{"id":10091,"date":"2017-12-01T18:23:52","date_gmt":"2017-12-01T18:23:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.environment-hawaii.org\/?p=10091"},"modified":"2019-07-16T20:52:09","modified_gmt":"2019-07-16T20:52:09","slug":"board-talk-protestors-removed-kau-violator-fined-maui-water-permits-granted","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/environment-hawaii.org\/?p=10091","title":{"rendered":"Board Talk: Protestors Removed, Ka\u2018u Violator Fined, & Maui Water Permits Granted"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Tour Operator is Fined $70K For Damage<\/strong><\/h4>\n

To Historic Wharf, Conservation District<\/strong><\/h4>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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One of the damaged pillars that were part of the historic Punalu\u2018u wharf in Ka\u2018u.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Simon Velaj didn\u2019t seem to think it was that big of a deal. In late June, without permits of any kind, he had taken a backhoe to features of a wharf built in 1916 at Punalu\u2018u black sand beach in Ka\u2018u, Hawai\u2018i, causing some damage to the area and angering several locals who later reported him to the Department of Land and Natural Resources. Velaj claimed he didn\u2019t touch any pilings and was just removing hazards, such as abandoned car batteries and protruding metal, from the shoreline area to make it safe for future customers of his tour boat company, Hang Loose Boat Tours, LLC.<\/p>\n

Others, however, including state officials, seemed to think he might have actually been trying to build a new ramp to accommodate his 24-passenger boat so that it could launch directly from private land owned by SM Investment Partners (a.k.a Roberts Hawai\u2018i), which had allowed him to use its land. The nearest boat ramp may have been too steep, a report by the Department of Land and Natural Resources\u2019 Office of Conservation and Coastal Lands (OCCL) suggests.<\/p>\n

In one afternoon, Velaj appeared to have not only damaged historic sites, but also areas within the state Conservation District. So at the Land Board\u2019s October 27 meeting, OCCL administrator Sam Lemmo recommended that the board fine Velaj $15,000 for unauthorized grading, disturbance of land, demolition and alteration of existing structures, and causing a permanent change to land in the Conservation District. Lemmo also recommended that Velaj pay an additional $2,000 to cover administrative costs. What\u2019s more, the state Historic Preservation Division (SHPD) recommended fining him $40,000 for damaging four historic wharf features: 1) a concrete footing\/ pad with two large bolts, 2) a concrete foundation, 3) a rock retaining wall, and 4) a concrete pillar; $10,000 for the injury to the historic feature as a whole, and $2,165.52 in administrative costs. In total, the penalties proposed by the two DLNR divisions came to $69,165.52.<\/p>\n

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Concerned about soil Velaj had placed near the water, the OCCL asked Roberts Hawai\u2018i \u2014 one of the largest and oldest tour companies in the state \u2014 to clean up the material, which Velaj later did on the company\u2019s behalf.<\/p>\n

When it came time for the Land Board to question staff, the first thing board member Stanley Roehrig asked Lemmo and SHPD\u2019s Alan Downer was if they had had any discussions with the Department of the Attorney General to determine whether any individuals or entities besides Velaj might be responsible for the damages. Neither had. \u201cI think Mr. Velaj was properly cited, but I\u2019m concerned we have not considered the bigger picture of the entity that hired him,\u201d Roehrig said, adding that the fact that Velaj had been required by the landowner to have insurance coverage of up to $2 million suggests that \u201cthe landowner had full knowledge this was going to be a controversial matter and it was a matter that was going to be hotly contested by the local people.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Roehrig continued that the Sea Mountain\u00a0golf course adjacent to where Velaj would be launching his vessel is owned by a partnership \u201capparently owned by the Iwamoto family that runs Roberts tours,\u201d which potentially stood to benefit from Velaj\u2019s operation. Roehrig noted that the license agreement between SM and Velaj specifically allows for parking and launching a vessel to conduct lava viewing tours, which shows that the landowner was fully aware of Velaj\u2019s intent to \u201cstreamline the shoreline\u201d so he could get his boat in. \u201cTo suggest they didn\u2019t know the nature of it I don\u2019t think is accurate,\u201d Roehrig said.<\/p>\n

