Geothermal location plays part in apathy
Industry uses various levels of government to protect itself from citizens they have the capacity to injure. In the case of hydrogen sulfide (H2S), they whined and sniveled to the federal government to take it off the Hazardous Air Pollutant (HAP) List of the Clean Air Act, because people could sue them, as it would affect their profits. The Daddy Bush administration then declared the second most toxic gas known was included on the HAP list due to a clerical error and obediently had it removed.
It was this maneuvering that gave individual states the ability to develop their own regulations regarding H2S. Some felt it necessary to protect their citizens, while others like Hawaii set out to protect industry from the citizenry by creating the hourly weighted average. This takes a potentially lethal dose of H2S and statistically manipulates it down to virtually nothing. Excerpted from the Hawaii State Department of Health’s mission statement: “To protect and enhance air and water quality.” If by mathematically downgrading the severity of an extremely toxic gas release is protection, then I am unfamiliar with that definition.
PGV’s air permit allows them to have an H2S release level at their fence line of 25 PPB (parts per billion), but that would be after the gas readings have been recalculated over an hour. This means a dose of H2S that could drop a bull elephant in his tracks would be mathematically diluted to the equivalent of a particularly nasty fart. An exaggeration? Not by much! The Kona side fought geothermal development, but if a facility was built there and it gassed out an affluent neighborhood, perhaps government might be concerned, but since it only currently affects a part of Puna Makai, not many in any level of government give a tinker’s damn.
Dave Kisor
Pahoa
Water resource and supply development has a lot of issues
Referring to Barry Willis’s letter posted on Oct. 8 in West Hawaii Today. The heading reads: “Think outside the water-catching box.”
The idea of moving water from Hilo to Kona is easy to visualize. To actualize such a concept is not easy.
There would be water exportation and importation issues. There would be political and environmental issues. There would be project scoping and alternative selection issues.
A big issue would be democracy versus autocracy. Many public works projects are created by stakeholder advocacy and private interests. Community citizens and individuals do not enjoy such empowerment.
The existence of many hurdles for ordinary people participation favors our government to exist in bureaucratic efficiency in the name of best public interest.
The water-catching box is not inclusive of thinkers yet.
Harold Murata
Honalo
Correction on early walk-in voting sites
The League of Women Voters of Hawaii County wishes to correct the list of the four Early Voting sites, open from Oct. 26 to Nov. 5. The correct locations are: West Hawaii Civic Center, County of Hawaii Aupuni Center Conference Room, Pahala Community Center, and Waimea Community Center. Hours and days vary by location.
The League reminds those with absentee ballots to mail their ballots before Nov. 5 so the ballot arrives by Nov. 8.
Erica Johnson
League of Women Voters of Hawaii County