Feds Waste Another $250M on Rail
Hawaii is the 5th Worst State for New Business Survival
HECO’s Shaky Credit: Utility Insiders Writing Bill for Legislators --Taxpayers to Cosign Loans
CB: … The utility is working with lawmakers on a plan that would make the state take over energy contracts if HECO defaulted…
The idea is to make sure new projects can come online despite a cloud of uncertainty in financial markets over HECO.
Rebecca Dayhuff Matsushima, HECO’s vice president for resource procurement, said the company hasn’t finished revising proposed legislation for lawmakers to introduce. But she acknowledged the company has been briefing key lawmakers on its proposal ahead of the legislative session that starts in January.
“We’re still refining that draft and we hope to get close to a final version later this week,” she said….
“Utility scale projects are being put on hold left and right,” said Isaac Moriwake, managing attorney for Earthjustice’s regional office in Honolulu. “Right now, we’re completely stalled out.”…
The problem is HECO’s credit profile, which was battered after the August 2023 wildfire. The company faces hundreds of lawsuits related to the fire, which was started when a downed HECO power line ignited dry grasses, according to official investigations. As a result, the company’s stock price has plummeted, and its credit rating has been cut to junk status.
That’s made it hard for the power producers to borrow money when they go to credit markets saying their customer is a utility facing billions of dollars in potential liability.
(SOLUTION: HEI goes thru bankruptcy proceedings and emerges without the debt burden.)
Hawaii Rep. Nicole Lowen, chair of the House Energy and Environmental Protection Committee, said HECO’s proposal makes sense conceptually as a solution and should pose little or no risk to utility customers or taxpayers.
(TRANSLATION: I think you are dumb enough to believe this.)
“But,” Lowen said, “the devil is always in the details.”
(TRANSLATION: For those not fooled, here is a backup pander.)
read … HECO’s Shaky Credit Prompts Proposal For Help From State
When will Hawaiian Electric pay damage claim?
SA: … Question: In early November, Hawaiian Electric contacted those affected by the June Downtown Honolulu power outage about a compromise payment. We were informed it may take over two weeks to process. This was in early November. I submitted my request and authorized release, but it is now about a month since doing so. When can we expect our payment?
Answer: About two-thirds of the more than 300 damage claims filed over the June 17-21 Downtown/Chinatown outage have been processed and Hawaiian Electric Co. staff are working to finish the rest as quickly as possible, although some require more action by the affected customer, Darren Pai, a spokesperson for the company, said Tuesday….
read … Kokua Line: When will Hawaiian Electric pay damage claim?
Kamaka Air faces lawsuit with former owner
KITV: … A 322-page lawsuit alleges that the former owner, who was terminated in May 2024, is conspiring to "drive the company into bankruptcy" so he can repurchase it at a lower price.
The two parties are currently in federal mediation with the next court update set for a telephone conference in January 2025….
The former owner … sold the airline to the current owners three years ago for $43.2 million….
HNN: Here’s what we know about Kamaka Air’s 30-year history in Hawaii
CB: Honolulu Plane Crash Exposes State's Fragile Air Cargo Infrastructure - Honolulu Civil Beat
read … Kamaka Air faces lawsuit with former owner | News | kitv.com
Will This Be The Year Hawaiʻi Charges Visitors For Their Environmental Impact?
CB: … In recent years, attempts to create a mostly visitor-paid fee to help tackle Hawaiʻiʻs daunting climate and conservation challenges have resembled the classic Lucy with the football gag from the Peanuts comic.
Each year, Gov. Josh Green proclaims the fee one of his top legislative priorities. Each year, legislators seem receptive and ready to pass that fee.
Then, each year, legislators pull the proposal back at the last minute, opting not to pass it after all….
read … Will This Be The Year Hawaiʻi Charges Visitors For Their Environmental Impact?
Tourism is down on other islands; experts say it’s the ripple effect following Lahaina wildfire
MN: … Maui has experienced a 10.1% decrease in visitor numbers for the first 10 months of this year, state Chief Economic Eugene Tian said.
Statistics show 1.9 million visitors to Maui in the first 10 months of this year as compared to 2.1 million visitors for the same period in 2023.
About 32.5% of Maui’s visitors also stay on a different island, and a decision not to visit Maui has had a ripple effect elsewhere, economists say.
In Maui County, Molokai had a decrease of 4.1% and Lanai was down 14.7%.
Tian also said Kauai has seen a decrease of 4% and Hawai’i island is down 3.2%.
Tian said the only island that hasn’t seen a decrease in visitor numbers was Oahu, with an increase of 3.5% because of a strong flow of Japanese visitors.
