Ka`u News Briefs July 26, 2011

A Scenic Byways meeting for Ka`u will be held this Thursday by the Ka`u Chamber of Commerce. Photo by Julia Neal

LAVA OVERFLOWED THE RIM of the southeast side of Pu`u `O`o Crater last night. With the Pu`u `O`u lava lake rim rising faster than the lake surface, a large piece of the east rim fell into the lake, and cracking is obvious on the doming crater floor. Lava is also issuing from sources along the base of the northeastern crater wall but remained within the crater.

Plastic bags are outlawed at retailers on Maui, Kaua`i
and in L.A.  Photo from ProjectGreenBag.com

REGULATION OF PLASTIC BAGS will be the subject of a public hearing 5 p.m. today at Na`alehu Community Center. The proposed bill would add a new article to the Hawai`i County code entailing plastic bag reduction measures. If passed, businesses will not be allowed to provide plastic bags to their customers. Businesses would have up to one year from the bill’s approval to shift away from handing out plastic bags and toward reusable bags made from machine washable fabric or of paper designed for multiple and long-term use. The bill, however, exempts nonprofit organizations from the ban, and it allows people to continue to use plastic trash bags. Kaua`i and Maui already banned commercial distribution of plastic bags. 

Michael Udovic

COUNTY CORPORATE COUNSEL MICHAEL UDOVIC will speak at a community meeting at Na`alehu Community Center tomorrow at 7 p.m. about redistricting for County Council seats. The county Redistricting Commission already plans to exclude temporary residents like the military, non-resident students and non-resident inmates. Udovic recently stated: “Those persons who do not have the intent to remain permanently in the County of Hawai`i are not considered permanent residents and should be excluded from the population base in determining the redistricting of the nine council districts.” 

     This contrasts with the recent state Reapportionment Commission’s controversial vote to include military personnel in redistricting for state Senate and House seats. Including military personnel would have given O`ahu more representation in the Hawai`i Senate and dashed hopes for a fourth Senate seat for the Big Island. After being asked for an opinion by by Ka`u’s Rep. Bob Herkes, state Attorney General David M. Louie declared that the population base could not include military personnel when drawing the maps for voter districts.
     A county decision to include military personnel in its local redistricting would have little effect as this island hosts few servicemen.
     The District 6 Matters Meeting is sponsored by County Council member Brittany Smart. 

A SCENIC BYWAY MEETING will be held at Ocean View Community Center this Thursday at 10 a.m. Highway 11 in Ka`u has been nominated to be designated as a State Scenic Highway, following an application by the Ka`u Chamber of Commerce to the federal government. “The Slopes of Mauna Loa” with its large stretches and untouched landscape was the theme chosen by the committee established by the Chamber to oversee the designation of the scenic byway. This week’s meeting will entail the creation of subcommittees that will manage different aspects of the scenic byway and a public discussion on its priorities. More byways meetings will be at Na`alehu Community Center Monday, Aug. 1 at 6 p.m. and at Pahala Community Center Wednesday, Aug. 3 at 7 p.m. 

THE PUBLIC HEARINGS on the proposed `Aina Koa Pono biofuel refinery between Wood Valley and Pahala and the proposed biofuel farm on thousands of acres of pasture between Pahala and Na`alehu are scheduled on Tuesday, Aug. 2 at 9 a.m. at the State Building in Hilo and at 4 p.m. at the West Hawai`i Civic Center in Kona.
     Here are more questions and answers from `Aina Koa Pono:

What training, education, and workforce development will be provided to prepare local residents for the available jobs?
 “We are already meeting with Big Island Labor Alliance, Work Hawai`i, and the University of Hawai`i. We will work with the county Planning Department, the local high schools, and unions to develop training programs to fill our needs,” says `Aina Koa Pono. 




Is the project economically viable? 
“Yes,” says `Aina Koa Pono.

What is the price of biofuels being sold to HECO?
 “This is proprietary information under the terms of the contract with HECO as they are currently negotiating other bio-fuel contracts,” says `Aina Koa Pono.

What are the basic assumptions of AKP’s finance and business plans?
 “To sell fuel to HELCO and to grow our own feedstock to contain costs. We have a 20-year contract for our biofuel,” says `Aina Koa Pono.

Ka'u News Briefs July 25, 2011

`Aina Koa Pono says its refinery and biofuel farm between Na`alehu and Pahala will impact the local lifestyle in the least intrusive manner. Photo by Julia Neal

As Chair of the Board of Land and Natural Resources,

William Aila will oversee partnerships with private
entities to generate income for the state agency.

