When the Star Connecticut reefed, it was bound for refineries in the Los Angeles and San Francisco areas, carrying several types of partially refined oil products from PRI’s Hawaiian Independent Refinery, Inc., as well as 462,000 gallons of its own … Continued
Hawai`i’s spill response capability has not been tested against an oil release of catastrophic proportions. Nonetheless, there have been some close calls — most recently the reefing of the Star Connecticut on the evening of November 6 last. The tanker … Continued
It was a dark and stormy night… The setting may be a cliche, but little else is in the scenario developed by the Coast Guard to describe what it calls a “reasonable worse-case” scenario for an oil spill in Hawai`i. … Continued
“Serious problems” exist with the administration by the Environmental Protection Agency (Region 9) and its delegated agent, the state Department of Health, of the grant of federal money for the construction of Hilo’s new sewer system. That’s the conclusion of … Continued
Fraud. That word is not too strong to describe the shenanigans employed by state and county officials and private consultants in their eagerness to spend federal money on the underground equivalent of roads to nowhere. Their actions may all be … Continued
On March 28, 1988, Hugh Ono, at the time Chief Engineer for the County of Hawai`i, wrote Scott Kvandal, vice president of Barrett Consulting Group. The letter is a veritable paean to BCG, with no other apparent purpose. For this … Continued
In 1981, R.M. Towill prepared an Environmental Impact Statement for a new sewage treatment plant at Kealakehe. Plans called for constructing an ocean outfall to get rid of treated wastewater. Charlie and Jan Biltoft of Kealakekua thought this was inappropriate … Continued
The year: 1980. The Mayor: Frank Fasi. The newspaper: The Honolulu Advertiser: “City officials have chosen a proposal from Amfac and a Connecticut firm as the lowest bid for a massive project to turn Honolulu`s garbage into electricity. The winning … Continued
Someone once said of nuclear energy that it was an expensive way to boil water. That was before H-POWER. With a generational cost of 15 cents a kilowatt hour, H-POWER makes nuclear energy (about 12 cents per kilowatt hour) look … Continued