By Harry Kim
I have just been informed that HB106, calling for the repeal of Act 97, will not be scheduled for a hearing in the Senate. The bill will die if it is not scheduled for hearing by Monday, March 18. If that happens, then Act 97 will govern the development of the geothermal industry in this state.
It is so very difficult to understand or accept that despite all of the support and testimony for HB106 for the repeal of Act 97 by people of Maui, Hawaii Island, Kauai and Oahu, which includes the County governments of Maui and Hawaii Island, the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Sierra Club, Hawaii’s Thousand Friends, and many others, HB106 may not be given even an opportunity to be heard by the Senate.
It has not been an easy task to convince people that this was not about a position for or against the development of the geothermal industry. This was about doing it right, with the concerns of the people and the environment being addressed.
What does Act 97 do?
- Allows geothermal exploration and development in all state land use categories: conservation, urban, rural, and agricultural (including ceded lands).
- Eliminates entirely the County government’s approval and review process over geothermal development. With this goes the entire permit process and people’s opportunity for meaningful input.
- Allows geothermal power plants to be built anywhere in urban, agricultural and rural districts without a County land use permit or public hearing because it is a right by law of Act 97.
- Allows geothermal exploratory and development drilling in all state land use categories of conservation, urban, rural, and agricultural land with only a BLNR permit.
- Reinforces the elimination of the people’s right to a contested case hearing.
- States that geothermal exploration and development are permissible in all conservation, agricultural, urban and rural zones; i.e. anywhere in the state.
It is noted that the sponsors of Act 97 originally attempted to exempt exploratory geothermal wells from Ch. 343, the state EIS/EA laws. Due to opposition, they sought an exemption from EIS/EA requirements from the Office of Environmental Quality Control in May 2012, but fortunately, this effort failed. Imagine what it would be today if this had passed. Imagine the only notification that the public would have of geothermal drilling would be waking up in the morning and seeing the drilling rig! It is of concern that the supporters of Act 97 may try again.
I consider Act 97 a huge threat to Hawaii’s people and its environment. I believe that Act 97 shows a blatant disregard for the community, the environment, local units of government, and the County and State laws of zoning and land use.
It is difficult to understand or accept that sweeping land use changes were made without any care or mention of people, of land, or of lifestyle. I ask for understanding that the sadness expressed here is not just about the development of the geothermal industry. This is about the relationship between the people and their government. This is about a hope for a government that is an extension of the people, and not for special interests or financial gain. It is asked that you become aware that if Act 97 is not repealed, it will open the way to an open door policy for the development of the geothermal industry including “enhanced geothermal systems (EGS)” or “fracking,” which is now being explored by the State of Hawaii. As stated, this is not about being for or against geothermal, this is about doing it right, with the greatest care of impact on environment and people.
At this time, efforts are being made to see how we can ensure that a hearing will be scheduled on HB106 in spite of efforts to kill the bill. It is probable, due to the lateness of this writing, that the deadline of March 18 will have passed. If you are reading this before the deadline of March 18, I ask that you contact the following Senators and ask that HB106 be scheduled for hearing: Senator Malama Solomon, Chair of the Committee on Water and Land (808-586-7335); Senator Mike Gabbard, Chair of the Committee on Energy and Environment (808-586-6830), and Senator Will Espero, Chair of the Committee on Public Safety, Intergovernmental and Military Affairs (808-586-6360).
HB106, that calls for the repeal of Act 97, needs your help. This Act is a blatant disrespect of people, local units of government, of lifestyle, and impact on environment. It is hoped that our government will be of fairness and do what is right by law and a sense of what is right.
(Harry Kim is former mayor and Civil Defense director of Hawaii County.)
March 16th, 2013 at 10:39 am
Although some parts of the legislation made a lot of sense someone inserted language about ‘Industry Recognized Buffer Zones’ I don’t believe there is such a thing. To me whoever put that in there did so with no regard to everything that happened last year at the Hawaii County Council. I do not want an arbritary Buffer-Zone. I live in Puna and would like for us to have most of the control over what happens here. The County is working on a plan and should have the opportunity to do so.
March 16th, 2013 at 11:57 am
I Agree with Harry Kim! This madness is all apart of the Green Energy Movement that seeks to “do what’s best for you”, and haven’t we’ve heard this too often.
March 16th, 2013 at 12:02 pm
Thank you Harry for writing a completely legible argument that we can take to our legislators.
