Geothermal Drilling Bill Heads to Council

By ERIN MILLER
Stephens Media

The sound of Puna Geothermal Venture’s turbines is akin to a train or jet engine running all the time, Pahoa resident Paul Kuykendall told a Hawaii County Council committee Tuesday morning.

“Even the coquis are preferable to the industrial sound coming from the plant,” he said, during testimony in front of the Agriculture, Water and Energy Sustainability Committee. And the drilling that took place earlier this year was even louder, Kuykendall said.

Council Chairman Dominic Yagong introduced Bill 292 to limit geothermal drilling to daytime hours, from 7 a.m.-7 p.m. The committee sent the bill to the full council with a positive recommendation.

Hilo Councilmen Donald Ikeda and Dennis Onishi provided the only dissenting votes.

PGV Manager Mike Kaleikini said the plant has been operating within its noise limits. He testified against the bill, noting that even if drilling were halted at night, some of the equipment would have to stay running, generating noise even if nothing was being drilled. “To limit drilling to daytime hours only, the drilling process itself could be prolonged as much as two to three times longer,” he added.

Kuykendall, who testified just after Kaleikini, said he would prefer a longer drilling period, if it meant quieter nights.

About 15 people testified in support of the bill.

South Kona Councilwoman Brenda Ford said the bill may be the result of Yagong’s experiences hearing the geothermal drilling at PGV, but the bill isn’t specific to that company.

“There’s going to be geothermal drilling in Kona,” Ford said. “Everything going on in Puna that’s a detriment to the community is going to go on in Kona around Hualalai. It is a generic policy issue that this council has the legal right and obligation to pass to protect the public.”

Ikeda questioned Deputy Corporation Counsel William Brilhante on whether the measure oversteps the county’s authority. Brilhante said PGV historically has complied with state and county limitations on noise levels. He was concerned about the council making changes to the county charter that conflict with PGV’s permitting conditions and requirements.

“This proposed bill is saying, ‘You know what? We don’t care what that permit does. We don’t care historically what has been done,’” he said. “’We’re going to make you comply with more requirements that are stricter than what was required under the original permit.’”

Planning Director Bobby Jean Leithead Todd submitted a letter Tuesday morning to the committee expressing similar concerns, North Kona Councilman Angel Pilago said.

Yoshimoto asked for a formal opinion from corporation counsel on the bill, but voted to advance the measure to the full council with a favorable recommendation.

More than a dozen people testified, their testimony expanding on the drilling noise issue to sound levels from daily plant operations.

Kaleikini said the plant can impose more mitigation measures to limit sounds.

Bob Ernst, testifying from Hilo, said he supported the bill because sound from the plant should not be intruding in nearby residents’ homes.

“Noise pollution is not pono,” Ernst said.

Email Erin Miller at emiller@westhawaiitoday.com.