Tian said that based on insurance claims, losses from the Lahaina wildfire totaled $3.35 billion.
According to the state, Lahaina once generated about $2.7 million in daily revenue.
read … Tourism is down on other islands; experts say it’s the ripple effect following Lahaina wildfire
Public Utilities Commission Addresses Life of the Land`s "Threat of Litigation"
IM: … Attorney Diego Rivera filed a legal brief to the PUC on behalf of Life of the Land on November 4, noting that there are no laws, rules, regulations, or court decisions that allow the Commission to create repository dockets nor preemptively block all motions to intervene. In fact, the opposite is true. The state constitution, laws, and court decisions all support citizen participation.
Life of the Land supported the idea that the Commission would open a window to intervene for all stakeholders. The Commission would then rule on each motion, whether to accept or reject the motion, and if accepted, whether the stakeholder would get full party status or limited participant status.
The Commission issued an Order on December 17.
“Repository dockets are `informal expedited process[es]` designed to promote speed and transparency and allow any interested person to participate, not just those with the resources to hire an attorney, such as LOL.
Repository dockets are preliminary, and: (1) give any person a chance to shape the request for proposals (`RFP`), before it is issued; and (2) allow the Commission to transparently incorporate feedback from all participants into guidance for the utility at a speed that a contested case would not allow.
Consistent with the Competitive Bidding Framework, the Commission issues final decisions and orders in contested case dockets related to the power purchase agreements (`PPAs`) that result from the RFP process.
Those dockets determine whether the Commission approves specific projects.
LOL, and any other interested person or entity, will be free to move to intervene in any such contested case proceeding. Based on LOL’s active participation in similar procurement-related repository dockets and contested cases regarding the PPAs, the Commission is confident that LOL is aware of the distinction between repository dockets and contested case proceedings.
LOL repeatedly argues that it is illegal for the Commission to restrict intervention in this proceeding. The Commission views these statements as a threat of litigation. The RFP process is designed to bring new renewable generation online as quickly as practicable.
This will be crucial to the State meeting its climate targets and its renewable portfolio standards. These targets are too important to let a would-be intervenor slow the State’s progress toward them.
Unfortunately, if LOL follows through on its litigation threat, that could significantly delay the RFP process and could make meeting the GHG Targets and RPS Requirements impossible.
LOL essentially has asked the Commission to choose between two bad options: (1) converting this docket into a contested case proceeding that will not be accessible or transparent to those without the resources to move to intervene or participate; or (2) face LOL’s litigation that would delay the State’s progress towards meeting its GHG Targets and RPS Requirements.
The Commission believes that the first option will allow the RFP process to proceed more quickly and with more certainty.
Therefore, to keep the process from being the enemy of progress, the Commission will treat LOL’s Motion as a motion for a contested case.
As such, the Parties (Hawaiian Electric and the Consumer Advocate) have five days to respond to this motion, pursuant to § HAR 16-601-41(c). Any other interested person may respond in that timeframe as well….
read … Public Utilities Commission Addresses Life of the Land`s "Threat of Litigation" | Ililani Media
East Maui Water: BLNR decides not to turn Mahi Pono into Dust Bowl for 2025
MN: … After hours of discussion and debate, the state Board of Land and Natural Resources voted to approve the issuance of a revocable permit for next year in the ongoing water controversy involving Mahi Pono, East Maui Irrigation LLC, Alexander & Baldwin Inc., Maui County, the Sierra Club and concerned members of the public.
(CLUE: This is for one year only. Had BLNR not decided, Mahi Pono would be dry starting Jan 1, 2025.)
The vote is the latest development in how water is being shared, managed, operated and distributed through the current EMI system.
Last month the state land board attempted to look at the possibility of holding a contested case hearing regarding a long-term 30-year permit for water coming from Maui’s Ko’olau Forest Reserve….
read … State land board approves revocable water permit for East Maui water
Maui Council OKs new Landfill site on first reading
MN: … On first reading Tuesday, council voted 8-0 with one member absent to move the bill to a second and final reading on Dec. 23.
(CLUE: What does it take to make your council approve a new landfill? Burn a town down.)
Announced by Mayor Richard Bissen’s administration, the proposal includes $4 million in agreements, pending approval by Maui County Council.
“We absolutely need it,” Council Chair Alice Lee said in an interview after the meeting.
Mayor Richard Bissen said he was grateful for council members “moving expeditiously to approve this important acquisition.”
“Securing land is a significant step in protecting our environment and ensuring sustainable growth for generations,” Bissen said.