March 16th, 2013 at 8:21 pm
Harry,you had me on your side until you got to this.
“It is asked that you become aware that if Act 97 is not repealed, it will open the way to an open door policy for the development of the geothermal industry including “enhanced geothermal systems (EGS)” or “fracking,” which is now being explored by the State of Hawaii.”
Sorry,but you have no proof that any of this is true.
I also agree with Jay that there should be no legislated buffer zones.There is no Industry Standard.
March 17th, 2013 at 1:45 am
Obie, you don’t know frack about this….They need to get rid of the sub-zones so they can frack….Check it out.
Don Thomas, (You remember him right Obie) a geochemist and director of the University of Hawaii’s Center for the Study of Active Volcanoes, and a long-time paid consultant with Puna Geothermal Ventures, sees no need to strengthen environmental protections, although he notes that “it is conceivable that we will find thermal areas in Hawaii where permeability is extremely low and where hydrofracking could potentially make something economically viable.”
Susan Petty, president of Seattle-based AltraRock Energy points out that geothermal hydro shearing is different from oil and gas fracking, In reality, the definitions are almost identical. Hydraulic Fracturing uses pressurized fluids to create fractures in rock layers. Hydro Shearing uses pressurized fluids to create fractures in fractured rocks.
Susan Petty added that “the big issues are with getting the natural gas into aquifers. In geothermal, there is no natural gas.” Obviously there are different impacts. Drilling for oil/gas may leak oil/gas into aquifers. Drilling for geothermal may leak geothermal fluid into aquifers. The potential for Puna geothermal wells to contaminate water aquifers was noted decades ago in a Hawai`i geothermal EIS.
Don Thomas, a geochemist and director of the University of Hawaii’s Center for the Study of Active Volcanoes, will be leading a team in the coming weeks composed of university researchers and scientists from the Lawrence Berkeley Lab, aided by $2 million in state funding and royalties from Puna Geothermal Venture.
“The technology we used quite a number of years ago, in terms of doing exploration has improved tremendously,” he said. “I think we have much better technology now to at least identify areas that have potential.”
On Oahu, Thomas’ team will be focused on exploration around the island’s dormant Waianae and Koolau volcanoes. Testing is expected to take place on the leeward side, around Lualualei Valley, and in the Kapaa area, and should be completed in about two years, said Thomas.
March 17th, 2013 at 2:02 am
When they do start try EGS here we need to stop them to protect ground water and because of the potentia to cause earthquakes.
A $60 million project to extract renewable energy from the hot bedrock deep beneath Basel, Switzerland, was shut down permanently on Thursday after a government study determined that earthquakes generated by the project were likely to do millions of dollars in damage each year.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/11/science/earth/11basel.html?scp=4&sq=&st=nyt
The findings are a serious blow to the hopes of environmentalists, entrepreneurs and investors who believe that advanced geothermal energy could substantially cut the world’s use of emissions-causing fossil fuels. The report comes as the United States Energy Department is preparing its own review of the safety of a closely related project, by a start-up company called AltaRock Energy, in the hills north of San Francisco.
They shut down the one in California also.
Geothermal Project in California Is Shut Down
http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2009/12/14/geothermal-project-in-california-is-shut-down/?scp=2&sq=&st=nyt
It is clear they want to come here to Hawaii. In all the exploratory drilling they have done here since the 70′sthey have only ever found this one resource at PGV. But they have hot rock ready to frack all over. That is why they repealed the sub-zones.
I believe Harry Kim understands this is what these laws are about. I do not find Obie the least bit knowledgeable on the subject or credible. I find his attack on Harry Kim insulting and in poor taste. Harry Kim led Civil defense here for decades and has worked with all of the state and federal agencies. Then he was mayor for eight years and understands the legislative process very well. He does not say that haphazardly or without reason. What have you done Obie?
March 17th, 2013 at 11:20 am
Robert,I rest my case.As chief fear monger and minister of misinformation you offered no proof that there will be an open door policy of fracking.
The process used in EGS is hydro-shearing and there are big differences.
You also continue to spew out old outdated information.Don’t you read any of the links you use ? You state that a project in Switzerland was shut down on Thursday and that actually happened in 2009.
Here is some recent information and it looks very promising: http://gigaom.com/2013/01/24/a-quiet-breakthrough-in-geothermal-power-tech/
I apologize to Harry but I don’t think he should be repeating your misinformation !!
