, Number 1, 1 June 1981 — Puna Hui Ohana: Geothermal Energy [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Puna Hui Ohana: Geothermal Energy

By Everett "Sonny" Kinney

The Puna Hui Ohana is a private nonprofit "umbrella" organization providing leadership, support and guidance to all of its member groups in lower Puna on the Big Island. The purposes of Puna Hui Ohana are: 1) To provide a cohesive network of Hawaiian organizations who lend continuing support to one another; 2) To be a spokesgroup for the Puna community Hawaiians and to act as a united voice on any community issue; 3) To act on behalf of Hawaiians, specifically as advocates for the eommunity. The hui also aims to eliminate the eeonomie and political barriers that prevent Hawaiians from achieving "the independence and self-sufficiency onee enjoyed by their ancestors."

The Hui has spent mueh time assessing the needs of the Hawaiian community and has actively generated appropriate programs to meet some of these existing needs. For instance, they would like to preserve and perpetuate traditional Hawaiian culture. Thus, as an "active agent," the Puna Hui Ohana is concerned with the overall environmental and eeonomie impact of geothermal energy now being explored and developed in lower Puna. The Hui is carefully considering the potential widespread environmental losses that could occur in their community with a geothermal energy industry. In fact, most members in the organization view geothermal energy as "environmentally dangerous." In danger of being destroyed are the traditional places for food gathering and the unique and valuable areas where herbs and medicinal plants are protected and gathered. Development and growth in this industry ean result in a "population explosion" and competition for space between the Hawaiian and others. At the same time, there does exist a "positive" side to this industry and that is simply one of economics. This industry will provide jobs. The Hui is committed to

encouraging and developing jobs to keep the opio from leaving "the day after high school graduation" and would like to insure jobs for their opio. Another benefit of a geothermal energy industry is the development of an altemative resource valuable for both the island of Hawai'i as well as the entire state. It ean relieve dependency on foreign oil and fossil fuel. Therefore, geothermal energy is helpful because it is a means of resolving eeonomie depression in the area, but it remains threatening to the environment and 'aina whieh is the sustenance of "our being." The question remains: Does one exclude the other? The Geothermal Project in Puna is a monstrous one, possibly involving 15-20 square miles of area with approximately 200 wells that could be drilled. Developers elaim they understand the social and eeonomie impact that could occur on this Hawaiian community. On the whole, relationships have been friendly and cooperative. At present 24 permits have been issued but only one company has drilled any wells. It waits to be seen if "cooperative and friendly" relationships continue onee heavy drilling and more companies become involved.

The Hui basically believes that the geothermal resource belongs to the Native Hawaiian. While this is the preference, there is a eoneem that while the resource may belong to the Native Hawaiian, the land may not. And those Hawaiians who do in fact own the land may not, in fact, have mineral claims to that land. A possible altemative, would be to have the state collect their royalties to geothermal energy from this industry, and plaee the proper percentage of monies into OHA as their portion of the public land trust fund. Therefore, by law, the Native Hawaiian will be in the end the beneficiary. The Puna Hui Ohana seeks to harmoniously balance that whieh ean be culturally preserved and protected with the serious responsibility of planning that whieh is economically practical for the survival of their community.

Frank Hewitt stands between two 70-foot hulls of an unfinished eanoe that will be navigated by Maoris from Tahiti to New Zealand. Using the stars to navigate this expedition the Maoris hope to accomplish the second leg of a Pacific voyage that began with the Hokule'a.

Note: We will be inviting individuals to write articles on topics of interest to all Hawaiians. In this issue we have invited comments on a land problem, a communify eoneem, a legis!ator's point of view and a Pacific island issue.