Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 8, Number 8, 1 August 1991 — Marinas, geothermal, Kalapana Hawaiians [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Marinas, geothermal, Kalapana Hawaiians

by Moanikeala Akaka Trustee, Hawai'i

The last article I shared with you concerned private marinas. On July 2, I attended a hearing in Kailua-Kona that was held by Harold Matsumoto, head of the Office of State Planning, on guidelines for proposed

marinas. Several hundred individuals attended and also voiced their concerns about the construction of new marinas whether they be private or public-private ventures. Throughout the hearing, speaker after speaker cautioned about destroying precious coastline especially in West Hawai'i where three new marinas are being proposed. Harold Matsumoto acknowledged a deep eoneem in the community about building new marinas or harbors on class AA pristine coastal waters. Hopefully, the Office of State Planning will follow these recommendations. The three proposed marinas in West Hawai'i are designated Class AA waters. Of the several hundred participants, only one older haole man testified in favor of new marinas as he has a pleasure-cruiser. He said a marina will beautify the coastline, not destroy it. Many others called for an expansion of already existing stateowned boating facilities. Geothermal blowout I'm sure by now you've heard about the second blow-out in mid-June at the Israeli-owned Ormat Geothermal project in Puna. For 31 hours the surrounding community was terrorized by the uncontrollable blow-out that sounded like jet

planes constantly taking off. Throughout the incident noxious hydrogen sulfide gases spewed into the surrounding neighborhood and dozens of residents were evacuated. The horrendous noise could be heard five to six miles away in Opihikao and Orchidland Subdivision. Drilling has been suspended since this second blow-out. On June 18, Mayor Lorraine Inouye held a meeting attended by more than several hundred residents of the affected area. They pointed out concerns for their family's health and safety and the laek of planning and coordination for emergency situations such as this second geothermal blow-out. Many called for a shutdown of the project completely, fearing the next blowout could be worse and more lethal. Many fishermen at sea along the Poho'iki coastline were not notifiedabout the blow-out and got very sick — nauseous and vomiting from breathing the fumes off shore and a few miles from the Ormat wells. Many attending the mayor's meeting asked if someone had to die before anything is done to protect the community. Mayor lnouye called for an independent investigation to be done by people brought in from the mainland. One of the investigators is Bob Reynolds, a county, state, and federaī regulator from Lake County, Calif. Trustee Akana and 1 met with him when we went up to eheek out geothermal wells on our trip to California this past spring. He seems to be a candid and honest individual concerned about protecting the community. It was he who told us that "anyone that tries to do geothermal development in a. live volcano area must be nuts!" We shall see the results of this independent investigation. In esrly July, Mayor Inouye stated in a headline story in the Hawai'i Tribune Herald that even though she is "open" to geothermal, she expects county lawmakers to be cautious about letting Ormat resume operations. County Council Chairman Russell Kokubun is also calling for the county planning commission to reevaluate Ormat's drilling permit. The mayor too is calling for a relocation plan to permanently remove nearby residents before the $100 million dollar project is allowed to resume. She stated on the front page of the July 6 edition of The Honolulu Advertiser that she understands Puna residents don't want to be guinea pigs for the geothermal industry and that the developer and/or state should compensate and relocate residents. However, many of the residents of that surrounding area, some who have lived there for over 20 years, do not want to move from the homes and land they have built up over the years. They feel they were there before the Poho'iki Geothermal plant and are under invasion by the geothermal developers. We shall see how this evolves but many think this recent blow-out was again Pele telling them— she is too hot to handle! Kalapana Hawaiians Regarding the Kalapana Hawaiians, I stated in my eolumn several months ago that both their bills passed — one for a long-term lease for KikalaKeokea and the other for low-interest, self-help housing loans. Dirty poitics were alive and well in the Legislature and bill 1434 for $1.75 million for lowinterest housing loans for Kalapana Hawaiian was killed and resurrected as HB 865. It directed $1.75 million to be made available for all families who had resided in Kalapana. Joe Conant of the Housing Finance and Development Corporation, (HFDC) who is the head of the Kalapana Task Force, went to the attorney general to change the bill to exempt those residents who intend to build on Zone II

volcano hazardous area from qualifying for home loans. Conant's intent was to take the funds intended for Hawaiians and instead direct that $1.75 million to his Kalapana Task Force whieh will be relocating on the other side of Pahoa at Keonepoko Nui. When he inserted the zoning exception, Conant did not realize that his task force project was also designated Zone II so he has now moved it to Keonepoko Iki whieh is classified Zone III. Harry Kim of Civil Defense has to!d the Kalapana Hawaiians and me that it is he who determines whieh areas are hazardous and that he feels it is alright for Hawaiians to build in KikalaKeokea. It must also be remembered that the homes planned for the Kalapana Hawaiians ean be moved out if Pele comes their way. The Kalapana Hawaiians on June 22 went down and filled out loan applications for those available housing funds. We shall see what develops. Because the Kalapana Task Force lost their $2 million funding from the governor's executive budget, they moved to derail the Kalapana Hawaiians low-cost housing bill and funneled the money to the task force. We and the Kalapana Hawaiians must now continue to struggle to get the funding for the low-interest home loans for these lava refugees. In numerous parts of the world societies are being torn apart by ethnic nationalist struggles. It is heartening to realize that we Hawaiians have the potential to resolve our difference with the foreign power that overthrew our Hawaiian Nation — through enlightened, elected representatives. However, the name of the game is capital and today capital is multi-national— loyal only to more money. All who love Hawai'i have the immense responsibility of protecting Hawai'i against the barrage of these international capital investments. Our fragile environment simply cannot defend itself! There's no substitute for vigilance in protecting the land we love. Malama Pono. Ua Mau Ke Ea O Ka 'Aina I Ka Pono.

Trasfcc's Vicws

................ (jhjs eolumn is open to all OHA Trustees as a vehicle for them to express their mana'o. Opinions expressed are those of the individual Trustees and do not necessarily represent the official position of the w ._. . ... . . ._ OH A Board of T rust_ees. )