Category Archives: Government Codes & Legislation

Working with local, state and federal government to help shape laws that support sustainable community in Hawaii and around the world.

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A draft of an Alternative Building Code is stalled in the Dept of Public Works…

help ask Mayor Kenoi to move it forward!

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/653/323/248/move-forward-on-alternative-building-codes/

It is common knowledge, since the controversy over Bill 270, that alternative building legislation has broad support island wide and is long overdue. It has the potential to offer great relief to the occupants of over 7,000 non-compliant homes and to County staff that have the impossible task of enforcing the current building codes.

Councilman Zendo Kern has researched and written a draft for an alternative building code bill and submitted it to DPW for their review and comments, but nothing has happened for a long time.

 

The Department of Public Works has sidelined this initiative and has effectively stalled the process.

 

In Hawaii, the building codes are hugely complex and create big extra expenses for small owner/builders.  They require buildings to be overbuilt for this mild climate, mandating construction techniques that are not needed here and materials that must be shipped in from far away.  We want to be able to build with local and recycled materials, using innovative techniques.

Thousands of people have simply chosen to quietly build their own homes with no permits or codes.  These people live in fear that they will be reported.  The county policy is to ignore the many people living this way until there is a complaint, and then the laws are selectively enforced.

Help us ask Hawaii Mayor Kenoi to get this moving!

Thanks so much!

Graham Ellis,

Chairperson, Hawaii Sustainable Community Alliance

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POSITION PAPER of the Hawaii Sustainable Community Alliance

WHAT ARE THE KEY FEATURES OF A “SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITY?

A sustainable community (SC) consists of one or more households that share a location and the conscious intention to be self-reliant, resilient, resource-conserving, equitable, and ecologically restorative—while providing a good quality of life for community members and future generations.

(A household is here defined as two or more people who share a shelter system that includes facilities for eating, sleeping, bathing, and gathering.)

The members of an SC

  • cooperate with each other and with neighbors, for the accomplishment of shared purposes.
  • are responsible and accountable to each other, to neighbors, and to the larger world for the consequences of how they live.
  • steward valuable resources for the benefit of future as well as present generations.

A Sustainable Community:

  • provides many of its basic/subsistence needs (water, food, clothing, shelter, energy, waste management) on site, using primarily local resources (human/natural/financial).
  • reuses or recycles almost all of its “wastes.”
  • is prepared for natural and other emergencies.
  • promotes and aims for income, gender, and intergenerational equity.
  • restores and regenerates degraded eco-systems, while ensuring that land use, building, transportation and other systems are minimally damaging to the biosphere.
  • offers learning opportunities to all ages about the challenges and technologies of living sustainably.
  • is part of a global community: Most SCs have and utilize access to the internet, hence to neighbors, each other, the world, and the global information base.

Why do people choose sustainable community?

The sustainable community movement is leading the way to a new era of more productive, innovative, resource conserving, energy efficient living systems.

Most creators and members of Sustainable Communities (SCs) are motivated, at least partly, by discontent with the standard modern consumerist lifestyle.

Large, complex, centralized, 20th century industrial systems continue to become less functional and less reliable, climate change continues, food (along with water) is becoming the “new gold,” and energy is becoming more and more scarce and expensive.

SC members seek something that is more communal, more ecologically restorative, less auto dependent, less money-oriented, more democratic and equitable, closer to nature, cleaner, healthier, and more spiritually fulfilling.

Most SC members seek economic independence through self-reliance that gives insulation from unreliable financial/labor markets and from the decisions of distant corporations and governments—meanwhile inventing and building alternative local provisioning systems and cultures.

SC’s want to leave our children with an inheritance of functioning, multi-purpose living systems that are capable of surviving and thriving in the 21st century.

SC’s provide friendship and support, and are an answer to the isolation and loneliness of a modern culture built of broken families and traditions.

SC’s support a network of people competent in the operation of alternative, appropriate technologies.

SCs build wealth in the form of functional, productive, efficient and equitable living systems that are strong foundational units of healthy, vibrant neighborhoods, towns, and regions.

This includes

* human/social resources (health, knowledge, skills, relationships, organization, education);

* built resources (appropriately-scaled subsistence infrastructure and technologies for energy and water harvesting, food production, waste recycling, etc.);

* and natural resources of their local ecosystems (soil fertility, vegetation, wildlife).

Summary of the BENEFITS  provided by SC living systems

Food security

External security

On-site productivity

Resource conservation (water, energy, materials)

Employment opportunities

Educational opportunities/outcomes/potential

Recreation

Healthy environment for children and elderly

Help with child raising

Health care/maintenance

Internal communication

Internal sharing

Communication/cooperation with neighbors

Sharing with neighbors

Saving money by pooling resources

Sharing tools and buildings

Caring for the environment- soil, water, air

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Open Letter to Mayor Kenoi- Support Sustainable Building code

Open letter to Mayor Kenoi regarding ALTERNATIVE BUILDING CODE LEGISLATION

Dear Mayor Billy Kenoi

The Hawaii Sustainable Community Alliance requests that you give your support to the introduction of ALTERNATIVE BUILDING CODE LEGISLATION that has been drafted by Councilman Zendo Kern and stalled by your Department of Public Works.

Our Alliance (see <http://www.hawaiisustainablecommunity.org/>www.hawaiisustainablecommunity.org) represents 32 local organizations and over 600 members statewide.

We wrote and introduced the alternative building code resolution that was unanimously adopted by the County Council in October 2011. This resolution called upon the DPW to “establish an alternative building code.” Our members are significant stakeholders in this process and have been patiently waiting for some action to occur since this resolution.

As a result of our extensive research on alternative building codes used in other U.S. Counties we wrote and submitted a draft to DPW in March 2012. Despite meetings and requests for more meetings the process was totally stalled by DPW.