Another thing Bob,It’s not still 1991.
March 17th, 2013 at 2:20 pm
I believe they are already fracking, they reinject 4,000,000 gallons of water a day here into our hot ground, what do you think happens down there? Why did Kapoho have to get a new water well, was the old one contaminated by geothermal fluids?
March 17th, 2013 at 8:38 pm
That is funny Obie.
Read the article, that is where the Thursday quote you wish to distract with is from.
So it’s ok if they caused earthquakes in 2009 but your problem is I quoted an article that said Thursday?
HaHaHa – Good come back…..Not……
While it may not be 1991 not much has changed in the way PGV treats the community. Yea we vented, no problem, broke a re injection well casing, no problem, We blew up 3,000 gallons of pentane, and a generator, no problem, we drilled 24 hours a day keeping people awake for 4 months, no problem, ect, ect, ect…..And the DOH and the county still think their job is to protect PGV just like they did in 1991, no difference there. You see people said the same things about us when we ask for help in 1991 as you do now. No difference there either.
There is one big difference now we have a number of PHD’s, engineers, and many other professionals saying wait a minute:
We need independent monitoring, independent water testing of the aquifer and the ocean, and a hazmat evaluation of the HGP-A site and then we can take it from there.
And we have Harry Kim who you could not carry a gym bag for. Your going to need a new plan Ob…..Slander, name calling and bait and switch are not going to work this time. We are so much stronger than you realize and are still growing everyday with support coming from all islands now. Your petty attempts to dehumanize people that want basic health and safety issues addressed are going to backfire.
You can think what you want, there are a lot of people that disagree with you.
For the record Obie Harry Kim knows more about this than you could possible understand.
Who are you again? And what have you done to make things better?
March 18th, 2013 at 9:59 am
As usual, Robert Petricci makes things up when he has no facts at all. He claims that I am a paid consultant of Ormat/PGV: I have never been a paid consultant to PGV or to Ormat. Nor am I, or have I ever been, a paid consultant to any of the private geothermal interests now active in the state. He claims I am planning to do hydrofracking: complete nonsense. I am conducting geophysical research that is completely non-invasive: no drilling, no injection of anything – simply making measurements at the ground surface. It is called magnetotellurics – look it up. His claim that that hydrofracking will allow geothermal development anywhere in the state is also complete nonsense: what geothermal resources exist in the state are going to be located in a few geologically unique locations where magmatic heat is stored underground. Those areas are called rift zones and calderas; outside of those areas, our geologic evidence is that temperatures are quite low. The likelihood of finding heat in these geologic structures on the older volcanoes is unknown – that’s why I am doing the magnetotelluric research in the calderas of the Oahu volcanoes.
Unfortunately, Mr. Petricci, and apparently Mr. Kim, seem to want public policy to be based on the massive misinformation that the geothermal opponents are tireless in promoting. If they were sincere in their efforts to have reasoned public policy that serves the needs of all of Hawaii’s residents, they would be more interested in getting accurate facts rather than promoting public hysteria and fear mongering.
March 18th, 2013 at 10:14 am
Mahalo. I would like to publish the above as a letter to the editor for my next print edition of Big Island Chronicle.
I would love to know more about magnetotelluric research, and even possibly accompany you or someone else out in the field. I am willing to travel to do this.
March 18th, 2013 at 10:36 am
There is a massive amount of information to be found here.
http://www1.eere.energy.gov/geothermal/enhanced_geothermal_systems.html
March 18th, 2013 at 7:53 pm
Gee, Rift Zones, Leilani Estates is located in a rift zone, along with anyone who lives between Volcano and Kapoho, and going South from, what, Volcano to Kau? Calderas are in the national park, good luck with that.
We, the residents of the East Rift Zone will not allow any more geothermal companies to move in here and poison us and frack our land for the benefit of Helco, Heco, the Military, the undersea cable, etc…
Get over it already, the grid is dead. The grid trips off and the geothermal company can’t contain itself, so releases deadly gasses into the community.
March 18th, 2013 at 9:19 pm
donaldthomas, you’re sounding a little slippery there brother. No one said you were planning to do hydrofracking. If anything, they said you were testing for fracking potential. Also, maybe you’re not a directly paid consultant but it’s pretty clear what interests are funding your research. I love how academics think they have no skin in the game. Get as technical as you please but ivory tower academia will not protect your from the moral implications of participating poisoning the land and people for profit.