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He asked Lemmo and Downer why the landowner was not considered for fines as well. \u201cFor me, Velaj … he\u2019s just the boots on the ground. The landowners are equally responsible for his conduct. … They got off scot-free,\u201d Roehrig said before suggesting that the AG\u2019s office investigate the matter and make its own recommendation to the Land Board.<\/p>\n

Velaj testified that he never touched any pilings or damaged any sites with the backhoe, contrary to the allegations that had been made.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf they can prove it, I want to see it. They want $10,000 for one piling. That is absolutely retarded,\u201d he told the board. \u201cAll I\u2019m trying to do is work. What is the problem? I don\u2019t understand. They requested a $2 million policy. It requires me to make it [the launch area] clean so they will insure me. I mean, c\u2019mon. I ask you to drop this case and let me move on with my life. That\u2019s it,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Board member Keone Downing, for one, didn\u2019t seem interested in simply dropping the case. He asked Velaj, if a $10,000 fine per piling was ridiculous, \u201cwhat\u2019s a fair price?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNone. I didn\u2019t touch it,\u201d Velaj replied.<\/p>\n

Downing: \u201cI didn\u2019t ask you that. … What would be a fair price for a piling if $10,000 is ridiculous?\u201d<\/p>\n

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Velaj: \u201cI don\u2019t know what a piling is worth in that area.\u201d<\/p>\n

Downing: \u201cSo you don\u2019t know what it\u2019s worth, but $10,000 is ridiculous. … I\u2019m not saying you did anything. … There needs to be a price, not, \u2018I didn\u2019t do it.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Roehring continued to try to pin down SM\u2019s role in the affair. He pointed out that Hawai\u2018i County had fined SM $15,000 for some of the same work, but that was under appeal. He asked Velaj what kinds of discussions he had with the landowner before starting work with the backhoe, and who he talked to. Velaj responded that he had spoken to Jean Fujimoto, the person who gave him the lease.<\/p>\n

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\u201cI told them I would bring a machine in there and clean it up. They knew I could not work if I didn\u2019t clean it up. I had used car batteries. I took tons of stuff … I\u2019m a 5-star company in Kona. I\u2019m a professional, hard-working guy. … I want to make sure my customers don\u2019t get hurt and not trip on batteries,\u201d Velaj said.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou did tell them you would use heavy equipment,\u201d board member Chris Yuen tried to confirm.<\/p>\n

To this, Velaj disputed that the backhoe was \u201cheavy equipment.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMy little truck is bigger than the backhoe,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Yuen asked Velaj if he was trying to make another boat ramp.<\/p>\n

\u201cAbsolutely not,\u201d he replied, explaining that he was going to use the ramp that was there, but wanted to remove four pieces of metal that were sticking out.<\/p>\n

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\u201cThat\u2019s all that was removed. … Yes, the locals got upset,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Velaj\u2019s apparent dismissiveness of the fact that he had altered the site seemed to prompt board chair Suzanne Case to ask if he understood the Conservation District and historic preservation laws that he had violated.<\/p>\n

\u201cNow I do. I never was told it was a conservation place, it was a sacred or historical place. I never was told. To me, it was a private property rented to me. … If I had to do it all again, obviously I would not be there,\u201d he replied. Still, he added, \u201cthose two pilings, pins, that I touched … There was, under the grass, metal sticking out. Now people could walk around.<\/p>\n

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\u201cI will pay for four pins. I think they\u2019re worth five bucks apiece. … I\u2019m not gonna pay for anything I didn\u2019t touch,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Velaj\u2019s seeming lack of remorse also struck island resident Keoni Fox, whose family is from Ka\u2018u. After visiting the site on June 24, Fox told the board, \u201cit was obvious he intended to create a boat ramp,\u201d given the debris clearing and grading that had been done. He added that the existing ramp is too steep and the waters are too shallow for Velaj\u2019s boat, which is 34 feet long.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe told people he was building a new boat ramp,\u201d he continued, contradicting Velaj\u2019s earlier statement.<\/p>\n

As to Velaj\u2019s professed ignorance of the applicable laws in this case, Fox posed this question: \u201cLet\u2019s assume he didn\u2019t know about laws. Is this the guy we want to ensure the safety of people near an active lava flow? … He continues to be defiant today.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fox added that with Ka\u2018u becoming a hot spot for tours, helicopters, and development, there needs to be strong enforcement of land use regulations.<\/p>\n

