Deadline Monday for comments on KIUC’s West Kauai Energy Project
HONOLULU — Public comments on the draft environmental assessment for Kaua‘i Island Utility Cooperative’s West Kaua‘i Energy Project are due by close of business today, Monday, Oct. 10.
1 Comments
Many West Kaua’i residents are calling on KIUC to complete a full EIS for this hydropower project because it would require a water lease. KIUC is seeking to take 11 million gallons a day from the Waimea River — that’s 4 billion gallons of water a year — with no plan for putting the water to beneficial use after it runs through the hydro-unit. KIUC promised that water would be used for agriculture, but all the EA talks about is releasing the spent water into KAA’s “storm drains” and into “floodable spaces” on the Plain for man-made bird preserves. Both of those actions will make run-off pollution on the reefs much worse, destroying the community’s fishing grounds. Doing an EIS, instead of just an EA, would at least get decisionmakers the information they need for an informed decision — such as a comparison of alternative ways to produce this electricity that could be less damaging to the river, reefs, and community. And EIS for such a major project is not too much to ask, especially that is what the law requires.