The agreement calls for a subsidiary of Nan Inc. to provide the county with 49 acres of former quarried land and 30 acres of land currently being quarried. The 30 acres would be available upon completion of quarrying activities.
According to the county, community members voiced strong support for designating the Central Maui Landfill as the permanent disposal site for disaster debris. A temporary debris storage area has been located at Olowalu….
In November 2023, Alexander & Baldwin Inc. sold the Grace Disposal Group, including A&B Quarries of Maui, to Nan Inc. for $57.5 million….
(QUESTION: Makakilo next?)
read … Maui OKs Lahaina wildfire waste site on first reading
The Impossible Task Of Building A New Landfill On Oʻahu
CB: … Last week the city did kind of, sort of, choose a site in Wahiawā, but right now that’s not even close to a done deal because it remains iffy whether that site meets the rules. On the surface, it does not…
… There is not a single site on the island that meets the criteria.
The Wahiawā site the city has semi-selected comes the closest but arguably — and there sure will be arguments, which have begun already — fails because it does not meet the gold standards of location science….
As Explained: Designed to Fail: City Pretends to Select Wahiawa Location for Dump
read … Neal Milner: The Impossible Task Of Building A New Landfill On Oʻahu
Pasteurization Protects Milk Supply from Spreading Bird Flu
CB: … H5N1 Avian Influenza — commonly known as bird flu — can be deadly for humans and birds. Nationally, there have been 61 human cases since April. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported its first “severe” case on Wednesday in Louisiana.
Cattle can also contract the virus, which they can pass on through raw dairy products. This contributed to Newsom declaring an emergency as 645 of the state’s more than 1,100 dairies have had confirmed cases in their herds. Thirty-four human cases of bird flu have been detected in California.
Bird flu was detected for the first time in Hawaiʻi in November during a routine sampling of Oʻahu’s wastewater system. It was later detected in wild birds and in a duck sanctuary in Wahiawā and again on Dec. 2 in Hilo’s wastewater on the Big Island.
Hawaiʻi authorities have continued to track the state’s incidents of bird flu but there have not been any confirmed cases since Dec. 2. On Friday, the state implemented a 90-day pause on the movement of domestic and poultry birds in a bid to mitigate the potential spread of the virus among Hawaiʻi’s wild and domestic bird populations.
California produces 20% of the nation’s milk and supplies the lion’s share of milk to Meadow Gold in Hawaiʻi, one of the state’s largest dairy distributors and the owner of the state’s only commercial dairy farms.
The milk is pasteurized before it leaves the mainland and again on arrival in Hawai‘i. That process of heating the milk to remove pathogens, combined with testing in California, makes the presence of the virus extremely low.
Arizona — without any confirmed bird flu cases in cows — is also a major supplier of milk to Hawaiʻi through other brands, Hawaiʻi Food Retail Industry Association President Lauren Zirbel said.
For Cloverleaf Dairy, which has 400 milking cows on the Big Island’s northern coast, “there’s always a concern” about bird flu or other pathogens, Meadow Gold owner Bahman Sadeghi said.
But the risk so far appears to be minimal because the strain of bird flu in Hawaiʻi is different than the one on the mainland, Sadeghi said….
(TRANSLATION: Louis Pasteur was a genius.)
SA: U.S. suffers 1st severe human case of bird flu; California declares emergency
read … Hawaiʻi Braces To Protect Milk Supply As Bird Flu Spreads On The Mainland
Kuawa Street homeless camp closes—14 agree to accept shelter
HTH: … That Ponahawai shelter was established in July in order to house homeless people who were camping in the nearby storm drain in advance of an audit by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
The Ponahawai shelter had a limited shelf life and was dismantled by the end of that month. The 15 occupants remaining at Ponahawai were relocated to the Kuawa shelter, and Susan Kunz, the county housing administrator at the time, said residency at the shelter was contingent upon occupants registering for assistance from homeless services.
As of Nov. 27, all but one of those 15 occupants had either secured permanent housing or moved to a longer-term shelter, said Chelsea Jensen, spokeswoman for the Hawaii County Office of Housing and Community Development, via email. As the camp was only set up to serve those 15 occupants, its purpose is fulfilled, and it is being dismantled.
“This first ‘cohort’s’ progress is a testament to the effectiveness of this initiative, and we are committed to exploring ways to continue this important work, providing more opportunities for those in need and making a lasting impact on homelessness in our community,” new Housing Administrator Kehau Costa said in a statement. …
read … Kuawa Street homeless camp closes
Legislative Agenda:
QUICK HITS: