by Andrew Walden

Contrary to Ed Sniffen’s testimony before Senate WAM, FAA does not regulate airport rental car facilities.  The FAA has not ordered HDoT to remove and replace newly installed ‘PFAS’ firefighting systems.

The non-existent FAA mandate is HDoT’s rationale for a $22.26M contract to replace the brand new systems.

Testifying before a combined Senate WAM/TRS hearing, January 16, 2026, HDoT Director Ed Sniffen told Senators that the FAA is requiring HDoT to remove and replace newly built fire suppression systems at the Consolidated Car Rental (CONRAC) facilities at HNL and OGG.

Sniffen told Senators:

“Additional expenses for CONRAC: We have a fire suppressant system that has PFAS in its usage, fire foam. By FAA’s requirements, that whole system has got to be replaced. It cannot just be the tanks. It cannot just be the lines. Everything gotta go. These lines have only been in since 2019 and 2021.” 

-- WAM-HHS, WAM-TRS Informational Briefings 01-16-2026 - YouTube 1:42:30

Hawai’i Free Press asked the FAA to verify Sniffen’s claim.  On January 23, 2026, we received this response:

The FAA does not regulate fire suppression systems for off-airfield locations such as car-rental facilities, and there is no federal mandate for airports to transition to PFAS-free foams.

For aircraft rescue and firefighting purposes, the FAA recommends airports use firefighting foams with PFAS only during an actual emergency but does not prohibit them from using it. To support airports that want to switch to PFAS-free foams, the FAA in May 2023 published a transition plan and in September 2023 notified airports that the foams were available. 

Akamai readers will remember this Airports Division function: 

“For the better part of a decade, some of Hawaii’s most powerful people huddled together at late-night parties in a cramped second-floor office where lobbyists and executives seeking government contracts lined up to drop cash and checks into a metal lockbox.”

Does Operating Expense classification advantage crooked contacting over CIP?  Sniffen’s testimony came in support of the following:

“Other Operating Expenses … Additional operating and management funds required for the ConRAC facilities at Daniel K. Inouye International Airport and Kahului Airport of $10,600,000 in FY26 and $11,660,000 in FY27 are being requested.” -- p9 of Hearing Folder

The standard 10% kickback on a $22.26M contract is $2,226,000.

HDOT has not yet responded to Hawai’i Free Press’ UIPA request for material substantiating Sniffen’s claim of an FAA mandate.

Sadly, HRS 710-1063, ‘Unsworn falsification to authorities,’ is only a misdemeanor.

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2024: Naming Names: Airports Division Ran Late-Night Parties Where Hawaii Politicians Raked In Money

CB: State To Spend Millions To Replace Fire Control Systems In Honolulu, Maui