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Statement in Opposition to the Veneer Mill and Co-Generation Power Plant

Planned for the Old O‘okala Sugar Mill Site on the Island of Hawai‘i

www.ProtectOokala.org

Statement of the Protect O‘okala Ad Hoc Steering Committee

Aug. 9, 2006, Revised 11/24/06, 03/18/07, 07/28/07

O‘okala, the Island of Hawai‘i

The Protect O‘okala Ad Hoc Steering Committee speaks on behalf of sixty-three (63) of the community’s total of eighty-nine (89) households. The homeowners signed a petition stating in whole:

I, the undersigned, am a homeowner in O‘okala and oppose the construction of a veneer mill, co-generation power plant and plywood lay-up facility at the old O‘okala sugar mill site. These proposed industrial facilities will create unacceptable health, safety and welfare risks to the residents of O‘okala.

In contrast, homeowners of only eight (8) households signed a petition in support of the project. Seven (7) households abstained from signing either petition, and eleven (11) households did not respond. Every attempt was made to contact each and every homeowner; homeowners had a free choice of which petition to sign. (Signed petitions are available for review upon request.)

Tradewinds Forestry Products, the developer of this project, claims that the establishment of this value-added forestry product business would improve the lives of citizens of the Hamakua Coast through the creation of a new diversified industry and the resulting jobs. But in reality, this project would do just the opposite to the residential community of O‘okala by drastically changing the quality of life now enjoyed.

A veneer mill and power plant located at the old O‘okala mill site are unacceptable to the majority of homeowners in O‘okala for the following reasons:

1. The Hawai‘i County General Plan states, “…industrial development shall maintain or improve the quality of the present environment” (14.4.4). Despite Tradewinds’ claims that “this has been an industrial site for several generations,” there has not been an industrial business located in the O‘okala community for 20 years, the span of an entire generation. The truth is, O‘okala is no longer a company town, but rather a well-established, thriving residential community of 89 privately-owned homes. The heavy industrial zoning of the old O‘okala mill site is left over from the by-gone sugar era and such use is no longer acceptable to the majority of O‘okala residents.

2. The Hawai‘i County General Plan also states, “…noxious heavy industrial uses must be separated from residential and other incompatible uses” (14.4.1). The vast majority of O‘okala homeowners oppose plans for a veneer mill and power plant at the old O‘okala sugar mill site because of quality of life issues such as unacceptable health, safety and welfare risks to the community. Specific concerns include, among others, dust and particulate matter polluting the air quality (by far the greatest concern of our senior citizens; 30% of O‘okala residents are retirees), constant noise 24/7, increased traffic on Old Mamalahoa Hwy, daily importation of coqui frogs and noxious insects, and the negative impact on property values.

3. Concerns about Tradewinds’ business plan. The Protect O‘okala Ad Hoc Steering Committee has serious concerns about the viability of Tradewinds’ business plan for the following reasons:

• For seven years, Tradewinds has been on the verge of default of their state land lease agreement for logging at Waiakea Timber Management Area because of lack of financing and/or performance.
• As citizens of the state, we are concerned with the lack of fiduciary responsibility on the part of the State of Hawai‘i in allowing Tradewinds to tie up the multi-million dollar asset at the Waiakea Timber Management Area with empty promises over the course of seven years.
• In 2005, as Tradewinds stopped negotiations with Kamehameha Schools to use KS lands for their project, and secured an option to buy the old O‘okala mill site, Tradewinds’ business plan shifted from a large veneer mill and true co-generation facility employing 400 people to a small veneer mill and oversized power plant employing only 100 people.
• The only major potential investor that Tradewinds has attracted is Rockland Capital Energy Investors, “an investment company focused on the acquisition, development, and optimization of companies and projects in the North America and European energy sector” (www.rocklandcapital.com). Rockland has no prior experience in veneer mill co-generation facilities. When construction is completed, Rockland would receive a substantial interest in Tradewinds including the right to appoint three of the five board members. Too see the Letter of Intent between Tradewinds and Rockland, go to http://protectookala.org.
• Forest industry studies show that it is highly questionable whether or not there is enough value-added quality wood on the island to sustain a veneer mill. For more information, see Market Study at http://protectookala.org/.
• Tradewinds has no claim on the large eucalyptus forest in Hamakua; Mr. Bryan does not have a contract to log those lands. The trees, located on Kamehameha Schools’ lands, were planted expressly for chipping, not veneer, and according to forestry experts, <15% of the trees are veneer quality wood. Why is Tradewinds planning to build at the old O‘okala mill site?
• Tradewinds’ resource of trees is at the Waiakea Timber Management Area, about 40 miles south of O‘okala. Again, why is Tradewinds planning to build at the old O‘okala mill site?
• Of the many forestry experts that the ad hoc committee has consulted on this issue, not one has confidence in Tradewinds’ business strategy. Contact information of these experts is available upon request.
• These observations beg the question: Is Tradewinds building a viable veneer mill with a true co-generation facility or an unsustainable mill with an oversized power plant? We believe the likely outcome of this venture will be a failed veneer mill, and the residents of O‘okala will be left with a large power plant located in their community.

4. Our community’s opposition is only in regards to the location of this venture. We support development of a healthy, diversified forest industry on the island, but oppose Tradewinds’ industrial project being built in a residential community. Note that for the past several years while Tradewinds was negotiating with Kamehameha Schools for land to build their project at a location about 4 miles north of the village of O‘okala, there was no protest from O‘okala residents.

5. The Protect O‘okala Ad Hoc Steering Committee is not interested in negotiating with Tradewinds on the minutia of the project such as noise levels or amount of truck traffic or deal sweeteners such as mentoring projects or building of a library and café. Simply put, we hold the position that it is unacceptable for a heavy industrial project of this size to be located in the middle of the O‘okala residential community.

THEREFORE, we urge all parties involved in this venture including elected officials, government regulatory agencies, investors, citizens and community leaders in other parts of the island, union leaders, and Tradewinds’ president Don Bryan, to do all in their power to stop plans for this industrial venture at the old O‘okala mill site and support moving it to a suitable location away from people’s homes.

Further, we remind Mr. Bryan that at the informational meeting he held in O‘okala on June 27, 2006, he stated to the crowd, which included our mayor, county councilman, state representative, and the governor’s liaison, that if the O‘okala community did not want the mill, Tradewinds would leave O‘okala. On behalf of the majority of homeowners in O‘okala, we are stating unequivocally that this project is not wanted in our residential community, and we ask Mr. Bryan to honor his statement and leave.

In addition, should the project continue moving forward as planned, the Protect O‘okala Ad Hoc Steering Committee, on behalf of the O‘okala community, is prepared and committed to vigorously seek recourse with the government through the public input phases of the permitting process as well as other activities, including, but not limited to, litigation.

IN SUM, a heavy industrial business has no place in a residential community. We should all be working together, putting our energies toward smart, innovative development of a diversified forest industry, rather than subjecting a peaceful residential community to unacceptable health, safety and welfare risks associated with heavy industrial business.

Prepared by the Protect O‘okala Ad Hoc Steering Committee:

Kenneth Bugado (co-facilitator), Susie Collins (records), Scott Enright, Violet Ishikawa, Akie Ita, Walter Ita, Tawn Keeney, Bobby LaBrie, and Robbie Pagliai (co-facilitator)

Contact number 808-962-6071