Hawaii County Approves Nighttime Drilling Ban

by Peter Sur (Tribune-Herald)

Puna Geothermal Venture must stop nighttime geothermal drilling, the County Council said, sending a bill to Mayor Billy Kenoi’s desk.

The vote was 5-2, with councilmen Fred Blas and Donald Ikeda excused. Council members Brenda Ford, Pete Hoffmann, Angel Pilago, Brittany Smart and Chairman Dominic Yagong all voted in favor of it, with council members Dennis Onishi and J Yoshimoto opposed.

But the final test will be approval of the mayor, because supporters of Yagong’s bill did not have the six votes needed to overcome a potential veto.

The vote came around 6:25 p.m., when lawmakers were so weary that at one point the chairman addressed Ikeda as “Mr. Amendment.”

Yagong was referring to an amendment that Ikeda had introduced that would have exempted geothermal drilling operations from additional regulations prior to the expiration of PGV’s current permit. That amendment was defeated by a vote of 5-3, with Ikeda joining Onishi and Yoshimoto in support.

With a few notable exceptions, most of the public testimony was in favor of the measure that prohibits exploratory and production geothermal drilling from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. when it’s done within a mile of a residence.

The bill is targeted at the only geothermal production well in Hawaii, Puna Geothermal Venture. People living nearby have complained about the constant noise emanating from the plant.

“The noise impact is real. It affects people here,” said Tom Travis.

PGV plant manager Michael L. Kaleikini submitted testimony against the bill. He cited several concerns, chief among them that “stopping drilling at night will not eliminate the sound produced from mandatory equipment that must run for the entirety of drilling,” Kaleikini said in written testimony. “Quite simply, the bill will not accomplish its purpose.”

“Passing Bill 292 is not consistent with safe drilling practices, will not serve to substantially reduce noise, and will greatly increase costs to ratepayers,” Kaleikini wrote. “Geothermal power has the potential to provide the most inexpensive renewable energy on the Big Island. Bill 292 would severely compromise this potential.”

Since the plant began, PGV has drilled no less than 10 wells without being forced to curtail evening drilling, Kaleikini said. Since receiving its most recent development permit, PGV has drilled seven wells.

The last drilling of a well ended in July and took 120 days; prior to that a well that was drilled in early 2010 took 90 days, Kaleikini said.

Source: West Hawaii Today

Kenoi, Kim Outline Differences at Friendly Mayor's Race Forum

HILO, BIG ISLAND (HawaiiNewsNow) -
Billy Kenoi and Harry Kim have known each other for decades. Kim coached Kenoi when Kenoi was just eight years old. And Kenoi was Kim's executive assistant when Kim was mayor. So it was a friendly matchup when the two candidates for Hawaii County Mayor met Friday in a candidates forum at the University of Hawaii-Hilo.

One of the topics at the forum was what to do with the island's trash as the Hilo Landfill nears capacity. Mayor Kenoi pointed to Oahu's H-Power facility as something that Hawaii County can emulate.

"They (Oahu) have four times as much trash as we do, over a thousand tons. They generate over 50 megawatts of energy that powers over 40,000 homes, and they do it for a cost of 91 dollars per ton," said Kenoi.

"Whether waste to energy will be the solution here, I don't know," said former mayor Kim. "It may be something we'll pursue, but we will pursue alternatives besides a landfill."

Perhaps the most pointed disagreement between the two had to do with Community Development Planning on the Big Island, a program started by Kim when he was mayor.

"By law, government will work with the public to determine their lifestyle and the future of their land," said Kim. "I think it's very important that we do this, by ordinance, by law. I was not happy with this administration not fully embracing it."

Kenoi countered that his administration has started even more community development plans several Big Island districts. But, he added, "Community development plans are important because they give the community meaningful input. But they do not supersede community services that everybody expects every day."

Both candidates also came out in support of geothermal energy, but with close government oversight.

"I am here to support geothermal," said Kim. "I am here to tell you we must do it safely like California does it. We must enforce rules and regulations and not depend on the private industry to tell you what the situation is in regards to public safety."

"Currently we have 38 megawatts being produced," said Kenoi about Puna Geothermal Venture's plant. "A lot of fear and questions are going around that there will be a thousand megawatts and industrialization of Puna. And the politics of fear is the worst politics of all."

Copyright 2012 Hawaii News Now. All rights reserved.

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.

Malu 'Aina: Shut Down Ormat (PGV) an Israeli Company

There is a worldwide movement to Boycott, Divest and Sanction (BDS) Israel for its treatment of Palestinians, similar to that applied to South Africa during the apartheid era.

Ormat, which owns Puna Geothermal Venture (PGV), is an Israeli company.