During the 2012 election many local residents actively campaigned in support of Council Member Zendo Kern because his primary platform was for an alternative building code. Councilman Kern has also researched and written a draft for an alternative building code bill and submitted it to DPW for their review and comments.

Once again your Department of Public Works has sidelined this initiative and has effectively stalled the process again. It is common knowledge, since the controversy over Bill 270, that alternative building legislation has broad support island wide and is long overdue. It has the potential to offer great relief to the occupants of over 7,000 non-compliant homes and to County staff that have the impossible task of enforcing the current building codes.

We ask that you step in to move this draft out of the DPW  so that it can be formally introduced to the County Council in the very near future. Please inform us of any action you take in this matter.

Sustainably yours, Graham Ellis ,

Chairperson, Hawaii Sustainable Community Alliance.

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What happened to HB111? in 2013

On March 21, the Senate Water and Land and Public Safety Committees held a joint hearing on the Sustainable Living Research Act bill. They voted to defer it. This means the bill is no longer alive this session. Senator Malama Solomon, the Water and Land Committee Chair acknowledged the substantial amount of written testimony in support of the bill. Elizabeth Dunne, an environmental attorney who has been helping the Alliance with the bill’s language and lobbying efforts, provided live testimony in support and answered committee members’ questions.

While the legislators supported the concept, they were ultimately concerned about a number of issues raised by the counties who testified in opposition. County of Hawaii’s Planning Director, who testified in person against the bill, cited concerns about enforcement and liability and questioned whether the planning department was the best entity to administer the permit process.

The great news is that we got pretty far this year — through all the House committees!!

This means that the bill will start in the Senate next year. Moving forward, we need to: (1) further engage the planning departments of all counties to address their concerns about the sustainable living research site act permit process; (2) continue to educate the legislators on this important issue; (3) build a network of supporters on all islands; and (4) work on the language of the bill to best achieve our objectives while accounting for the concerns raised by interested parties.

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What is the status of HB111

Dear Ones,

Thanks all for your work with this site.  I was just newly directed to it today by Terra of the Hawaiian Sanctuary.

I have a large parcel of land, 84 acres, near Leilani yet under current laws and because of county water regulations it can have only one home on it.

Will someone(s) please post the status of HB111 since public comment ended on 3/21/2013?

I can find nothing on this site or on the government linked web site?

From over an hour reading articles and posts on your site and the government HB111 pages, it sounds like if HB111 is approved then the 84 acres could be parceled into 15 acre sections to meet the requirement of this Bill.  If this bill has passed the house does it have to go through the senate?  Regulations be written and signed it to law?  How long might this process take?  I know next to nothing of government processes.

Mahalo Nui,

Uncle Chucka

 

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Public Protest Too Much For PLDC?

http://geobigisland.blogspot.com/2012/10/public-protest-too-much-for-pldc.html

By Dave Smith

A protest over the Public Land Development Corporation. Photo courtesy Hawaii News Now.

It looks like it will be try, … again for the Public Land Development Corporation.

The controversial new state agency designed to increase revenues from state lands using public-private partnerships is continuing its efforts to establish its administrative rules.

Following statewide hearings in August, the agency revised the guidelines and added a strategic plan.

The PLDC’s five-member board met on Thursday and voted to take the amended rules to public hearing.

However, only one of those is planned, on Nov. 13, and that will be on Oahu.

Lloyd Haraguchi, the PLDC’s executive director, was not available for comment on why other islands were not included in the schedule.

According to a statement from the PLDC, even though state law required only one hearing be held, the agency’s board of directors in August took the “extra step” of holding hearings statewide. The reason, it said, was to familiarize the public with the new state entity.

Now the PLDC says it will hold an additional public hearing on the amended rules, as required by law.

The rules can be viewed at hawaii.gov/dlnr/pldc, and “any member of the public may submit advance testimony via email or USPS mail by Tuesday, November 13,” the agency said.

“The PLDC remains committed to transparency, and its newly adopted strategic plan, project flowchart and rule amendments show that opportunities for public comment actually expand under the PLDC for potential projects,” the statement said.

But one can’t help but wonder if the primary reason for not taking the revised rules on the road is that the PLDC – and its director – have had their fill of the rough reception they received across the state.

The first time the agency took the draft rules out for public hearings, it encountered large and hostile crowds.

And recent public protests across the state drew hundreds of participants.

Sierra Club Chapter Director Robert Harris described the PLDC’s decision to hold only one public hearing a “new low” for the agency. He went on to say that Haraguchi was “insulting thousands of neighbor island residents by excluding them from the process.”

Much of the criticism has centered on a section of state law exempting the PLDC from “land use, zoning, and construction standards for subdivisions, development, and improvement of land.”

The mission of the PLDC has been called everything from a land-grab, to anti-democratic, to Nazi-ism.

Despite the revision of rules and addition of a strategic plan, county councils on the neighbor islands are all expected to unanimously pass resolutions seeking to abolish the Public Land Development Corp.

Nor did the changes soothe those testifying when the Hawaii County Council overwhelmingly approved its version of a resolution urging Gov. Neil Abercrombie to repeal Section 171C of Hawaii Revised Statutes — also known as Act 55, the law that created the PLDC.

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Sustainable Living Resolution, October 2nd

The Hawaii Sustainable Community Alliance is working towards amending current laws to allow more eco-friendly practices, communities and buildings.

This resolution (302-12) urges the Hawaii State Legislature enact legislation to establish Sustainable Living Research Sites on parcels less than 15 acres that are designated “agricultural” under state law in Hawaii. It would allow applicants to request exemptions from County Codes for approved sustainable living research activities.