        STATE LAND ALONG THE COAST and other park-like areas could be targeted for private - government partnerships under the new Act 55, recently passed by the state Legislature and signed by Gov. Neil Abercrombie. Sophie Cocke, of the online news organization Civil Beat, wrote that the new “law creates the Public Land Development Corporation, which will act as the development arm of the Hawai`i Department of Land and Natural Resources. Board members have recently been appointed, and a range of possible projects, such as renovating state park facilities and constructing boat slips, are on the radar.”
       “The law’s supporters say profits generated by such improvements could provide a long-awaited salve to DLNR’s budget woes and aid the department in better maintaining neglected public lands. The public-private partnerships are also part of a broader national trend, in which states, struggling with decaying infrastructure and restricted budgets, are turning to the private sector for help. But the new corporation, which spearheads project financing through a mix of revenue bonds and private capital, has raised some alarm,” reports Civil Beat.
        Donna Wong, executive director of Hawai`i’s Thousand Friends, a watchdog organization for land use decisions, told Civil Beat: “I’ve been told over and over it’s all about money. We’ve joined other states that are selling their stadiums, fairgrounds and public parks because they need money. It’s a trend to sell it for quick cash. But once it’s gone to private hands, you don’t get it back and are beholden to what the [private companies] want to charge and their rules.”

Guy Kaulukukui says income is needed for DLNR to
protect watersheds.

       According to Civil Beat, however, supporters say its intent is not to open the floodgates to unrestricted development. “Without equivocating, we’re not going to take a state park and put a hotel on it,” said Guy Kaulukukui, a Volcano resident and deputy director at DLNR. He also told Civil Beat that he believed there were legitimate concerns about the powers of the corporation, and that the board will need to constrain its own behavior. Civil Beat reports that board members for the Public Land Development Corporation have been appointed, and they include Big Island native Duane Kurisu, a partner in the real estate investment firm Kurisu & Fergus, and former state senator Bobby Bunda. Also on board are Department of Business, Economic Development & Tourism Director Richard Lim and Budget and Finance Director Kalbert Young. DLNR will be represented by either DLNR chief William Aila, Jr. or Kaulukukui. According to Civil Beat, “funding for DLNR’s capital improvement program has declined 55 percent from $29 million in 2002 to $13 million this year. The lack of funding for upgrading essential infrastructure and protecting natural resources poses a public threat, Kaulukukui told Civil Beat. Revenue generated from the Public Land Development Corporation could compensate for the losses, he said.
       Kaulukukui told Civil Beat that Hawai`i’s endangered watersheds, which provide all of the state’s drinking water, are being compromised by plants and hoofed livestock which compromise the ability of soil to absorb water. “With revenue generated by the corporation, DLNR officials hope to increase the budget for watershed protection tenfold,” the Civil Beat story reports. “We have to address this now, and we have to pay for it now,” Kaulukukui told Civil Beat, also saying that the alternative to harnessing drinking water was desalinating seawater, which would quadruple the cost.

      THE PUBLIC HEARING on the proposed `Aina Koa Pono biofuel refinery between Wood Valley and Pahala and the proposed biofuel farm on thousands of acres of pasture between Pahala and Na`alehu goes to public hearing on Tuesday, Aug. 2 at 9 a.m. \at the State Building in Hilo and at 4 p.m. at the West Hawai`i Civic Center.
         Here are more questions and answers provided by `Aina Koa Pono:
         Will any of the energy produced be used or available in Ka`u?
 Yes, says `Aina Koa Pono.


         What impact will the project have on Ka`u’s rural lifestyle?
 AKP says it wants “ to enrich Ka`u, be a good neighbor and impact the local community in the least intrusive manner so as to not interrupt or change its lifestyle.”

         What community benefits is AKP willing to commit to communities in Ka`u? How will the project’s economic benefits be distributed?
 AKP says it is “deeply committed to community giving in Ka`u. Although it is premature at this point in the project to identify specifics, AKP is committed to giving back to the community and is open to receiving community input for future consideration,” AKP states. 

Brittany Smart

       How does the project create jobs for people in the community? 
AKP says it projects that approximately 150 to 200 permanent jobs will be created by this project.


       How many of the construction and operations jobs will be filled by residents of Ka`u and Hawai`i Island?
 AKP says, “we hope to fill as many of the jobs available by local hires. It does not make sense to bring in outside personnel unless the capability is not available locally.”

      

REDISTRICTING OF HAWAI‘I COUNTY is the topic at a District 6 Matters meeting Wednesday at 7 p.m. at Na`alehu Community Center. County Council member Brittany Smart and attorney Michael Udovic, from the office of Corporation Counsel, will be on hand to answer questions.

Ka`u News Briefs July 24, 2011

Pasture land with trees between Na`alehu and Pahala would be turned into a grass farm for the biofuel refinery.
Photo by Michael Martin-Neal

A NEW BUILDING CODE was adopted unanimously last week by the County Council and includes a map of wind-designated areas that determine how tough your new house has to be to stand up in storms. Homes are categorized as fully enclosed, partially enclosed or open. Partially enclosed and open houses have to be built with expensive high impact resistance glass, shutters, or a system to put up protection, like plywood boards, to save the houses from hurricane force winds. Otherwise you have to build a safe room somewhere in the house. There are also new rules requiring insulation. However, exceptions will be made, such as allowing Volcano residents to be exempt from insulation in the ceilings should they want hot air to circulate from the attic to the living area for heating. New rules severely restrict single wall construction. 