Hawaii should join the global BDS movement and Boycott and Divest from the Israeli Company – Ormat!

Malu ‘Aina Center For Non-violent Education & Action P.O. Box AB Ola’a (Kurtistown) Hawai’i 96760 Phone 808-966-7622 Email ja@malu-aina.orgwww.malu-aina.org

Two Geothermal Bills Move Forward on Big Island

By Leslie Blodgett, GEA
June 13, 2012

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- This week, a pair of geothermal bills proposed by council Chairman Dominic Yagong received the first of two required approvals from the Hawai'i County Council. One bill would affect how the Big Island spends geothermal royalties. The second bill would mandate evacuation plans for current and future facilities. The two bills passed by votes of 5-4 and 8-1, respectively.

The county gets ~$500,000 a year in revenue from Puna Geothermal Venture, the island’s geothermal power plant, which it uses to address community geothermal-related issues, but also to fund capital projects and services in lower Puna (including the Pahoa council office and security at Isaac Hale Beach Park and Pahoa Community Center). The bill (No. 256-12) wouldlimit those funds to issues related to the plant itself, such as air quality monitoring, health studies, and relocations.

The program relocating residents away from PGV began in the 1980s. The county has bought eight properties through the relocation program at up to 130 percent value which it then sells through auction. A resident relocation was approved May 11, with the last approval before that in 2005. Yagong’s legislation prevents any new properties acquired through the program from being auctioned and only allows homeowners within a mile of the plant to be eligible creating, a buffer zone around the plant. PGV Manager Michael Kaleikini said the state Department of Health does not consider the plant a health hazard, he was quoted during testimony.

This article was originally published in Geothermal Energy Weekly and was republished with permission.

Relocation Requests Rise

By TOM CALLIS – Hawaii Tribune Herald 06/10/2012

Tribune-Herald staff writer

Hawaii County has spent $646,407 purchasing homes near Puna’s geothermal power plant, but that number could soon be about to rise.

Joaquin Gamiao, planning administrative officer, said the department is processing seven relocation requests that could end up increasing that amount by about 55 percent.

“We’re out about $1 million,” he said, if all are approved.

The requests have all been submitted in the past month, Gamiao said, after the geothermal issue once again took center stage with the County Council.

The money comes from the county’s geothermal royalty fund, which now has about $3.3 million, according to the Finance Department.

It is funded with the county’s share of royalties from Puna Geothermal Venture. The amount the county receives varies based on production levels, but has hovered recently around $500,000 a year, Gamiao said.

To date, the county has approved five relocations with the latest acquired April 5, according to records provided by the Planning Department.

County staff previously said eight homes were acquired, but some of those were duplicates or had their applications withdrawn.

The homes cost between $60,770 and $237,380 to acquire.

The average property has cost the county $129,281 to purchase.

All were purchased at 130 percent of their value, Gamiao said, as allowed by county policy. They were also located within a mile from the plant, Gamiao said.

The county has auctioned four of those properties to date, for a total amount of $216,100.

The county would be prohibited from auctioning properties acquired through the relocation program under a bill being considered by the County Council.

Gamiao said that would not impact the purchase of the seven properties under consideration. The Planning Department is not delaying processing the requests until the bill has its final vote, likely June 19.

“We’re doing what we need to do know,” he said.

County Council Chairman Dominic Yagong introduced the bill with the intent of creating a one-mile buffer zone.

The fund was established in 1998. Previously, the county’s royalty funds were accruing interest but not being used, Gamiao said.

In 2008, the County Council amended the policy to allow the funds to be used on capital projects and other services for Lower Puna.

Yagong’s bill would also amend the fund to only allow the monies to be spent on relocations as well as air quality and health studies near the plant and provide other means for ensuring safety, such as air monitors for residents.

Yagong said he thinks the fund is receiving enough revenue to cover at least some of those items if relocation requests continue.

“The fact of the matter is we have money that is available and of course we should use the money to do what we can to help the people there,” he said. “That fund will continue to grow.”

Some Puna residents have voiced concern over ending funding for services for the district.

The royalty fund currently covers the Pahoa council office as well as security for at Isaac Hale Beach Park and Pahoa Community Center.

Yagong said he is working on a third geothermal bill that would allow another geothermal fund to cover such expenses.

The second fund, known as the geothermal asset fund, was established in 1989 to reimburse nearby residents adversely affected by the plant.

It has $2.1 million, according to the Finance Department.

Gamioa said it is funded with a $50,000 annual contribution from PGV. There’s no record of it ever being used, he said.

Yagong said the bill, which will likely be introduced July 2, would also create a commission to recommend what projects should be funded.