This would provide a way for people to come into compliance, and be able to learn about new ways of living that are ecological. They could work on how to: conserve and harvest fresh water; conserve and improve topsoil without expensive or toxic inputs; increase local food quality and security using organic methods and local materials; increase biodiversity and protect wildlife; provide onsite waste treatment and recycling with minimal or zero air and surface or ground water pollution, and many other techniques.

Why did the Hawaii Sustainable Community Alliance propose the Sustainable Living test sites on parcels up to 15 acres? A number of you have asked us this. We put that in our resolution because the County council only has jurisdiction over parcels of up to 15 acres. Over that size, the State Land Use Bureau in Oahu has to make the decisions. So our resolution is only for the county level. Please email or come and testify that you like this proposal, but you would rather have it apply to larger parcels. We would like to change the wording to be “parcels more than one acre”. We need your help to ask for that change. Thanks ! Amara

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Current Energy & Fuel Issues and Alternatives in Hawaii

This detailed report outlines the issues around the current energy and fuel usages and productions, and presents alternatives in the second half. Very informative! Great reference for the PEIS meetings!

Click here for PDF of Life Of the Land PEIS

Excerpts:

PART II: FOSSIL FUEL IMPACTS

Hawai`i Fossil Fuel Impacts

Hawai`i’s Top 3 Dioxin Emitters are all power plants: (1) AES Coal

Plant; (2) HECO’s Kahe Generation Station; and (3) HECO’s Waiau

Generating Station.

Hawai`i’s Top 10 chemical polluters are six electricity generation

stations, two refineries and two military bases: (1) HECO’s Kahe

Generation Station; (2) Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam; (3) Chevron

Refinery: Kapolei; (4) HECO’s Waiau Generating Station; (5) MECO’s

Kahului Generating Station; (6) HELCO’s Hill Generating Station: Hilo;

(7) AES Hawaii: Kapolei; (8) Tesoro Refinery: Kapolei; (9) US Army

Pohakuloa Training Area-Range Facility; and (10) MECO’s Maalaea

Generating Station.

PART III: THE CURRENT ELECTRICITY QUAGMIRE

Mayes introduced the concept of “cascading natural deregulation.” As

the cost of renewable systems trends downward and electric rates go

up, those who can leave the grid, will leave the grid.

The fixed costs associated with energy production, transmission, and

distribution will then have to be absorbed by the remaining (smaller)

rate base still on the grid.

Those who remain on the grid will then see their rates go up even

more, which in turn provides ever stronger incentives for more people

to opt out of a centralized grid, driving ever higher the rates for the

diminishing number of ratepayers who remain.

 

PART IV: WHAT IF …?

What if Options: Alternative Plans

The Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) oversees the National

Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). CEQ requires that reasonable

alternatives MUST BE evaluated in Environmental Impact Statement

(EIS) if they are technically and economically possible and based on

common sense.

Life of the Land believes that this EIS offers the opportunities to lay

out alternating future scenarios for evaluation. There is an absolute

need for the PEIS to present a balanced estimation of the positive and

negative consequences of different, reasonable alternatives.

There are a number of game changers that are being discussed in

utility circles, including Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC),

Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG), Wave Energy Conversion Systems

(WECs), Algal Biodiesel, Storage, DC Grids and Self-Generation.

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Concerns About Geothermal- a Summary

Concerns about geothermal:

 from Beth McCormick

1) Putting the state’s energy source in a Lava Zone 1 is a recipe for disaster. “The possibility of an eruption in the geothermal resource or state-wide cable path within any 50-year period is between 60 and 90 percent.” [15] The Chain of Craters Road, which has been repeatedly covered by lava, and Royal Gardens Subdivision, where hundreds of homes have been lost to lava flows, are examples of Volcanic Hazard Zone 1.  The effect of an eruption could be severe, if the geothermal well or the undersea cable were buried by lava. The power generated by the geothermal facility would be lost—possibly for months, or even years.  Honolulu could be crippled, if these plans go through and they become dependent on geothermal. [15,18]

2) Economics.  Costs for the undersea cable to take that energy to Oahu are expected to exceed $10 billion (not counting drilling or building the plants themselves.)  That amount of money could put a solar hot water system on every roof in the state.  Hot water takes 39% of the typical household water use, so that would be a sizable reduction in energy use without using geothermal.  Under normal circumstances the geothermal investment would make no sense, but HELCO is a monopoly with a profit legislated by the government. Their financial incentive is the opposite of a normal business, which seeks to do things efficiently.  For HELCO, the more money they spend, the more money they get, since consumers are forced to pay the bill.  This boondoggle will increase the cost of living in Hawaii. [16]  Whether you own land, rent, or just visit Hawaii, you’ll be paying for this foolhardy expense. 

 

3Toxic emissions.  A mixture of nasty chemicals are released, and the small existing PGV well has produced emissions that exceeded a lethal dose for humans.  There have been 18 civil defense emergencies because of this one small well, and the well blowout in 1991 necessitated evacuating people from their homes.  The industry standard is a buffer zone with a 10 mile radius around a geothermal well.  “There are about 3,900 residential lots within a one-mile radius of the [small existing PGV] plant.” [20] Now they want twenty new geothermal wells here? This will completely change the character of the area from rural to industrial, threatening thousands of properties. 