The OCCL\u2019s Lemmo said that when he prepared his report to the board, he didn\u2019t feel he had evidence at the time to go after the landowner, but that could certainly change if his office found information that SM authorized Velaj to conduct illegal work. \u201cI\u2019m a little bit surprised what he said about him telling them what he\u2019s doing. That\u2019s interesting,\u201d Lemmo said of Velaj\u2019s testimony that day.<\/p>\n

Yuen made a motion to approve the OCCL\u2019s and SHPD\u2019s recommendations. \u201cThis is a serious violation and we need to treat it seriously. In 2017, we can\u2019t accept the idea that someone will go out and grade the Conservation District without there being a serious violation,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

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Roehrig seconded the motion but again stressed his desire to see a broader investigation of all parties that might bear responsibility.<\/p>\n

\u201cFigure out who else should have got fined and get everybody and not just the hanahana man on the backhoe. There were other entities up the food chain. It\u2019s a big golf course. … It\u2019s a multi-million dollar operation, not small potatoes. If we\u2019re going after the people on the backhoe, we have to show the public, be transparent, and go after everyone,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Downing agreed and suggested that the department seek the AG\u2019s opinion on whether the landowner is liable.<\/p>\n

The board unanimously approved Yuen\u2019s recommendation.<\/p>\n

\u201cI will take this to federal. This is not legal,\u201d Velaj warned before he stormed out.<\/p>\n

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***<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Three Protesters Arrested <\/strong><\/h4>\n

After Disrupting Meeting<\/strong><\/h4>\n
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Chase Kanuha (seated) and Andre Perez (standing in center) were two of the protesters arrested outside the Land Board meeting room on October 27.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

“It\u2019s part of the job,\u201d one Department of Land and Natural Resources enforcement officer said to his colleague on the morning of October 27, shortly before both moved in to help their fellow officers carry away a protestor stationed on the ground outside the Kalanimoku building in downtown Honolulu, where the Board of Land and Natural Resources was scheduled to meet.<\/p>\n

The DLNR\u2019s Division of Conservation and Resources Enforcement officers arrested three men that day \u2014 Kaleikoa Ka\u2018eo, Chase Kanuha and Andre Perez \u2014 for disorderly conduct at the start of the Land Board\u2019s meeting. The three men, as well as a small cadre of supporters, had come to the meeting to call for the resignation of member Sam Gon, senior scientist for The Nature Conservancy of Hawai\u2018i and the board\u2019s designated expert in Hawaiian culture. (The law that establishes the Land Board \u2013 Section 171.4 of Hawai\u2018i Revised Statutes \u2013 says that at least one member \u201cshall have demonstrated expertise in Native Hawaiian traditional and customary practices.\u201d Although not a native Hawaiian, Gon has studied Hawaiian culture extensively, speaks the language fluently, and does have \u201cdemonstrated expertise\u201d in Hawaiian practices.)<\/p>\n

All three men had previously been arrested for trying to block telescope construction on mountains they and many other native Hawaiians consider to be sacred. Ka\u2018eo was arrested earlier this year as he tried to stop a mirror from being transported to the largely complete Advanced Technology Solar Telescope atop Haleakala on Maui. Kanuha and Perez were arrested on Hawai\u2018i island during the 2015 protests against the construction of the Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT) on Mauna Kea.<\/p>\n

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Their opposition to Gon\u2019s presence on the board stems from the fact that he had recently voted with the majority of the Land Board to approve a controversial Conservation District Use Permit for the TMT, which, for the last five years, had been the subject of a contested case hearing initiated by several Hawaiian cultural practitioners and others.<\/p>\n

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\u201cWe demand that Sam Gon step aside. … We demand we have a true kanaka, a true aloha \u2018aina represent our people on that board,\u201d Ka\u2018eo said. Others chanted \u201cSam Be Gon. Sam Be Gon,\u201d and called Gon a \u201csellout.\u201d<\/p>\n

After the Land Board meeting had ended, chair Suzanne Case, Gon\u2019s former boss at TNCH, issued a statement defending him.<\/p>\n