Lava could soon overflow the rim of Pu`u `O`o crater.
Photo courtesy of Hawaiian Volcano Observatory

LAVA IS ABOUT TO OVERFLOW the southwest flank of Pu`u `O`o on the east rift of Hawai`i’s Kilauea volcano, according to Hawaiian Volcano Observatory’s latest report. Park visitors at Jaggar Museum, looking at the glow in Halema`uma`u Crater, have been able to see a glow shining up into the sky at night that is coming from Pu`u O`o. Scientists predict the spillover, which would stream lava from the Pu`u `O`o Crater for the first time since the Kamoamoa fissure erupted and halted lava flowing toward the ocean. 

THE BOTTOMFISH WORKSHOP will be held tomorrow at the University of Hawai`i campus in Hilo in Room K-127 of the Kanakaole Bldg. from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. The workshops will feature interactive booths with information on the new state annual bottomfish vessel registration and new state commercial bottomfish reporting requirements. Changes to the bottomfish Deep-7 annual quota from a total allowable catch to an annual catch limit and what they mean will be presented, along with information on federal non-commercial bottomfish permit and reporting. A forum will be conducted on options for non-commercial fishery data collection.

HERE ARE MORE QUESTIONS & ANSWERS FROM `AINA KOA PONO, leading up to the public hearings scheduled for Tuesday, Aug. 2 on its proposed refinery between Pahala and Wood Valley and its proposed biofuel farm between Na`alehu and Pahala.

`Aina Koa Pono engineer
Alexander Causey

`Aina Koa Pono appears to have a lack of expertise, specifically agronomists.
 The company says it is bringing on board a number of subject matter experts. “We are working with the Hawai`i Agricultural Research Center in developing optimal varieties of feedstock for our plant.” The company says it has retained John Carroll, an agronomist and Mike Thieman, an expert in sustainable biomass production, to help with the agricultural aspects of the project. It also says it has retained John Cross and James Cuddihy, “both of whom were involved in the sugar business in Ka’u for many years with the Ka’u Sugar operation and will provide significant insight. We are prepared to retain other expertise as required,” `Aina Koa Pono says. 

 

Does `Aina Koa Pono have an agricultural plan for the project?
 `Aina Koa Pono says it has a three-step plan that is being developed and will include significant input from local farmers and ranchers. `Aina Koa Pono also says it has a written protocol that has been agreed to with the Hawai`i Islands Land Trust “that guarantees there will be environmentally sound land management practices followed.

”

Why has `Aina Koa Pono proposed several different types of grasses to use as feedstock?
 The company says it wants to select a non-invasive grass that meets its energy needs and the nutritional needs of local ranchers. It is planning test plots to determine optimal varieties and methods. “Existing invasive and cultivated biomass will gradually be harvested, while other grasses and trees are cultivated where appropriate,” the company says.

What is the environmental impact? `Aina Koa Pono says that “the project in and of itself benefits the environment by reducing green house gases and CO2 emissions.” It says that the carbon dioxide from its facility will be absorbed by the biomass feedstock crops. 



`Aina Koa Pono co-founder
Melvin Chiogioji

Assuming some of the construction workers come from off-island (or from outside Ka`u and don’t want a long daily commute), where will they be housed? And how will that impact the affordability of housing for local families? How will other impacts of a significant, temporary increase in population be mitigated? 
`Aina Koa Pono says it will engage local sources to the maximum extent to perform the construction. “This project is small enough that the number of people potentially brought in from outside the island to assist in construction could be housed locally and would not increase the population in any significant way,” it says. The company says it also plans to hire Big Island-based contractors for much of the construction work.

 

During both construction and operation, how much traffic, noise, odor, waste, and emissions will be produced, and how will they be mitigated?
 “Best management practices will be used as required by permits,” the company says. “It is our intention to set the biorefinery back from Wood Valley Road and expand a natural rise to partially block the view of the facility from the road,” the company says.

`Aina Koa Pono
co-founder
Kenton Eldridge

What roads will be used, what improvements will be required, and what arrangements are being made with the roads’ private owners?
 `Aina Koa Pono says that private roads are in the lessor’s lease, and that it will maintain those roads. The company says it plans to develop a private new access road connecting Wood Valley Road with Highway 11, so that truck traffic can by-pass Pahala. 

How will the biofuel be safely stored and transported? `Aina Koa Pono says it will design and construct fuel storage facilities “as currently done in the U.S. The permitting process will assure compliance with all safety considerations, including county fire department approvals.

”