 

4) Possibility of a “wild well.”  Since this is an area of constant tremors, it is possible for the well casing to rupture in an earthquake, causing an unrestricted flow of emissions or lava.  The geology here is different from other places where geothermal has been utilized.  Drilling at the small PGV well hit magma several years ago,[3] which came partway up the well shaft, and it’s very easy to imagine the possibility of starting an eruption that would not stop.  This is “by far the shallowest and hottest encounter of rock in a commercial operation.”[14] In 1977 an eruption was triggered in Iceland, when “magma erupted out the top of a producing geothermal well… in Krafla, Iceland.” [31]

Geothermal drilling has created a ‘wild well’ in California, in the Geysers Wild Horse area, “which emits about 306,000 lb./yr. of hydrogen sulfide (8.2% of the Geyser’s total). Efforts to stop these emissions have proven unsuccessful. Uncontrolled blowouts have the potential to vent up to 55,000 lb./hr. of geothermal steam and its pollutants into the surrounding environment.  Hydrogen sulfide (H2S) is one of the more notorious toxins resultant from geothermal operations. It and lesser amounts of other sulfuric forms have been broadly disseminated as aerosols across areas surrounding geothermal development, especially along lines of prevailing wind patterns. H2S becomes sulfur dioxide (SO2) through oxidation. Both forms are hazardous to plant and animal life.”[1]

 

5)  Health effects “Workers at various geothermal facilities have experienced severe health impairing consequences from geothermal emissions exposure. Abnormally high occupational incidences of heart attacks, respiratory ailments, major liver damage, bodily disfigurement, lung scarring, pulmonary disease, high blood pressure, and damage to various internal organs have been reported. Workers have experienced bloody noses, chronic coughs, and other respiratory problems, headaches, stomach ailments, eye irritations, sluggishness, dizziness, vomiting, and a persistent skin rash they’ve named the ‘creeping Geysers crud.’ Doctors, including Dr. Philip Rasonri of Healdsburg, Ca, have concluded the symptoms workers have experienced indicate short-term chemical poisoning… The California Occupational Safety and Health Administration (Cal-OSHA), deposits of arsenic and vanadium dust were found after a malfunction in the steam cleaning process. The arsenic tests showed concentrations of 430 ppm – over two times the state’s safety standard. Vanadium, for which test results showed concentrations of 4,200 ppm, had no set safety standard, though it is a known toxin. While cleaning up a chemical spill resulting from the malfunction, twenty-four workers developed nosebleeds, nausea, and other illness symptoms.”[1]

 

6) Geothermal wells can cause earthquakes. “Discussion needs to be open about how exploitation of Earth’s internal heat can produce earthquakes.” [26] “Studies conducted by scientists with the U.S. Geological Survey concluded that geothermal power production induces seismicity. One of the possible means is that re-injection of the spent fluids, which is generally done at a deeper level than the original tapping well, lubricates the different fault line plates as well as altering the pressure upon them, causing them to “slip.” Another theory is that tapping the geothermal reservoirs depletes the pressure built up underground causing the plates to shift. Perhaps both of these factors work synergistically to cause minor quakes of 3.5 to 4.0 on the Richter scale. The Geysers area has experienced quakes of these magnitudes that have been associated with geothermal production. Geothermal production areas in Mammoth Lakes, California have also experienced “swarms” of quakes. Studies are ongoing attempting to further understand the correlation between commercial geothermal energy production and tectonic activity. One indicator has been notable land subsidence in the areas above geothermal reservoirs.” [1,12]

 

7) Geothermal can poison the groundwater, hence, the ocean.  “Possible stream, ground water, and aquifer contamination are additional environmental problems resulting from geothermal production. Toxic contaminant harms can occur through mishaps in production processes, as well inherent potential due to the complexity of geologic features and production requirements. Reinjection is one danger area wherein potential exists for fluids to enter an underground aquifer. Another is that of well pipeline rupture or other production fluid leakage. Fluids could escape and enter area streams and ground water, poisoning aquatic fauna and area plants. To counter this, the plant at Mammoth Lakes has spill containment basins, dikes, gates and shut off valves. However one fault of all these systems remains the potential for a major quake, which is especially high in these tectonically active areas, occurring sometime with in the projected 30 years use-time of the plant. Speculation remains despite industry assurances to the contrary, that ‘fail safe’ spill prevention systems remain as fragile as glass built upon a herd of sleeping buffalo. The large quantity of fluid flowing through the pipes (at Mammoth it is 300,000 gallons per hour) coupled with the possibility of the structural integrity of the facilities, spill containment ponds, dikes, and gates being compromised by the force of a quake – where these are no longer able to fulfill to their intended function; the potential for ecological disaster is relatively high. Generally the industry operates under the assumption that plant personnel will be able to respond to leaks within minutes. In an

emergency situation this may be very likely prove implausible. If gates are so damaged they cannot shut, and/or dikes are breached, geothermal fluids with all their toxins would flow unabated into surrounding area waterways, soils, and aquifers.”[1]

 

8)  Geothermal generates toxic waste solids.  “Yet another probability of ground water contamination exists: geothermal sludge. Geothermal sludge is composed of geothermal fluids, oils, and drilling muds; containing sulfur compounds as well as arsenic, other toxins, and heavy metals. Sludge is stored in sumps on the site, which could potentially fail contaminating surrounding streams and ecosystems. Plans to solidify sump contents, becoming part of the soil or subsoil ignore the long-term effects of the release of geothermal sludge’s toxic components through erosion and precipitation.”[1]

 

9) Shady Land Deal.  “In 1990, plans to construct a major geothermal plant in a Hawaiian rainforest resulted in considerable environmental opposition. The proposed area, near the Puna volcano, has a geothermal fluid H2S content six times that of the Geysers, at 1,300 ppm concentration. The area is one of extreme geological instability. Yet the project was being pushed through by big industry with government help. The unstable nature of the volcanically active area is a cause of significant concern. The area first being considered for geothermal production was inundated by new lava flows following test drilling. The lava covered 25,000 acres destroying former rainforest and burying the original proposed geothermal site. Many of the Hawaiians feel that the volcanic lava flows were triggered by the drilling of geothermal wells. The government response was to “trade” 27,000 acres of public rainforest trust lands to the geothermal development company in exchange for the lava covered devastated lands. The area traded is the ‘last original rainforest within the U.S.’ It was to be held in public trust to protect the native Hawaiian plants and fauna as well for public use. However the public is now forbidden entrance.” [1]

