HB1307 OPPOSITION
HB1307 OPPOSITION
CLICK HERE FOR PDF OF EMAIL SENT TO HAWAI’I POLITICIANS
Date: February 26, 2025 at 1:47:56 PM PST
To: repalcos@capitol.hawaii.gov, repamato@capitol.hawaii.gov, repbelatti@capitol.hawaii.gov, repchun@capitol.hawaii.gov, repcochran@capitol.hawaii.gov, repevslin@capitol.hawaii.gov, repgarcia@capitol.hawaii.gov, repgarrett@capitol.hawaii.gov, repgrandinetti@capitol.hawaii.gov, rephashem@capitol.hawaii.gov, repholt@capitol.hawaii.gov, repichiyama@capitol.hawaii.gov, repilagan@capitol.hawaii.gov, repiwamoto@capitol.hawaii.gov, repkahaloa@capitol.hawaii.gov, repkapela@capitol.hawaii.gov, repkeohokapuleeloy@capitol.hawaii.gov, repkila@capitol.hawaii.gov, repkitagawa@capitol.hawaii.gov, repkong@capitol.hawaii.gov, repkusch@capitol.hawaii.gov, replachica@capitol.hawaii.gov, replamosao@capitol.hawaii.gov, replee@capitol.hawaii.gov, replowen@capitol.hawaii.gov, repmarten@capitol.hawaii.gov, repmatayoshi@capitol.hawaii.gov, repmatsumoto@capitol.hawaii.gov, repmiyake@capitol.hawaii.gov, repmorikawa@capitol.hawaii.gov, repmuraoka@capitol.hawaii.gov, repnakamura@capitol.hawaii.gov, repolds@capitol.hawaii.gov, repperruso@capitol.hawaii.gov, reppierick@capitol.hawaii.gov, reppoepoe@capitol.hawaii.gov, repquinlan@capitol.hawaii.gov, repreyesoda@capitol.hawaii.gov, repsayama@capitol.hawaii.gov, repshimizu@capitol.hawaii.gov, repsouza@capitol.hawaii.gov, reptakayama@capitol.hawaii, reptakenouchi@capitol.hawaii.gov, reptam@capitol.hawaii.gov, reptarnas@capitol.hawaii.gov, reptemplo@capitol.hawaii.gov, reptodd@capitol.hawaii.gov, repward@capitol.hawaii.gov, repwoodson@capitol.hawaii, repyamashita@capitol.hawaii.gov, josh.green@hawaii.gov, sens@capitol.hawaii.gov, reps@capitol.hawaii.gov, scott.saiki@capitol.hawaii.gov, kyle.yamashita@capitol.hawaii.gov, donovan.delacruz@capitol.hawaii.gov, dhhl.contact@hawaii.gov, scheduler@schatz.senate.gov, jill.tokuda@mail.house.gov, ed.case@mail.house.gov, Mitch.D.Roth@hawaiicounty.gov, governor.green@hawaii.gov, elon.musk@eop.gov, info@whitehouse.gov, "Shelby BILLIONAIRE," <presidentbillionaire@gmail.com>
Subject: NO HB1307 - OPPOSITION OF EMMA JANE AVILA POHLMAN
ALOHA ALL,
My name is Emma Jane Avila Pohlman. Below is my Opposition of HB1307. I HEREBY DEMAND THAT YOU CANCEL HB1307 IMMEDIATELY:
OPPOSITION OF EMMA JANE AVILA POHLMAN TO HB1307
I, Emma Jane Avila Pohlman, STRONGLY OPPOSE HB1307, a bill misappropriating funds from the State of Hawai'i’s general revenue to Puna Geothermal Venture (via Department of Hawaiian Home Lands (DHHL)) for so-called “exploration” on Hawaiian Home Lands and Trust Lands. This foreign based non-Hawaiian company operated by Ormat actively violates the Clean Water Act (33 U.S.C. § 1251 et seq.) and the Endangered Species Act (16 U.S.C. § 1531 et seq.), by contaminating Hawai’i’s groundwater, and being the #1 killer of the Hawaiian Hawk (‘Io), MY CLIENTS. Puna Geothermal Venture was caught falsifying environmental reports and blasting toxic fumes at residents in Puna. In open court, Puna Geothermal Venture’s attorney complained that a thorough environmental review is unnecessary to replace twelve broken energy units on Hawaiian land, an astonishing admission of disregard and gross negligence. This reckless, environmentally disastrous, culturally insensitive, and devastating bill demands immediate rejection under Hawai’i and federal law. The failure of DHHL to obtain a Beneficiary Consultation from Hawaiians mandates the total elimination of this bill. (Pele Defense Fund v. Paty (1992) 73 Haw. 578; see also Hawaiian Homes Commission Act of 1920).
