On the
westside, folks plan a Thursday rally at the entrance to the landfill
to show “dissent and disapproval” over the state Health
Department's decision to truck contaminated soil to the dump without
first holding a public hearing in Kekaha.
And on
the Northshore, a rally is set for 5 p.m. Saturday at the Hanalei
Pier to express opposition to the state granting a recreational mooring
permit for the 160-foot super-yacht Karima, which is essentially a
floating vacation rental in Hanalei Bay.
Soil
contaminated with dioxin and arsenic has been trucked from Kilauea to
the landfill six days a week since Aug. 6. Ultimately, some 500 to
600 cubic yards of dirty dirt is expected to be dumped at the dump.
It is being excavated from a neighborhood formerly used by Kilauea
Sugar Co. as a pesticide mixing site.
Though
DOH held an advisory meeting on its plans in Kilauea, no meeting was
held on the westside. In both communities, people were surprised to
learn the Kekaha landfill is permitted to accept certain types of
hazardous waste.
In an
email advising people of the protest — the time will be determined
at a meeting tonight — Kekaha activist Jose Bulatao noted:
Right
now, all toxic materials deemed to be “safe” can be transported
and dumped at the landfill! No one has said anything about the
ACCUMULATIVE EFFECT AND IMPACT of bringing ALL those toxic materials
from ALL OVER THE ISLAND to the SAME PLACE to be dumped! What’s
next? The toxic materials from the Lihue mill? The toxic
materials from the Kekaha mill and from identified contaminated areas
across from the Kekaha mill site? When will it end? What
do we know of toxic materials coming in from anywhere else? How
long has this been going on?
In
Hanalei, meanwhile, residents are getting increasingly annoyed with
Karima, a “floating hotel” that has been moored in the Bay since
early July. The state gave Karima a recreational mooring permit that
expires Aug. 20. But community activist Makaala Kaauamoana says the
vessel, which can accommodate 12 passengers and 14 crew, is a
“private charter for rent and appears to have had several bookings
over their stay in Hanalei.”
The ship
also has anchored at Na Pali, Makua, Kalihiwai and Kauapea, and the
customers on board have been diving, water skiing and “using
Hanalei” in many ways all summer, Makaala noted in an advisory sent
out about the protest.
The goal
of Saturday's rally is to encourage the state to establish rules
requiring “floating hotels” to moor only in harbors. Residents
are worried that Karima will set a precedent for allowing more
aquatic vacation rentals in Hanalei Bay.
In the
advisory, Makaala goes on to state:
They
have recently been allowed to tie up at our pier for fear that their
straight shaft/prop launch would damage coral if it used the Hanalei
River ingress/egress. There have been several concerns expressed by
both the public and the lifeguards about this as it is in our
designated swimming area.
They
also caused quite a stir last month when they tried to use the
ingress/egress at Hanalei Pavilion. The lifeguards thought this was
dangerous since they cannot pull their boat out of the water and
advised them to land further west at the “cape.” This area is
also a swim/surf zone.
There
have also been issues with the helicopter on board. While there are
no FAA regulations against flying in Hanalei., there is a published
advisory for aircraft to avoid Hanalei Bay as a noise sensitive area.
All commercial aircraft respect this advisory. Karima has flown five
to ten flights over our homes on a regular basis during their stay.
The
Hawaii State Attorney General has opined previously that the State
cannot make rules specific for commercial or recreational uses. We
disagree but that is an argument for another day. For now, we are
working to get specific rule for Hanalei as it is not a harbor, has
no facilities for this use, is in the NOAA Sanctuary and this use
will conflict with others traditional to the place.
Apparently you didn't listen to KKCR yesterday.
ReplyDeleteYacht is is privately owned, by four Brazilian families. No rentals took place.
One must check scources before publishling.
Coconut wireless is alive and well but often misconstrued or often flat out wrong in many cases.
Do you believe everything you hear on KKCR?
ReplyDeleteYes, these are both worth protesting! Dumping on Kekaha is environmental racism / elitism. Having huge ugly ships in little Hanalei Bay destroys the very essence of the area.
ReplyDeleteWhat Kauai needs is a hurricane to demolish everything and temporarily ruin the economy so that these millionaires leave again.
ReplyDeleteWell helicopters cannot fly under 500 ft or is it 1000ft over residential areas and they cannot land on the beach and yes there is the noise (nuisance law?).
ReplyDeleteIf you got your camera, take pic of landings. Try to get numbers+faces on bird in pic., take pics of anything else thatʻs odd.
Call DLNR HOTLINE 274-3521.
Or call Ms. whatʻs her name know not much at mayorʻs office.
Don't be hatin' millionaires.
ReplyDeleteWe're not all that bad.
It's just the entitlement thing that, like an insidious vapor, slowly but surely envelopes many of us.
that's a lot of families that own that dinghy!
ReplyDeletefour brazilian!
Can't park a boat in the bay' but a hundred from the white trash tribe can destroy a very hawaiian place, Kalalau. Getreal with your priorities...
ReplyDelete