The commission would consist of five Puna residents appointed by the mayor and County Council.

“We’re putting the asset fund into the hands of the community,” he said.

Yagong said the bill would limit expenditures from the fund to $350,000 a year.

Email Tom Callis at tcallis@hawaiitribune-herald.com.

Council to Mull Geothermal Buffer Zone

June 5, 2012

By Erin Miller

West Hawaii Today

emiller@westhawaiitoday.com

The full impact of a bill to create a buffer zone around Puna Geothermal Venture’s plant remains to be seen, county officials said Monday.

Bill 256, proposed by Council Chairman Dominic Yagong, goes before the full council Wednesday in Hilo for first reading. Yagong said the bill is the first step in dealing with the potential health ramifications of living so close to the geothermal energy production plant, although it could also have impacts, in the future, on people living in other parts of the East Rift Zone.

“The real key is, we need to take care of the people around the plant first,” Yagong said, adding that whether the buffer zone should extend farther into the rift zone is a good question. “We can go and expand it even farther from there (the proposed one-mile buffer).”

One thing the county cannot do, he added, is force people to leave their homes, even in a buffer zone.

Yagong’s proposal would move responsibility for the geothermal royalty funded Geothermal Relocation and Community Benefits program, which would be renamed the Geothermal Relocation and Public Safety Program, from the Planning Department to Civil Defense. Bill 256 would also allow spending relocation money for health studies, Yagong said.

Yagong said it would be up to Civil Defense to decide whether to conduct health impact studies before relocating residents. Civil Defense Director Ben Fuata was out of the office Monday. Mayor Billy Kenoi did not immediately respond to a message left Monday afternoon.

Planning Director Bobby Jean Leithead Todd said Yagong’s bill is “superfluous,” because the county already has the authority to spend the royalty money to relocate residents.

Homeowner relocation requests have increased significantly — from two between 2005 and 2011, to seven in the last few months — after the County Council began debating the bill, she added.

The existing program does give priority to people who have owned the house since before 1991, she said, but anyone living within that radius may apply for the program.

The department continues to issue permits, she said, because not doing so might be construed as the county taking an owner’s property.

Leithead Todd said one change to the existing relocation program she’d like to see in place is the ability for the county to purchase vacant land adjacent to the plant. Doing so would create a better buffer and would be cheaper than just buying homes.

“If I’ve got to buy the house at 130 percent of real property appraisal, that’s a lot more money,” Leithead Todd said.

Officials with Puna Geothermal Ventures’ owner, Ormat Technologies, expressed concerns about the bill Monday, through Policy and Business Development Director Paul Thomsen. Thomsen provided West Hawaii Today with a letter, being provided to community members, explaining the technology used within the plant, including the reinjection of the brine heated to create the steam that powers the turbines.

“PGV must operate under stringent air emission, water quality and noise standards set forth by the Hawaii Department of Health and Environmental Protection Agency,” Thomsen wrote. “In doing so, PGV continually monitors (hydrogen sulfide) through 35 point-source detectors placed throughout the power plant. PGV also maintains three monitoring stations that are located on the perimeter of the facility. These stations monitor meteorological and noise data, which can be viewed on the company website and is provided in a formal report given to the (Health Department) on a monthly basis, or as requested. For over 20 years, PGV has complied with state-mandated emissions standards.”

PGV also submitted a letter to Agriculture, Water and Sustainability Committee Chairman J Yoshimoto, requesting time to discuss the plant’s safety protocols and respond to the community’s concerns.

Thomsen said he sees bigger issues facing Puna residents than PGV, particularly naturally occurring pollution of water as it flows from Mauna Loa through the East Rift Zone, picking up chemicals from magma along the way.

“So the fresh water aquifer between the East Rift Zone and the ocean, from Volcano to Kapoho does not meet EPA drinking water standards,” Thomsen said. “This is a natural process that has been going on for millennia and is the source of the warm ponds along the coast from Kapoho to Kalapana. … Natural emissions from the rift in the Puna District are much greater than any potential emissions from PGV.”

He noted a 1998 Department of Health study that found no adverse health impacts from living near the plant.

The council on Wednesday also takes on the first reading of another Yagong measure, this one to ban aerial game hunts in Hawaii County. Bill 261 “declares that the acts of eradication by aerial shooting on this island shall no longer be practiced, and ensures that other methods of animal population control are utilized.”

Mainland magazine Outdoor Life ran an article online last week urging hunters to contact Yagong and tell him they opposed aerial hunting.

Source: West Hawaii Today

County Council Must Address Community Impact from Geothermal

James Weatherford

The Hawaiʻi County Council is considering legislation to redirect the county's share of geothermal royalty funds back to their original purpose - addressing community impacts from geothermal development.