HB1307 essentially grants a blank check to Puna Geothermal Venture (via DHHL) for drilling into Hawaiian land, developing water wells on Hawaiian land, conducting geophysical studies on Hawaiian land, and hiring “consultants,” without any defined limits or requirements for transparency. The cost of this bill was originally $20 million, but is now amended to a blank check and unspecified amount, with no transparency or justification. This is a direct violation of Hawai'i Revised Statutes § 37-41, which requires that appropriations be specific and substantiated.
Instead, Hawai’i’s Pilauticians want to give a blank check to a company that is not even Hawaiian. Meanwhile, ALA WAI IS A BIOHAZARD AND DANGER TO ALL CHILDREN OF HAWAI’I, and approximately 30,000 Native Hawaiians remain on the waitlist for Hawaiian land. Diverting $20 million of Hawai’i's funds to Puna Geothermal Venture (via DHHL), rather than addressing Hawai’i’s water crisis, or the waitlist of 30,000 Hawaiians, is an insulting and outrageous misuse of public funds.
The Hawaiian Homes Commission Act of 1920 exists to protect Native Hawaiians, not enable industrial exploitation on Hawaiian Trust Lands. (Ahuna v. Dep’t of Hawaiian Home Lands (1982) 64 Haw. 327). Ahuna mandates DHHL’s strict fiduciary duty to Hawaiian beneficiaries for all actions related to Hawaiian land (e.g., leasing and development). Despite being subject to strict fiduciary obligations, DHHL didn’t even bother to obtain a Beneficiary Consultation from Hawaiians before pushing a bill benefiting a foreign corporation. DHHL actions supporting HB1307 is an egregious breach of their fiduciary duty to all Hawaiians. Puna Geothermal Venture’s toxic history in Puna threatens the Āina and ALL People of Hawai’i. Worse still, the majority of legislators pushing HB1307 are not even Hawaiian, an unconscionable overreach by outsiders disconnected from the ‘Āina’s cultural significance.
DHHL’s support for HB1307 without a documented Beneficiary Consultation from Hawaiians represents a serious breach of its fiduciary duty. The bill’s silence on beneficiary consultations, and placement of Puna Geothermal Venture’s interests over those of Native Hawaiian beneficiaries, warrants total elimination of this bill. (Pele).
Moreover, the bill’s unspecified appropriation amount and effective date of July 1, 3000 is a direct violation of Hawai’i Revised Statutes § 1-15’s clarity requirement. This fundamental flaw necessitates the bill’s immediate rejection as codified by statute.
Tesla’s solar battery packs, combined with wind and solar power, provide sustainable energy solutions that impose no environmental damage or cultural harm, consistent with the sustainability principles enshrined in Article XI of the Hawai’i Constitution. In contrast, Puna Geothermal Venture’s pitiful 33% energy output is vastly inferior to these superior alternatives.
HB1307 constitutes an outrageous misappropriation of Hawai’i’s general revenue fund to a notorious polluter of Hawai’i. The bill’s authorization of an unspecified amount, initially estimated at $20 million, and now an unbounded sum, directly contravenes Hawai’i Revised Statutes § 37-41. Puna Geothermal Venture’s ongoing contamination of Big Island groundwater and its role as the primary exterminator of the Hawaiian Hawk (‘Io) is a violation of the Clean Water Act (33 U.S.C. § 1311(a)) and the Endangered Species Act (16 U.S.C. § 1538). Furthermore, the predominance of non-Hawaiian legislators advancing this bill, without a Hawaiian Beneficiary Consultation, breaches the fiduciary obligations enshrined in the Hawaiian Homes Act of 1920. The bill’s absurd and nonsensical effective date of July 1, 3000 and unspecified amount, is a clear violation of HRS § 1-15, requiring immediate rejection. Rather than advancing a bill benefiting Puna Geothermal Venture, the government needs to prioritize protecting our ‘Āina and keiki instead.
Mahalo,
Emma Jane Pohlman
(808) 960-7680
emmajanehawaii@icloud.com
www.emmapohlman.com
*kryptonite
