To date, Inter-Island Helicopters has been allowed to get away with something governments, large resorts and other businesses many times the size of the helicopter company haven’t been able to do: Erect and keep unpermitted structures within the state Shoreline
To date, Inter-Island Helicopters has been allowed to get away with something governments, large resorts and other businesses many times the size of the helicopter company haven’t been able to do: Erect and keep unpermitted structures within the state Shoreline Management Area.
For many months, Ken D’Attilio’s company has operated an above-ground fuel tank on state property at Burns Field/Port Allen Airport in Hanapepe. Later, after the company was evicted from state Department of Hawaiian Home Lands property in Hanapepe, it erected a temporary office trailer at Burns.
All of that was done without proper county or state permits, according to Dee Crowell, director of the Kaua’i County Planning Department.
After the Planning Department repeatedly cited the state Department of Transportation Airports Division (the Port Allen Airport land owner), DOT in late August wrote a letter to D’Attilio ordering him to remove the fuel tank and office trailer.
According to the letter, signed by Brian K. Minaai, DOT director, Inter-Island’s only permits are to park aircraft at the field.
“You have 30 days from receipt of this letter to remove your fuel tank, trailers, equipment and other improvements which are not permitted under your parking permits. Failure to comply will result in the Airports Division removing said items at your expense,” Minaai wrote.
The letter was delivered to an Inter-Island employee in Honolulu on Sept. 17.
D’Attilio, on the mainland until the end of this month, was not available for comment. Attempts to reach Inter-Island employees were also unsuccessful.
Normally, structures like the fuel tank and office trailer would require permits issued by the Planning Department, and some which require Planning Commission action, according to Crowell. No such applications were received from D’Attilio or DOT, Crowell added.
“They are up, they are unpermitted,” Crowell said of the structures, stopping short of calling them illegal. “We’ve cited them for violations long ago. Because there was the permit application in the works with DOT, we haven’t seriously pursued our enforcement-type measures.”
Pending before the Planning Commission is an application for permits to expand Port Allen Airport to include four helicopter pads, two fixed-wing tie-down areas, and related buildings.
The hearing process has been controversial, with beach users, those working the adjacent ancient salt pans and others opposed to the expansion.
DOT was required by a state court to conduct another environmental assessment on the project and look at relocating helicopter operations to Lihu’e Airport as an alternative to the expansion project.
That has been done, so now the permit application just needs to be placed once again on the commission agenda. The commission meets the second and fourth Tuesday of each month.
But there are rumblings that DOT might withdraw the permit application, Crowell said.
On a statewide basis, airport construction projects have come to a grinding halt as a result of Governor Ben Cayetano waiving landing fees for major airlines. That has cost the state airport special fund, from which airport construction money is drawn, an estimated $2.6 million a month in revenues. At the same time, the fund is being tapped to pay for increased security personnel and security and safety efforts at state airports.
Handcuffing further the county’s enforcement efforts at Port Allen Airport is the fact that it would have to go to court to win any fines against those allowing the un-permitted structures to exist. And any money in fines won would go to the court, not the county, Crowell said.
D’Attilio, whose company performs search and rescue, drug enforcement and other duties under state and county contracts, apparently has powerful allies arguing on his behalf.
“Originally, they were scheduled to be out, to have to remove everything” by the week ending Oct. 20, said Marilyn Kali, DOT state spokeswoman. “However, we have temporarily delayed the removal of the fuel tank and the office trailer, for probably a couple of weeks, while we continue to review the circumstances. We don’t know when they’ll have to remove it again, but, right now, we’ve temporarily delayed the move date.”
This apparently came after state Reps. Mina Morita, Bertha Kawakami and Ezra Kanoho, state Sen. Jonathan Chun, county clerk Peter Nakamura, County Councilman Daryl Kaneshiro, a representative from the mayor’s office and others met with Minaai to discuss the matter, Kawakami said.
“I think everybody is concerned about the tank, and rightfully so. It’s out there in the open and so forth,” said Kawakami.
The meeting, she said, was to find out what could be done regarding D’Attilio having to move the tank, potential alternative locations for the tank, and what would happen if he needs to fly an emergency mission on a moment’s notice at night, needs fuel and the tank is no longer on airport property, she said.
Staff Writer Paul C. Curtis can be reached at mailto:pcurtis@pulitzer.net or 245-3681 (ext. 224).
