Claims are ‘rubbish’
With all due respect to John Gallipeau, his letters to the editor dated April 11 and April 23 are incorrect, and I need to set the record straight.
First of all, the County Council did not approve the $200,000 spent on consultants to study the feasibility of trucking Hilo’s trash to Kona. The mayor’s office hired the consultant and moved forward with the wasteful (as described by Gallipeau) study without the council’s approval. I did not approve a pilot program, as Mr. Gallipeau falsely stated.
Secondly, I announced my intention to bring forth legislation to forbid the county from hauling Hilo’s trash to West Hawaii at a town meeting in Kona on April 10. This was in response to the consultant’s findings that recommended shipping all of the Hilo landfill waste stream to Puuanahulu. I had absolutely no information whatsoever on April 10 that the administration was already hauling approximately 10 truck loads of trash a day from Hilo to Kona. The County Council, Environmental Management Commission, and the general public were left completely in the dark.
The tip on the council tip line exposing the hauling was made on April 12 after the newspaper reported about my intention to bring forth legislation. So, Mr. Gallipeau, as you can see, your statement that “he was well aware that the county had been trucking trash for over a month already” is completely misinformed, incorrect and directed at the wrong person.
Finally, Mr. Gallipeau stated that “a waste-management company has offered to build an incinerator and do a clean burn.” The fact is, the only binding incinerator proposal brought before the County Council to vote on was not “offered” to the county. It came at a price tag of $125 million, which equates to well over $200 million over the life of the loan. The proposal was so overpriced (a yearly debt service payment of $9 million), that the council rightfully did not cave in.
Intensive recycling efforts islandwide, along with clean technology such as thermal gasification, clean waste-to-energy and other technologies will eventually come forward for consideration. However, no matter what technology we eventually select, there will always be residual waste that needs to go to a landfill.
You see, Mr. Gallipeau, land-filling is not the answer to our solid waste stream challenges. However, it must play a role in dealing with our island residual waste stream. More importantly, an expanded landfill gives the county leverage in getting the best price from vendors while selecting a technology, because we would have the option to say no to a bad deal.
Thank you for allowing me to set the record straight.
Dominic Yagong
Chairman,
Hawaii County Council