 

10) Lava tube land weakens well casings, potentially causing leaks.  “Some of the initial Puna test wells had to be suspended when workers tapped into volcanic lava tubes and attempts to plug geothermal leaks through the passages were unsuccessful. Being able to regulate dispersal of reinjected geothermal effluent as planned may prove implausible in these areas. The ‘highly fractured’ nature of subsurface formations also carries the potential for contamination of ground waters aquifers. Well bores are equipped with casings cemented to the subsurface formations designed to prevent this. However fractures within the formations put stress upon the cemented castings and can result in their failure. By 1990, three… wells had already experienced leakage from casing failures. A casing leak at ground water level was found in one of these wells in addition to two other leaks at split and separated casings. This leakage was

occurring very early in this planned geothermal plants’ projected operating time of thirty years. The likelihood of more leaks due to stresses on cement bonds over time is significantly greater.” The development of geothermal energy production in such an unstable volcanically active geological area carries the potential for ground water contamination and severe impacts upon the health of the surrounding environment. 

 

11)  Venting is allowed that exceeds the fatal dose to humans.  “While H2S emissions are regulated, required to be no more than 0.03 ppm, provisions exist that weaken this requirement. First, while drilling, geothermal contractors are permitted to vent up to 500 ppm of H2S into the atmosphere. This is 5 to 10 times above the inhalation irritation threshold and over 1,666 times the level at which H2S causes damage to sensitive plants (0.30 ppm). The fatal exposure level for H2S is 700 ppm, however, concentrations above 500 ppm can result in respiratory paralysis leading to death. Only if emissions are found to be above 500 ppm, are contractors required to notify air pollution control districts, after which they have twenty-four hours to act before they need to either close the well or install air pollution abatement equipment. 

Yet another loophole is permissible sulfur dioxide (SO2) emissions levels. H2S gas oxidizes in a 12 to 18 hour period becoming SO2 as it is exposed to air. The permissible limit for SO2 is up to 1000 ppm, yet over 400 ppm of SO2 can be fatal. The irritation threshold is only 3ppm, respiratory irritation occurs at 1 to 10 ppm and 0.3 ppm for 8 hours is toxic to plants.

This calls into question who these permissible levels are intended to protect? The surrounding environment, workers, community, and animals

– or the uninterrupted economic production interests of geothermal commercial ventures? Why are these permissible levels set 2 ½ times higher than the level fatal to human life? Why are they set over 3,333 times higher than the level toxic to surrounding plants?”[1]

 

12) Hydrogen Sulfide is much more dangerous than was previously known. . H2S is classed as a chemical asphyxiant, similar to carbon monoxide and cyanide gases. It inhibits cellular respiration and uptake of oxygen, causing biochemical suffocation.

“At high concentrations (500-1,000 parts per million [ppm]), hydrogen sulfide acts primarily as a systemic poison, causing unconsciousness and death by respiratory paralysis. At lower concentrations (50-500 ppm),it acts as a respiratory irritant, which can lead to pulmonary edema upon exposure to concentrations in excess of 250 ppm. Exposure to hydrogen sulfide concentrations of 20-50 ppm may cause eye irritation and conjunctivitis. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has established an occupational standard of 10 ppm in the workplace.” [20, 23, 24] “EPA has determined that hydrogen sulfide can reasonably be anticipated to cause serious or irreversible chronic human health effects at relatively low doses and thus is considered to have moderately high to high chronic toxicity.” [5] Prolonged exposures at lower levels can lead to bronchitis, pneumonia, migraine headaches, pulmonary edema, and loss of motor coordination. [28] “The precautionary principle recommends that smelling this gas is a warning that should be heeded by people to evacuate quickly.” [29]  These gases are heavier than air, but rather than putting monitors at ground level, the air quality monitors surrounding the existing PGV plant were put 6-10 feet above the ground, which obviously led to a lower report of emissions.

 

13) We’re close enough to get the effects of the “fallout.” “Particles of these toxic chemicals are carried from the geothermal emission source, rising with the prevailing wind currents. Those particles, ranging between 5 and 15 microns, generally fall out within 1 to 5 miles. Between .5 to 5 microns they remain airborne for longer periods, allowing chemical reactions to occur changing the nature of the substance (H2S to SO2 to sulfuric acid). Smaller particles ranging from .1 to .5 microns or less remain airborne “indefinitely.” These particles can enter the body through the respiratory system. Those less than 1 to 2 microns can penetrate deep into the respiratory tract and are readily absorbed into the blood stream through lung tissue. Some of these substances, such as mercury, accumulate without being eliminated. Hydrogen sulfide emissions tend to be in the penetrating smaller-size particles.”[1]

 

 

14) It’s a myth that geothermal has been safe elsewhere.  This is a far more polluting kind of geothermal than the “clean steam” geothermal done in California, yet still, geothermal is not the safe energy source it is portrayed to be. 

