Mourners of the seven who lost their lives in the Ka Loko Dam Reservoir breach may never know exactly why the fury of water burst two years ago. And as attorneys scramble to unearth answers, more questions seem to arise,
Mourners of the seven who lost their lives in the Ka Loko Dam Reservoir breach may never know exactly why the fury of water burst two years ago.
And as attorneys scramble to unearth answers, more questions seem to arise, including which entity is responsible for the water.
That, along with several other unanswered questions, was posed by one of the attorneys of Ka Loko Reservoir owner James Pflueger, in the days following the release of last year’s Ka Loko Report, authored by Special Deputy Attorney General Robert Godbey.
The report, which cites many factors leading up to the breach including the altering of the reservoir’s spillway, also found the Department of Land and Natural Resources didn’t inspect the Kaloko Dam.
And as it remains unclear whether criminal charges will be filed against Pflueger, it also remains unclear whether more defendants — in addition to Belt Collins, the engineering company that worked for Pflueger — will be added.
Belt Collins, the same firm hired by the state and awarded a $1 million contract to complete the Environmental Impact Statement on the Superferry, and report its findings to the Department of Transportation, was named as another defendant this week.
Already among the list of defendants in the wrongful death and property loss suits are the state, county, Thomas Hitch, Kilauea Irrigation Company, and C. Brewer and Company.
Though state Attorney General Mark Bennett has said his office is conducting a criminal investigation into Pflueger’s possible role in the breach, he did not offer an end-date. Bennett also said he couldn’t ethically comment on which, if any, additional entities were under criminal investigation in association with the breach.
Because of the probe, one of Pflueger’s attorneys, Bill McCorriston, was able to convince the Board of Land and Natural Resources to hold off on having its engineers inspect the dam.
In the meantime, survivors of those who died have struggled to cope. Among them is Bruce Fehring, who suffered a heart attack after he lost daughter Aurora Fehring, son-in-law Alan Dingwall and grandson Rowan Fehring-Dingwall when the dam breached.
Others who died in the breach being remembered today include Timothy Noonan, Wayne Rotstein, Christina Macnees and Daniel Arroyo. Macnees and Arroyo were engaged and supposed to get married the week of the tragedy.
The Ka Loko Reservoir Dam property damage and wrongful death trials are set to begin Feb. 2, and Sept. 7, 2009, respectively.
• Amanda C. Gregg, assistant editor/staff writer, can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 252) or agregg@kauaipubco.com.