\u201cSam \u2018Ohu Gon is held in the highest respect by innumerable people. As a scientist and as a recognized expert in native Hawaiian traditional and customary practices, Sam brings tremendously valuable perspective and integrity to the Land Board decisions. No Land Board member is appointed as a representative of or advocate for any particular group.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is disappointing and frankly offensive that some who disagree with the Land Board\u2019s recent decision on the TMT telescope choose to aim personally at \u2018Ohu or any board member. This is not peaceful protest. We must simply reject this kind of divisiveness in Hawai\u2018i as well as nationally and globally, and practice respect in our public discourse no matter our views,\u201d she stated.<\/p>\n

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***<\/strong><\/p>\n

Board Renews Permits <\/strong><\/h4>\n

For Maui Stream Diversions<\/strong><\/h4>\n
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A&B’s proposed diversified agricultural uses in Central Maui.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

For the second year in a row, the state Board of Land and Natural Resources approved four one-year holdover permits allowing Alexander & Baldwin, Inc. and its subsidiary, East Maui Irrigation Co., Ltd., to continue diverting up to 80 million gallons a day of stream water from East to Central Maui.<\/p>\n

The board made its decision under Act 126, which the Legislature passed in response to a circuit court decision invalidating the revocable permits that had governed A&B\u2019s and EMI\u2019s diversions for more than a decade. Under Act 126, the board may grant up to three consecutive one-year permits to continue water diversions for which long-term dispositions are pending, so long as they are consistent with the public trust doctrine.<\/p>\n

A&B\/EMI is awaiting a decision on its May 2001 application for a 30-year lease for the four water license areas covered by the permits \u2014 Nahiku, Huelo, Honomanu, and Ke\u2018anae. That application has been the subject of a contested case hearing that is still not resolved.<\/p>\n

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Before the Land Board can authorize a public auction for the lease, the state Commission on Water Resource Management must first decide how much water must remain in about two dozen East Maui streams that environmentalists and native Hawaiians have long sought to be restored. A&B must also complete an environmental impact statement for its proposed lease.<\/p>\n

In the meantime, A&B has been trying to entice farmers and ranchers help the company keep its Central Maui lands in agriculture now that the sugarcane plantation run by its subsidiary Hawaiian Commercial & Sugar has closed down. It argues that although its current needs, and those of Maui County, for diverted water have been drastically reduced to about 20 million gallons a day (down from a historic average of 160 mgd), it must have access to much more than that to provide assurance to prospective tenants that they will have sufficient water.<\/p>\n

At the Land Board\u2019s November 9 meeting, A&B general manager for diversified agriculture Rick Volner, Jr., and retired EMI manager Garret Hew presented a new map of its proposed diversified agriculture plan for former sugarcane lands.<\/p>\n

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Since the closure of HC&S\u2019s plantation in December 2016, Volner said his company has met with nearly 200 parties interested in growing everything from coffee, to orchards, to biodiesel. A&B currently has 4,500 acres under lease or some kind of active operation and was in negotiations with possible tenants for another 15,000 acres. It also plans to provide 800 acres to the county to expand the Kula agricultural park, he said.<\/p>\n

Volner assured the Land Board that A&B had complied with all of the conditions placed on the permits granted last year. Those included restoring streams identified for restoration by the Water Commission and not wasting any of the diverted water, among other things.<\/p>\n

Representatives from the Maui mayor\u2019s office, the county Department of Water Supply, and various farming and ranching associations and companies all testified in support of renewing the permits. Some of them argued that it was critical that water continue to be provided to Central Maui to keep the island, and even the state, on its path toward food sustainability.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Department of Water Supply relies on stream water flows as an integral part for Nahiku, Makawao, Olinda, Pukalani, all of Upcountry,\u201d said DWS director Dave Taylor, noting that the 6 mgd A&B provides to the county directly serves more than 6,000 customer connections, and at times up to 10,000, as well as 31 farm lots at the Kula ag park.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have no other short- or medium- term alternatives for this water. … What I lose sleep over, if we don\u2019t have enough water to pressurize the system, there may be no water, no fire protection … It would be a public health crisis for the DWS. I flew over just to say that,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

To this last point, Native Hawaiian Legal Corporation (NHLC) attorney Camille Kalama, representing the contested case petitioners, pointed out that the circuit court decision invalidating the permits explicitly stated that the water the county uses would not be affected by the ruling, and that the Land Board is well aware of that.<\/p>\n