“A $60 million project to extract renewable energy from the hot bedrock deep beneath Basel, Switzerland, was shut down after a government study determined that earthquakes generated by the project were likely to do millions of dollars in damage each year, the New York Times reported. The project was first suspended in 2006 after it generated earthquakes that caused about $9 million in damage to other structures.” [22] “The Times covered the abandonment of a similar project by AltaRock Energy, outside San Francisco, which was attempting to extract vast amounts of renewable energy from deep, hot bedrock.” [22]

“Adults exposed to low levels of a toxic gas released by natural and industrial sources may experience wheezing, coughing and asthma attacks that require medication, finds a three-year study in Iceland. This is one of the first studies to find a connection between hydrogen sulfide – best known for its rotten egg smell – and respiratory health effects.” [29]

“In 1990, Mt. Apo in the Philippines was another site for a geothermal plant being opposed by area residents. The plant was planned within a park regarded “as one of the richest botanical mountains in the region. It is also the last major habitat for the endangered Philippine eagle. The area known as the Bac-Man Project planned thirty or more geothermal wells. Stack source measurements for H2S emissions found 990 ppm; 290 ppm over the fatal threshold limit, and many times the 40 ppm for 5 hours damage to sensitive plants. Well sites are expected to significantly impact the area’s forest; disturbing natural habitat and adversely affecting the region’s fauna’s ability to survive. Another geothermal project, the “Southern Negros”, released spent drill

fluids, injuring fish and shrimp within the area’s river. Effluents containing arsenic are projected in quantities that pose a danger to aquatic fauna. Gayong River’s health as an ecosystem has declined rapidly since the drilling started in the early 1980’s. By 1990 it appeared to be “close to the point of biological death.” Long-term operation of planned geothermal plants is expected to result in the cumulative build up of heavy metals and other toxins in the area’s rivers and seacoast. The consequent absorption of geothermal toxins into the food chain would adversely affect the fishing-dependant coastal population, as well as the fish themselves. Area farmers are also expected to suffer from geothermal toxic emissions, many of which are harmful to plants. As in Hawaii as of 1990, local oppositions to these projects was considerable.”[1, 19]

 

15) Injecting the toxins back into the earth contaminates water.

“Over the past several decades, U.S. industries have injected more than 30 trillion gallons of toxic liquid deep into the earth, using broad expanses of the nation’s geology as an invisible dumping ground.  No company would be allowed to pour such dangerous chemicals into the rivers or onto the soil. But until recently, scientists and environmental officials have assumed that deep layers of rock beneath the earth would safely entomb the waste for millennia.

There are growing signs they were mistaken.

Records from disparate corners of the United States show that wells drilled to bury this waste deep beneath the ground have repeatedly leaked, sending dangerous chemicals and waste gurgling to the surface or, on occasion, seeping into shallow aquifers that store a significant portion of the nation’s drinking water.

In 2010, contaminants from such a well bubbled up in a west Los Angeles dog park. Within the past three years, similar fountains of oil and gas drilling waste have appeared in Oklahoma and Louisiana. In South Florida, 20 of the nation’s most stringently regulated disposal wells failed in the early 1990s, releasing partly treated sewage into aquifers that may one day be needed to supply Miami’s drinking water.

There are more than 680,000 underground waste and injection wells nationwide, more than 150,000 of which shoot industrial fluids thousands of feet below the surface. Scientists and federal regulators acknowledge they do not know how many of the sites are leaking.”

 

16) Geothermal kills plants in surrounding areas. “Climatic induced change by steam emissions increased the air temperature, cloudiness and humidity of the area. This induced change has been shown to be responsible “for fungal disease and branch die off in black oaks” at the Geysers.”[1]

 

 

17)  It’s a myth that geothermal will lead to cheaper electric rates. The customers will have to pay for this bad investment.  “Hawai`i county not only has the highest utility rates in the nation, it has held that record for decades, in spite of 20% of our power coming from geothermal. HECO has already started to experience a decline (in the number of people on the grid) and has to be acutely aware that it could escalate. In the past few years the rate of solar installations within Hawai`i has doubled each year. The number of renewable energy developers who have made proposals to the utility for large-scale grid-connected renewable energy projects has gone up ten-fold. The increasing use of various energy efficiency systems is also driving down the demand for electricity. HECO, and its subsidiaries Maui Electric (MECO) and Hawaii Electric Light (HELCO), experienced peak energy use in 2004. Since then the demand for electricity has been dropping.

This mechanism states that the utility is entitled to a certain level of revenue, and as sales drop they can automatically increase rates to keep their revenue on target. The PUC has already approved this mechanism.”[6]

 

18) Better options exist.  Hawaii will be less energy-resilient with geothermal, since the state’s power supply could be crippled.  With ample sunshine, it makes sense for solar generation to be localized. 

19) The US is falling behind the rest of the world in solar energy technology.  “Germany’s power industry has always been a world leader, but since the country closed eight nuclear power plants after the Japanese disaster and announced they would be shutting down the remaining nine by 2022, pressure to find alternative energy has mounted. Other sources such as wind and biomass are expected to pick up the slack, but solar power has never been more important./  The U.S. put a 31% tariff on Chinese solar panels and states are cutting the solar incentive programs. If the U.S. and Hawaii were seriousabout getting off oil they would instead buy all the cheap solar and install it. Even if China was dumping panels the government should have simply bought them all, installed them and gotten off oil.[8]  The United States Department of Commerce imposed extreme tariffs on China-made solar panels and modules of between 31% and 250%, making them much less affordable for U.S. consumers. Commerce took the additional extraordinary step of making the tariffs

retroactive for 90 days to prevent U.S businesses and homeowners from getting a decent price on the basis that their local dealer/installer bought panels before the date of their decision. Solar in this country just got a lot more expensive and the 100,000 domestic solar industry jobs (mostly installing and servicing) created over the last five years are now at risk. Also, oil, coal and gas suddenly can remain price competitive with solar in the U.S. for far longer than market forces would otherwise dictate. Longer term, it could make the U.S. may the last dirty, expensive, fossil-fuels/geothermal based economic backwater economy in the developed world.” [11]

 

