NO to Hawaiian Kingdom Brands Kanaka Beverage Plant and Café

Check out this Instragram post from our friends at Kanaeokana about the proposed water bottling plant in Hilo. If you’d like to take action in opposition to the Hawaiian Kingdom Brands, LLC’s proposal, please contact the Hawaiʻi County Council — contacts and sample message below:

cynthia.evans@hawaiicounty.gov
michelle.galimba@hawaiicounty.gov
holeka.inaba@hawaiicounty.gov
jennifer.kagiwada@hawaiicounty.gov
matt.kanealii-kleinfelder@hawaiicounty.gov
ashley.kierkiewicz@hawaiicounty.gov
heather.kimball@hawaiicounty.gov
sue.leeloy@hawaiicounty.gov
rebecca.villegas@hawaiicounty.gov

SUBJECT: NO to Hawaiian Kingdom Brands Kanaka Beverage Plant and Café

SAMPLE COMMENTS:

Aloha Councilmembers,

Please oppose Hawaiian Kingdom Brands(HKB) Kanaka Beverage Plant and Café.

HKB proposes taking the risk of mining the pristine Mauna Kea aquifer, thousands of years old, that holds public trust water. HKB would use that water for non-essential purposes, and ship an unknown amount of water off-island, generating plastic pollution that the public will have to deal with for generations, all for private profit.

This flies in the face of the profound connection of native Hawaiians to the water, land, and environment, vital to their society, culture, and spirituality, and protected by the public trust doctrine and landmark legal decisions protecting their traditional and customary rights.

It also ignores the precautionary principle and high level of scrutiny for commercial use of water recommended in the State Water Resource Protection Plan. Aquifer water is only present, and drinkable, because taxpayer funded programs protect watersheds and the purity of aquifers.

The Mauna Kea aquifer has been called “the greatest water resource in Hawai’i, protected from pollution, able to fill all Hawai’i’s domestic water needs for generations in the event that other systems are contaminated or compromised.” But if HKB is allowed to access the aquifer, others are sure to follow, and it could become over-used and contaminated like the Pu’u Loa Aquifer on O’ahu. Rainfall is diminishing, and future generations may need the aquifer.

There is a risk of a runaway well, like one in Keopu that took 16 years to control. Extracting water could cause the Mauna Kea aquifer to leak into another aquifer, or be contaminated with saltwater. Waiākea Fishpond and Wailoa River water could be affected. Delicate ocean ecosystems could be affected if well withdrawals even slightly reduce the amount of underground water and nutrients flowing into the ocean. A local tsunami striking with little warning, or flooding from sea level rise, may leave no time to cap the well to avoid contamination of the aquifer.

Sewer hookup is proposed, but the Hilo Wastewater Plant is dangerously deteriorated and cannot even handle its current load.

Lastly, HKB is not in good standing with the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs because of a delinquent filing.

Mahalo!