LIHU‘E — Kaua‘i Island Utility Cooperative’s five-hour member meeting on Saturday drew a large crowd prepared with questions and comments about the co-op’s plans to explore hydroelectricity. An estimated 150 people attended the meeting at the Kaua‘i Veterans Center, including
LIHU‘E — Kaua‘i Island Utility Cooperative’s five-hour member meeting on Saturday drew a large crowd prepared with questions and comments about the co-op’s plans to explore hydroelectricity.
An estimated 150 people attended the meeting at the Kaua‘i Veterans Center, including various media, state and local representatives, KIUC employees and directors, co-op members and the petitioners.
The petitioner-driven meeting, the first of its kind in the co-op’s 10-year history, was to discuss the Board of Directors’ March 29 decision to enter into a contract with energy developer Free Flow Power to explore hydroelectricity development on six Kaua‘i waterways using the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s permitting process.
Adam Asquith, a Kaua‘i taro farmer who started the petition and filed it with KIUC, argues in favor of hydroelectric development but against the use of the FERC process to permit hydropower projects.
He said that FERC, as a federal agency, has the power to dictate and supersede Hawai‘i’s stringent water rules designed to protect local farmers and cultural interests.
KIUC set the format for the meeting, which allowed each member three minutes of testimony, at the end of which either KIUC CEO David Bissell, KIUC legal counsel David Proudfoot, KIUC Board of Directors Chair Phil Tacbian or representatives of Free Flow Power had three minutes to respond.
Bissell started off the meeting by stating, “FERC is not the question in front of us. It’s about Free Flow and our agreement with them. Ultimately, it’s about whether we will have hydo on Kaua‘i.”
Those who wished to provide testimony were told to sign their name on a list of speakers. An estimated 50 persons signed up, including KIUC Board members, County Councilwoman JoAnn Yukimura, KIUC employees and their families, as well as petitioners and concerned co-op members.
One of the first to testify was Charles Okamoto of Gay & Robinson, one of the largest land owners in Kaua‘i. He said Free Flow Power filed for a FERC preliminary permit on Robinson land and near a G&R-proposed hydro site.
“The Robinsons were never consulted prior to the filing and that concerns them,” Okamoto said. “The question we have is whether KIUC and Free Flow will respect private property rights. Will they ever invoke eminent domain on Robinson land?”
Bissell said the simple answer is yes, they will respect the Robinson’s land.
“We won’t use eminent domain to put a hydro project there,” Bissell said. “We’ll either work a deal with you guys for us to do it or we’ll work a deal for you to do it, but there’s no way in the world KIUC would try to do a project without the Robinsons’ consent.”
When Reverend Katir took the microphone, he asked the crowd how many were in favor of the six hydro projects proposed. Silence filled the room.
Gabriella Taylor testified that she signed the petition because she had questions about the FERC process and now comes to find out the vote is about a contract with Free Flow Power, which she said she did not object to.
In an interview later, Asquith said members are only allowed to petition decisions made by the board and the board has never voted on FERC. The board’s vote was on a contract with Free Flow Power, which is using the FERC process to obtain preliminary permits.
Taylor said her primary concern and the core concern of other petitioners is that FERC can supersede Hawai‘i’s water laws.
Bissell said to the best of his understanding, FERC has no authority on water rights or stream flow standards. He said stream flow standards have a regulatory commission that FERC cannot modify, “so the whole water issue is a Hawai‘i-exclusive issue.”
“Can KIUC disengage or opt out of the FERC process anytime … if they were superseding our state water laws?” Taylor asked.
Dawn Huff, a Free Flow project specialist, responded: “Even after you file for an application you can withdraw the application from that process. It’s not a contract, it’s just a license. It’s an application. When you send in your license application it goes through a whole process of review. Even after that, you can withdraw a license application.”
“Lets say later down the road when you’re building these projects, it’s not working and you want out,” Taylor questioned.
“You can opt out of the process at any point in time,” Huff said. “You can still relinquish the license; however, you’re also relinquishing the project under that license.”
She said that means “if you haven’t gotten all of your state permits, you would be required to. Then you could continue the project under those state license permits or county license permits.”
Bissell said that FERC permitting is only mandatory for one of the six projects — the Wailua River project — but he likes using FERC for all six because it provides a roadmap for scoping and feasibility and would centralize all documentation.
When the FERC preliminary permit period expires in three years, the co-op must then decide whether it wants to develop the projects using FERC licensing. Board members said it is something that they will have to vote on in the future.
Speaker Allen Leonard told the KIUC panel, “I believe you have ruined the trust process … Some of the moves you make appear to be sneaky. You might be doing the right thing, but you’re doing it the wrong way.” His plea was a call for more transparency.
A couple of hours passed before Asquith’s turn came up to take the microphone. By then, the sizeable crowd had slowly started to dissipate.
“I’m going to take the time to explain my position to you,” Asquith said. “Nothing comes from a rushed decision … The position has always been that we cannot get hydro through the FERC process for a number of reasons.”
He said several people in the past have tried to develop hydro on the island using the FERC process and none have been successful.
“There is a history of attempts to do this and they have all failed,” he said. “On the other hand, we do have other examples of other small hydro projects that have not evoked FERC and have been successfully developed.”
Who brought FERC to the table, he questioned. “Certainly not the state,” he said, adding that legislators have tried to block FERC because they see it as a danger to Hawai‘i water laws.
“FERC is one of the vestiges of Manifest Destiny of go forth and capture the land’s resources,” Asquith said. “FERC promotes the acquisition and development of United States water resources.”
When KIUC clock-watchers interrupted Asquith’s testimony because his three minutes were up, audience members urged him to continue. Many shouted their willingness to yield their three minutes to him.
KIUC ignored the audience’s requests and became more insistent that Asquith cease his testimony. Garden Island Security guards, contracted by KIUC for crowd control, moved from the back of the auditorium toward center stage.
After a tense few moments, Asquith said, “This is a perfect example of why the system doesn’t work.”
He left the microphone and went back to sign the long list for another three minutes to speak. More hours passed before his second turn at bat came up. By then, most of the crowd had left.
After the meeting, Asquith said that by using FERC, “we’re at the end of hydro, not the beginning,” because it will invite legal action that will delay the co-op’s efforts to develop renewable energy.
The petition also calls for a member vote on KIUC’s contract with FFP starting June 13.
For further coverage of the meeting, see an upcoming edition of The Garden Island.
• Vanessa Van Voorhis, staff writer, can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 251) or by emailing vvanvoorhis@thegardenisland.com.