20)  There is no sane reason why Hawaii should lag the nation in solar installations. “Hawaii’s goal of energy independence is growing closer, with the state’s solar installations rising 45 percent in first quarter 2012 over the same period last year, as noted in a recent Star-Advertiser article. In only three months, Hawaii homeowners and businesses installed another 14.8 mega-watts of solar generating capacity.   But though blessed with sunlight, Hawaii lagged far behind the average 85 percent national increase. New Jersey, not known for its sun, added an astounding 174 MW of solar installations — nearly 12 times Hawaii’s increase.  Hawaii’s comparatively slow gain results from Hawaiian Electric Co. limiting solar to 15 percent per circuit, pleading that further increases will destabilize the grid. But this is a false, self-serving argument: On Kauai, not served by HECO, some circuits are at 100 percent solar penetration with no impact on the grid.”[13]

21)  Hawaii has enough air quality issues already. With an eruption that has been ongoing for decades, the last thing we need is to add a potentially lethal cocktail of chemicals released into the air.  Kona’s air quality will be enormously impacted by geothermal development in Puna… or on Hualalai volcano.  Because of the inversion layer in the atmosphere, poisonous emissions will stay in the air above Kona for extended periods of time.  “During operation of the geothermal wells, gases may be released to the atmosphere [including] carbon dioxide, hydrogen sulfide, ammonia, and trace amounts of 222radon. The emission of hydrogen sulfide gas is considered to be the most important tpublic health problem related to the operation of these geothermal wells. Since hydrogen sulfide is heavier than air, it can accumulate in low-lying areas during temperature inversions or when prevailing trade winds are calm.” [20]

22) Sacrificing the sustainable for the unsustainable is the height of folly.  Puna is an area where many people grow their own food, catch their own water, and generate their own solar power.  This should become an example for the rest of the islands, rather than an industrial wasteland sacrificed to benefit the urban center of Honolulu.  While none of us is entirely independent, and we all are interrelated, such a promising example of self-sufficiency should not be destroyed.

23) Kona could be severely impacted by their geothermal wells, as well as by those in Puna.  Hualalai volcano is potentially dangerous because its lava is so fast flowing.  Lava was reported to flow from 5000 ft to the ocean in 2 hours, last time it erupted.  A geothermal disaster above Kona could be deadly.

24) Legislative foul play.  Since the consumers will be footing the bill for HELCO’s lousy investment, which stands to make the cost of living here even higher, we ought to have a say in the decision.  But Act 55 and the Public Land Development Corporation have created an “end run” at the state level to avoid local control, state taxes, and the normal planning and permitting process.  Instead, only one hearing is needed, held in Honolulu, with only 6 days notice.  PLDC, which has been dubbed “grand theft aina,” is a mechanism for State and Ceded lands to be developed by private corporations.  Not only is there a bailout clause so that the public bears the financial risk, but neighboring landowners can be forced to pay for costly improvements, or face losing their lands.  This is a truly bad piece of legislation that needs to be repealed. 

25The cable itself is an economic as well as environmental threat.  Massachusetts studied, and ultimately rejected undersea cables using the same technology as a “high-risk” installation, too expensive to construct, with too many severe environmental impacts and too difficult to maintain.” “The Governor’s and HECO’s proposed multi-billion-dollar interisland cable would substantially increase Hawaii electric rates and taxes. It would be constructed through the Hawaii Humpback Whale National Sanctuary, the world-famous Molokai Reef, and the Penguin Banks, one of the most significant marine environments in the Pacific. No environmental or economic analyses of this project have been done, and the Governor is attempting to exclude it from such studies and public review.” [17]

 

 

26)  The noise is horrendous.  Ask anyone who’s lived near the geothermal drilling, with the noise pounding them 24/7. 


1. From the Oregon Sierra Club  <http://oregon.sierraclub.org/groups/juniper/library/Documents/Geothermal%20Energy%204-08.pdf>

2.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sidoarjo_mud_flow

3.  http://www.nature.com/news/2008/081217/full/news.2008.1317.html

4.  http://readersupportednews.org/news-section2/312-16/12038-text-opinion-template

5.  https://www.federalregister.gov/articles/2011/10/17/2011-23534/hydrogen-sulfide-community-right-to-know-toxic-chemical-release-reporting#p-177

6.http://www.lifeofthelandhawaii.org/Distributed_Generation/Wayfinding_Navigating_Hawaii%27s_Energy_Future

7.http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/1JrPxs/inhabitat.com/germany-sets-new-solar-record-by-meeting-nearly-half-of-countrys-weekend-power-demand/

8.http://www.altenergystocks.com/archives/2012/05/tariffs_on_chinese_solar_are_bad_for_us_all.html

9. http://www1.eere.energy.gov/geothermal/pdfs/drillinghandbook.pdf

10. http://articles.latimes.com/2012/may/18/business/la-fi-china-solar-dumping-20120518

11.http://www.newsobserver.com/2012/05/17/2071353/31-tariff-set-for-chinese-solar.html

12.http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2009/06/23/us/Geothermal.

html

13.http://www.wind-watch.org/news/2012/07/04/big-wind-interisland-cable-are-last-

gasp-of-dying-dinosaur/

14.http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7780873.stm

15. http://www.bigislandvideonews.com/2012/06/28/volcano-watch-hvo-weighs-in-on-geothermal-development/

16. http://www.hawaiireporter.com/undersea-cable-boondoggle/123

17.http://www.hawaiifreepress.com/ArticlesMain/tabid/56/articleType/ArticleView/arti

cleId/6582/Utility-Rejects-Expensive-High-Risk-Undersea-Power-Cable-Project.aspx

18. http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/1994/0553/report.pdf

19. http://www.energyjustice.net/geothermal

20. http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/hac/pha/pha.asp?docid=1036&pg=0