Stream Restoration<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

With regard to last year\u2019s permit condition that certain streams be restored, Huelo resident Lucienne de Naie argued that it has not been met, at least with regard to the stream in her community.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe really need you to work with us to have some accountability. Most of the year our stream has been dry,\u201d she said. She claimed A&B was still waiting for permits to weld a steel grate that would enable more water to flow freely.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cYou give permits with no enforcement. It is not a management situation anyone should be proud of,\u201d she said before urging the board to set firm deadlines for A&B to complete its applications to restore streams.<\/p>\n

Former NHLC attorney David Frankel pointed out that the DLNR lacks a point person to oversee whether the holdover permit conditions are being met. He recommended that the board or its chair assign staff with the department\u2019s Division of Aquatic Resources to work with Water Commission and Land Division staff to ensure those conditions are being met.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere needs to be better coordination among branches,\u201d he said. He added that the Land Board should also initiate a study \u2014 paid for by A&B \u2014 to monitor the streams where water has been restored.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs unhappy as many of us were last year, we know more water is in streams. It\u2019s not perfect but it\u2019s better than it was … Why are you not doing this? You don\u2019t have the money. Make A&B pay for the studies. Why not make it a condition of the RP asking for a specific amount of money so you can monitor the quality of aquatic stream life?\u201d he asked.<\/p>\n

How Much?<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Several testifiers, as well as some Land Board members, tried to pin down \u2014 or at least get a better grasp of \u2014 the amount of water A&B used last year and what it will need in the coming year, largely to no avail.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Board member Keone Downing asked a cattle rancher who\u2019s been on A&B\u2019s lands for the past several months how much water he uses. The answer at first was, \u201cit depends,\u201d but, eventually, he admitted, \u201cHonestly, I don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n

Stephanie Whalen of the Hawai\u2018i Agriculture Research Center testified that it didn\u2019t really make sense to assign a specific amount of water for the uses anticipated over the next year.<\/p>\n

\u201cCrops will change. Saying you\u2019ll need this much water is not realistic. … it really depends on the weather,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

De Naie, who is also with the Maui Tomorrow Foundation, estimated the company would need just 10 mgd to 10.8 mgd plus 6 mgd for the county\u2019s needs, if the board took into account only those lands for which A&B had signed contracts with tenants.<\/p>\n

Wayne Tanaka of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs argued that whatever A&B\u2019s water needs, it was particularly important that the company explain why it hadn\u2019t used the 53 mgd of stream water that it diverts from its own lands, or the 70 mgd available from its own wells in Central Maui.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is nothing in this [Land Division] submittal on these alternative sources,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

He also pointed out that there appeared to be no need to issue permits for the Nahiku and Ke\u2018anae license areas, as the board last year required A&B to comply with a July 2016 Water Commission order that the streams in those license areas be restored.<\/p>\n

Tanaka, Kalama, and Frankel all called for meters to be installed on the stream diversions so that the Land Board could get a basic accounting of what\u2019s being removed so that it can determine whether the permits\u2019 prohibition on wasting water is being observed. \u201cWe\u2019ve asked repeatedly [for meters]. … The board\u2019s condition against waste can\u2019t be effectively monitored unless you know how much is diverted and used,\u201d Kalama said.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can have a flow meter above, below [a diversion], you subtract. It\u2019s not rocket science. It\u2019s aquatic science,\u201d Frankel said. He argued that the board should reject the permit request because it didn\u2019t have enough information.<\/p>\n

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\u201cHow much did A&B use this year?\u00a0Don\u2019t you think you should ask them? How much water do they need next year? This is a one-year RP (revocable permit). How much water in their greatest fantasy … will they need this year after pumping 70 mgd from its own wells?\u201d he asked.<\/p>\n

If the board chose to grant the permits, Frankel recommended that it reduce the maximum limit to 10 mgd \u201cafter they pump 70 mgd.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDon\u2019t let us subsidize their profits. … It costs them money, a lot more money [to pump water]. … They certainly paid their officers enough money to afford to pump their own water instead of us paying for it,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy should we leave it at 80 [mgd] instead of 20?\u201d board member Stanley Roehrig later asked Volner, noting that there is a significant amount of suspicion among people who feel the water has been robbed from their watersheds.<\/p>\n