March 18th, 2013 at 9:24 pm
Before any more geothermal production continues we must develop a body of empirical evidence that current production is not poisoning the water and air. It’s just that simple. Ongoing and independent monitoring outside geothermal plant boundaries, is the only way to develop such evidence. Anything less is politics, PR and wishful thinking.
March 19th, 2013 at 1:56 am
Don Thomas the godfather of HGP-A. He tries to deny it but he was the driving force telling everyone it was safe. It was never safe. Instead HGP-A was run like Puna is a third word country under a mad scientist Dr. Don Thomas. He sees us as expendable, he doesn’t like us so it’s ok to gas us right Don. Don’t worry it’s safe. What bunch of BS that was.
DR. Thomas the one that told everyone it was safe to breath the toxic gases. More interested in his industry consulting than the people he hurt.
The quote on fracking came from the media Don. You were quoted thus the parentheses, I believe Civil over you anytime have known you since 1981. Now your denying your own boasting. Couldn’t help your self eh? Ego got the better of your? Tell us about the Avalore grant Don.
Unlike many of the here now I know you. I would not believe anything you said ever again. You may be able to fool some people with your fancy titles but I remember you very well my friend, and what you did to us.
This is from the civilbeat article linked below when Dr. Don thought his precious fracking might get banned, his true colors came out:
Thomas said he doesn’t understand why Ruderman would want to try to close off geothermal development that could help power Hawaii’s energy needs before there are any proposals.
“It is conceivable that we will find thermal areas in Hawaii where permeability is extremely low and where hydrofracking could potentially make something economically viable,” he said.
Here the link: http://www.civilbeat.com/articles/2013/01/30/18208-lawmaker-raises-alarm-about-geothermal-fracking-in-hawaii/
You also could not carry Harry Kim’s gym bag Don.
Notice how Don doesn’t advocate for any safeguards at all? Development at any environmental or social cost. Read his stuff, where does he ever advocate for any protections at all for the community. That is the bottom of his priorities right Don. Screw those people out there that got in your way eh?
When they over ruled you and closed down HGP-A because the whole community was sick did you clean up your mess? No. Millions of gallons dumped in unlined ponds above our aquifer, under your guidance. You are as credible as your claims HGP-A was safe to vent on our community, even the school bus across the street from the toxic smoke stack was ok with Dr. Don.
That you would dare to challenge Harry Kim is laughable and everyone knows it. Shame on you.
Maybe the devil is in the details, Thomas says “I have never been a paid consultant” as a matter of pride, but also claims he is a free consultant to anyone “a legitimate question on geothermal” — the implication of both the statement he admits and the statement he denies is that his alignment with geothermal science and industry helps define his views and leads him to negate anti-geothermal views. He says he is searching for magmatic heat in calderas with non-invasive methods — an expensive study reported to see whether there are lower- intensity geothermal resources that can be tapped throughout the state — and he says he may “find thermal areas in Hawaii where permeability is extremely low and where hydrofracking could potentially make something economically viable” that could help power Hawaii’s energy needs.
In sum, Thomas concedes he is a geothermal consultant looking for thermal areas in Hawaii to do fracking.
Don you know you want to frack Hawaii, you care about no one but your self and will say anything to get what you want.
March 23rd, 2013 at 10:15 pm
Mr. Petricci, Mr Donaldson talks sense…and he says it simply because it sticks. JMO.
The problem I have with your commentary is you say alot of things by spraying nebulous buckshot citations that you hope will stick on the wall. Sorry, you are not a Justice Cardoza, it would be better to express your opinion rather than to attempt to “prove it”. It goes downhill for you.
I have never heard of a realistic alternative from you that serves the betterment of the greater community. Your agenda is strictly self-serving and provincial.
You are a hater of progress and folks who seek development of our natural resources. That being said, your opinion represents you and people who support some of the things you say. Just say it! All the dribble you attach, is made not to further merit but only to confuse argument and give you some self imagined satisfaction. It serves no purpose other than to make alot noise. Are you serious?
March 23rd, 2013 at 11:25 pm
Kimo you can believe what you want.
But his name is Dr. Don Thomas. I will express my opinion how I like, having known him since 1981.
Don’t like what I write don’t read it. Simple. If it’s not true tell him to sue me.