21. http://www.planetpuna.com/geothermal/geothermal%20risks.htm

22. http://www.smartplanet.com/blog/pure-genius/geothermal-energy-to

o-dangerous/1340

23. http://punapono.com/docs/Legator.pdf

24. http://punapono.com/docs/Kilburn2.pdf

25 http://punapono.com/index.php/links/8-health

26 http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v462/n7275/full/462848a.html

27 http://nj.gov/health/eoh/rtkweb/documents/fs/1476.pdf

28 http://www.safetydirectory.com/hazardous_substances/hydrogen_sulfide/fact_sheet

.htm

29 http://www.environmentalhealthnews.org/ehs/newscience/2012/03/2012-0430-hydrogen-sulfide-asthma-med-use

30 http://punapono.com/docs/Kilburn1.pdf

31 http://thinkgeoenergy.com/archives/1982

 

 

 

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What Exactly is the Problem with PLDC? Where do we begin?

comments on proposed administrative rules for Public Land Development Corporation

for hearing Monday, August 20, 2012, 6 PM, Waiakea High School Cafeteria, Hilo

by Cory Harden, PO Box 10265, Hilo, Occupied Hawai’i 96721  808-968-8965  mh@interpac.net

 

PUBLIC STATEMENT

The “21st Century Mahele”. That’s what some people are calling PLDC. PLDC was snuck into a bill at the tail end of a State legislative session with no chance for public testimony. Senators Solomon and Dela Cruz want to use PLDC to support geothermal and building in rural areas. 

 

Hawai’i has other quasi-governmental development agencies, like the Hawai’i Community Development Authority and Aloha Tower Development Corporation. They have a poor track record of repeated problems.

 

PLDC is jumping the gun, perhaps illegally, on two counts.

·         First, PLDC is acting on projects even though these rules are not finalized. That means no direction on how PLDC operates, and no criteria for selecting projects-a perfect setup for sweetheart deals.

 

·         Second, PLDC is acting on projects before doing an inventory, as required, of all public lands.

 

Under the most appalling draft rules, these scenarios are allowed:

·         PLDC can take land and terminate leases. 302-27(9), 303-38

 

·         There’s only one hearing, with only six days’ notice, at the Board of Land and Natural Resources, for leases, and transferring land and development rights, from the state to private entities. 

 

·         Projects can ignore state and county land use designations, zoning ordinances, building codes;  community development plans; and other legal requirements. 302-27 (10) (12) (15)

 

·         Neighbors of projects can be forced to install costly underground utilities on just 30 days’ notice. If they don’t, state or private workers can come on their property and do the work. The project neighbor gets the bill and just 30 days to pay. If they don’t, the state requires installment payments. If those aren’t made, there’s a penalty, and PLDC can put a lien on the property. You’d need a lawyer to contest anything. 303-11, 303-12, 303-21, 303-24, 303-25, 303-53, 303-54,

303-56

 

·         Project neighbors can be also forced to build and fix sidewalks.

 

·         Decisions can be made by just two PLDC members meeting behind closed doors. (Instead, four should be required for a vote to meet in executive session, and for a quorum. 301-6 , 301-9)

 

·         Taxpayer money will bankroll private development (issuing bonds, investing for seed capital, providing grants and loans and other monetary assistance, buying securities to assist developers) 302-52, 302-61)

 

·         PLDC can invest more than half a million dollars in a private enterprise, and can own more than half of the enterprise. 302-63, 302-68

 

In short, PLDC seriously oversteps the bounds of government. It sells out the ‘aina, the culture, and the people to local and transnational corporations. PLDC should be abolished.

 

 

 

 

 

OTHER COMMENTS

More than half of Hawai’i’s people want more land preservation, not more development, according to a recent Civil Beat poll.

 

There should be a mechanism to evaluate the cumulative impact of multiple projects done by PLDC and others.

 

Criteria for selecting projects should be more specific to avoid bribes, favoritism, and other devious actions.

 

PLDC should be required to get county input on proposals.

 

PLDC should be sure there is legal access to adequate water for projects.

 

The presiding officer for a hearing should be an independent hearing officer, not the chairperson or their representative. 301-2

 

There should be a right to hearing if an action or decision for a remote area, like Mauna Kea or a forest reserve, affects the public in general. 301-51 (b)

 

Developers who have been sanctioned or who broke the law-especially ethical, environmental, land use, safety, labor, or civil rights laws-should be prohibited from working with PLDC. 302-24

 

PLDC should be required to do hearings on the affected island re. proposals.   302-28

 

At least three public meetings near the affected area should be held for proposals for coastal lands.

302-28

 

PLDC should be required to hold developers to promises. This will address PLDC’s conflict of interest if developers break promises, since PLDC will lose money if a project fails. Past broken promises: Hokulia, Ko Olina, Haseko ‘Ewa Maine, Knudsen’s Village, Turtle Bay. 302-32

 

Projects should “not unduly burden existing water systems, sewage and other waste disposal systems, transportation systems, roadway, drainage, street lighting, open spaces, parks, and other recreational areas, public utilities, and public services” or should include “as part of the proposed project, the development of such systems, facilities, and services at reasonable cost”  302-35 (8)

 

Projects should have no significant impact under the National Environmental Policy Act. 302-35 (8)

 

PLDC should research the environmental and legal record of each enterprise. 302-65

 

PLDC should not assist developers with fees. 302-68

 

Counties should not face unexpected burdens from improvements built by PLDC and transferred to the county. 303-40

 

Counties and water departments should not be required to pay for water and sewer connections, roads, sidewalks, street lights, and other improvements.  303-40, 303-41

 

Water departments should not face unexpected burdens from improvements built by PLDC and transferred to the departments. 303-41

 

 

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