Last year, the 117 th U.S. Congress cooperated in a bipartisan effort to pass the $1.7 trillion Emergency Infrastructure Bill. The allocation of funds created by this legislation will be determined according to both equity and need, with need being the primary focus.
On an entitlement basis, Hawaii would receive $2.8 billion which, if combined with a similar allowance from the Federal Farm Bill, could net a sum close to $3.5 billion worth of federal spending.
The issue for us, though, is that the equity portion of the available monies will likey be consumed by need, and because Hawaii has not projected emergency need, we will most likely receive nothing. The overriding reason we do not demonstrate an emergency need is that most of the cost of infrastructure in Hawaii is actually born by developers in the form of entitlement fees, i.e., the project pays for it.
The real emergency here is the unforeseen consequence and limited foresight that is built into our system. Planning decisions are primarily based on history, rather than vision, because in a political setting, accountability is based on history.
Although a large part of our community would like Kona to remain as it is, the reality is that it hasn’t, and in the future, won’t. Regardless of whether West Hawaii continues to develop or not, we have a major infrastructure disaster facing us that has not received the kind of attention required and therefore is not a candidate for federal aid.
The disaster is the Kealakehe landfill, which is, and has been, on fire for decades. The fire is presently deep within the structure, however, as it has in the past, it will break through and again emit noxious smoke that will drift mauka into homes and the high school. Closing the school will only be one of the consequences realized, but is the most obvious and probably the most serious.
Were the issues of the landfill combined with other infrastructure needs, such as water, waste disposal, recreation facilities, open space, reforestation etc. to form an integrated tapestry of projects, we would meet the requirements for the federal funding, which I think we would all agree we should seek.
The landfill would be processed and composted to create a soil needed to build a regional park. Waste water from a sewage treatment facility designed accordingly would be used to irrigate the park along with incorporated open space, various recreational facilities, land reclamation and tree planting along with a host of other projects enriching life in Kona.
Kelly Greenwell is a resident of North Kona.