Roehrig added that efforts on Hawai\u2018i island to transition from sugarcane to diversified agriculture have met with limited success. \u201cSome things succeeded and some things didn\u2019t,\u201d he said. The governor at the time had assembled a Kohala task force to oversee the transition and \u201csolve all of our diversified ag problems.\u201d What actually happened was that few farms survived, despite the expenditure of millions of federal and state dollars, he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis history of trying to find something new is not a really good one in Hawai\u2018i,\u201d he warned Volner.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe recognize that,\u201d Volner replied.<\/p>\n

A Motion<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

In the end, board member Chris Yuen made a motion to approve the Land Division\u2019s recommendation to renew the holdover permits with the same conditions as last year, with some amendments.<\/p>\n

First, he recommended that should the Water Commission issue a decision on the interim instream flow standards for about two dozen of the diverted East Maui streams, the Land Board\u2019s permit conditions should be revised so they are consistent with it.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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He also amended the wording of a condition regarding the modification of diversions so that the movement of biota up and down the stream is not impeded, and added a condition that A&B provide a more specific report on progress on removing the diversions and fixing pipe issues before the end of this holdover period.<\/p>\n

On this question of how much water A&B should be allowed to take under the permits, Yuen said he was satisfied with the conditions as they were proposed.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe already have a limit. They have to make productive use of the water and there\u2019s no waste. That turned out to be 20 mgd,\u201d Yuen said.<\/p>\n

He also adopted a recommendation made by Kalama, Frankel and others that A&B be required to clean up garbage and debris within the permit areas.<\/p>\n

Kaua\u2018i board member Tommy Oi seconded, but echoed sentiments expressed earlier by Roehrig that A&B should provide the board with more detail in the future.<\/p>\n

\u201cI would like to see in the next report more detail. … It just said they met the public trust doctrine. I would like to know how they met the public trust,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Board member Downing ultimately voted in favor of the motion, but not before voicing his many concerns about the status quo.<\/p>\n

For one thing, \u201cif we are going to bank water waiting for something to happen, I don\u2019t think that\u2019s fair,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

He also lamented the paucity of information from A&B.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy do we have to come to A&B and ask for fulfillment of parameters?\u201d he asked, adding that the company on its own should meet those conditions \u201cfor the people on Maui and not bring it to where we have people coming from Kula ag park thinking that they\u2019re going to lose water.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\u201cWe shouldn\u2019t be having to ask for information because, if it\u2019s the truth, everybody wins,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf this doesn\u2019t get cleaned up by next year, I\u2019m going to be the biggest advocate for no holdover. … EMI can teach people how to do it … They\u2019re not going to starve Kula from water. They\u2019ve got somebody living there that they care about,\u201d Downing said.<\/p>\n

He fantasized that there may come a time when the water goes to a cooperative, rather than a corporation. \u201cI don\u2019t know. Maybe it\u2019s just a dream. We gotta get to a point sooner or later; we got to sit down together and trust each other again.\u201d<\/p>\n

Before casting his vote in favor, Roehrig told A&B\u2019s representatives, \u201cYou gotta make an effort to install meters. That\u2019s not rocket science. The computer age is well on us. You gotta show us some proof you\u2019re not fudging. It\u2019s gotta be objective because there\u2019s a lot of suspicion. We\u2019re going to have to know next year … because the last year, the third year, may be a zero.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI have feelings that A&B shouldn\u2019t have the water forever on Maui. Maybe that\u2019s my bias. I\u2019m not in favor of 80 mgd. I\u2019m at 50,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Despite some of the board members\u2019 reservations, the board voted unanimously to approve Yuen\u2019s motion.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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\u2014 Teresa Dawson<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Tour Operator is Fined $70K For Damage To Historic Wharf, Conservation District Simon Velaj didn’t seem to think it was that big of a deal. In late June, without permits of any kind, he had taken a backhoe to features … Continued<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":10092,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[430],"tags":[3],"class_list":["post-10091","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-december-2017","tag-teresa-dawson"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/environment-hawaii.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10091","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/environment-hawaii.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/environment-hawaii.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/environment-hawaii.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/environment-hawaii.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=10091"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/environment-hawaii.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10091\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/environment-hawaii.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/10092"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/environment-hawaii.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=10091"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/environment-hawaii.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=10091"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/environment-hawaii.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=10091"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}