James Weatherford, candidate for Hawaiʻi County Council District 4, fully supports this initiative and says Bill 256-12 must be passed.

“This is not about being 'pro' or 'anti' geothermal. This is about responsible government being responsive to community concerns," Weatherford said in a statement released by his campaign today.

"The incumbent from Puna has had a year-and-a-half to address the concerns of the community in the vicinity of the geothermal plant," Weatherford added. "Instead of responding to and addressing his constituents' concerns regarding impacts of geothermal in the community, he has been spending geothermal funds for other purposes. Instead of draining the geothermal royalty fund, I will bring Puna taxpayers’ money back to Puna by doing the work required through the budget process to get capital improvement projects for the district.”

Bill 256-12, introduced by Council Chair and Mayoral Candidate Dominic Yagong, will provide an opportunity for residents now living within one mile of the Puna Geothermal Venture facility to be relocated, and would prevent those properties from being reinhabited via resale or rental. This will start to create a buffer around PGV, where as now, some residents live right next to the geothermal power plant.

In addition to relocation, Bill 256-12 also promotes public health and safety by providing expenditures on health studies, air quality monitoring and real-time public notification of emissions.

Mandated emergency evacuation preparedness is also being considered by the council in a separate measure.

On May 16th, the legislation received a favorable recommendation from the Council’s Agriculture, Water, and Energy Sustainability Committee. Scheduled for June 6th is the first of two more votes needed before being sent to the Mayor for signing into law or veto.

Submitted by the campaign of James Weatherford for Puna Council District #4
More on the web: www.jamesweatherford.com

Source: Hawaii Reporter

Environmental Exemptions for Geothermal Energy near final Approval

KITV-TV - May 4, 2012

Unlike wind or solar, geothermal energy located deep below the earth's surface is always on.

But companies will often shy away from exploring new geothermal sites in Hawaii because of the state's strict environmental regulations, which cost both time and money.

On Thursday, a subcommittee of the state Environmental Council heard from potential geothermal developers about why the State Land Department should be allowed to waive certain environmental regulations.

"The cost and timelines of the current rules make it restrictive to explore in this state," said Bill Sherman, land manager for Ormat Technolgies, a Nevada based company that owns the 30 megawatt geothermal plant in Puna on the Big Island.

After hearing testimony, the seven member subcommittee approved three environmental exemptions for geothermal exploration. They include non-invasive testing and analysis, the issuance of leases on state or reserved lands, and the drilling of exploration wells.

If approved by the full 15-member Environmental Council May 17, the exemptions would allow the State Land Department to drop costly environmental assessments from geothermal exploration projects.

"This simply gives us the opportunity to point out an exemption for the environmental processes," said State Land Director William Aila. "There's still all of the other state, federal and county processes that have to be complied with."

The 30-megawattt Puna Geothermal Venture plant already produces 20 percent of the Big Island's energy needs. Allowing exploration wells to be dug more quickly and cheaply could lead to the construction of more plants.

Ormat is exploring the construction of a 50-megawatt geothermal plant on Ulupalakua Ranch in southern Maui. Meanwhile, Hawaii Electric Light Company opened a docket with the Public Utilities Commission May 1, asking for proposals to build a new 50-megawatt geothermal plant on the Big Island.

In his State of the State speech in January, Gov. Neil Abercrombie lobbied for more renewable energy output and mentioned the Big Island by name.

"That's really in response to the demand that's coming from the community on Hawaii Island," said Aila. "They're paying some of the highest prices for electricity in the state."

However, opposition to the geothermal industry on the Big Island continues to grow louder, where critics blame a variety of health problems on the Ormat plant in Puna.

Gary Hooser, an ex-officio member of the Environmental Council and director of the Office of Environmental Quality Control, believes geothermal technology doesn't harm human health, even though he voted against the exemption for exploratory wells.

"I think if done properly, like most things, geothermal can be perfectly safe," said Hooser. "We need to explore all these alternatives to renewable energy."

Longtime native Hawaiian activist Mililani Trask is currently representing Innovations Development Group, Inc., a company which hopes to dig geothermal exploration wells on the Big Island.

Although members of The Pele Defense Fund have begun speaking out against the interference geothermal plants could pose to native Hawaiian Pele practitioners, Trask says those concerns are overblown. She points to a 1995 decision by the Hawaii Supreme Court that affirmed access rights of native Hawaiians.

"Since that time and until the very present moment, there hasn't been a single case of a single Hawaiian prevented from worshiping tutu Pele because of a geothermal plant in Puna," said Trask. "It just hasn't happened. It's a non-issue."