The Kamoku-Pukele 138Kv Project

Here's a brief 30 year history of the Kamoku-Pukele 138Kv Project

1971- HECO first proposed the Kamoku-Pukele Project to complete its distribution system from the Kamoku Substation
        (Iolani School) to the Pukele Substation (Palolo Valley)
1975- HECO withdrew project after pressure from Palolo Valley
1977 - HECO reproposed project
1979 - HECO released Draft EIS and Revised Final EIS
1980 - HECO settles out of court with the Palolo Community
1992 - HECO again reproposes project with different route in mind
1992 - Citizen's Advisory Committee (CAC) formed by HECO
1994 - HECO withdrew project
1995 - HECO again reproposes project
1998 - HECO submitted copywrited draft EIS
1998 - CAC draft statement opposes the project
1998 - HECO's draft EIS was rejected by OEQC
1998 - HECO resubmitted draft EIS
1998 - HECO submitted final EIS
1999 - Final EIS rejected by DLNR
1999 - HECO released Revised Final Drat EIS
2000 - HECO's Revised Final EIS reviewed
2000 - HECO's Revised Final EIS accepted by DLNR, with reservations
2001 (March) - CDUA hearing at State Capitol
2001 - Contested Case Hearing Standing given to Malama o Manoa, Life of the Land, and Outdoor Circle
2001 (November) - Contested Case Hearings before Judge McConnell
2002 (February) - Judge McConnell recommends denial of Conservation District Use Permit
2002 (March) - HECO appeals decision
2002 - (April) Final legal arguments before the BLNR
2002 (June 28) BLNR rules to deny Conservation District use Permit to HECO

Recent History:

HECO's Revised Final EIS was accepted by the Department of Land and Natural Resources on November 13, 2000, but not without some serious reservations. The project then proceeded to the next phase: submission and approval (or rejection) of the required Conservation District Use Application (CDUA). Click here to read DLNR's entire 28 page Acceptance Report to get an insight into just how difficult it was for the RFEIS to finally get accepted.

The CDUA process then began, with the Board of Land and Natural Resources scheduling a public hearing for HECO's Conservation District Use Application on Thursday, March 22nd, 2001. What's the CDUA all about? Find out here . The CDUA hearing was held at the State Capitol auditorium on March 22nd, with some 7.5 hours of testimony (6 p.m. to 1:35 a.m.) on HECO's proposal. Oral testimony count was 81 against, 20 for. In addition, a large quantity of written testimony was received by the Board. Because there was so much controversy on this matter, the BLNR deferred an immediate decision. Malama o Manoa, Life of the Land, The Outdoor Circle, and `Ilio`ulaokalani Coalition formally filed to be participants in this contested case hearing.

From the March 22nd CDUA hearing, the matter was referred to a Contested Case Hearing. This hearing was conducted in early November, 2001 by the appointed hearing officer, Judge John McConnell. For a full description of this Hearing, see our December 2001 newsletter , and for even more insight on the event, see Henry Curtis's lengthy treatment in Life of the Land's December 2001 newsletter, Ka Uila News . The results of the Contested Case Hearing in November 2001 were finally released on February 7th, 2002  and would you believe it, the Hearings Officer for the case, Judge John McConnell,  recommended DENIAL of HECO's permit request!  You can read the Honolulu Star Bulletin's coverage here . You can download/view a summary of Judge McConnell's Conclusions of Law (.pdf file) here**. And now, you can also download/view Judge McConnell's full report (.pdf file) here **. Or, you can download Judge McConnell's full report (MS Word format) here. ***

 Finally, in April, 2002, final legal arguments were presented to the BLNR by Malama o Manoa, Life of the Land, The Outdoor Circle. The rest is now history... On June 28th, 2002, the BLNR found in favor of Malama, Life of the Land and Outdoor Circle and formally denied HECO's request for a Conservation District Use Permit!! Read a summary of the findings here, or download the entire 75 page BLNR Findings of Fact, Conclusions of Law, Decision and Order**

** these are Acrobat .pdf files, for either displaying or downloading, depending on your browser. 
*** this is a Microsoft Word file (750Kb)

1. Read the Draft Final EIS Executive Summary, and DLNR's Acceptance Report .

2. Participate in our many educational campaigns when announced (check here often)

3. Learn about some of the many concerns already expressed.

4. Read this Open Letter to The People of Oahu .

5. Attend and testify at BLNR's CDUA Hearing on Thursday, March 22nd at the State Capitol.

6. Learn about the CDUA process .

7. Read what one distinguished expert has to say on this subject - Dr. Donald Aitken

8. Read and/or HEAR Representative Mina Morita's recent speech on hydrogen-based power

9. Get involved, and get your neighbors involved. Join Malama o Manoa! !

10.  Fill out and submit the  138kV petition/questionnaire below.

11. Read about/participate in our 138kV Petition project.

12. Educate yourself on alternative energy methods and developments.

back up to top

 Here are some of the concerns expressed by community members in the past:

• concerns about the actual need for the line... Is it really necessary??
• concerns about making the Pukele substation, the largest substation in a residential neighborhood, the most electrified in the state;
• concerns about the health effects of living, working and going to school near a high voltage electric transmission line;
• concerns about the destruction of unique view planes, including harm to Wa'ahila Ridge, named one of America's 11 Most Endangered Historic Places by the National Trust For Historic Preservation;
• concerns about future maintenance of an overhead line, including fear of increased erosion from vegetative management practices and groundwater contamination from herbicide use and line washers;
• concerns about potentially lower property values for those residences located near the line;
• concerns about construction impacts, including noise pollution from the use of pile drivers, use of helicopters carrying massive items over residential areas, and increased traffic congestion.
• concerns that our one and only electrical power utility is placing all its eggs in one backward-looking, outdated, 20th century, fossil fuel-dependent basket and choosing not to look seriously to the future with meaningful renewable and sustainable energy initiatives.

Hawaiian Electric (HECO) is pushing ahead its project to put 20 steel towers as high as 120 feetórising 50 to 70 feet above the tree lineóeach draped with ten high power transmission lines, on scenic and sacred Wa'ahila Ridge/St. Louis Heights between Manoa and Palolo valleys. The lines will be  routed through the Pukele substation in a residential area at the head of Palolo valley, only a few dozen feet from the nearest homes.

These 138kv transmission linesómore than twice the height and dimension of the current, less obtrusive wooden polesówill destroy some of Honolulu's most magnificent views.  Residents and visitors alike will see massive poles and wires obstructing views from Round Top to the Convention Center toward our most famous landmark:  Diamond Head.  They will be near  St. Louis Heights homes and visible from parts of Palolo Valley, Moíiliíili, McCully and beyond.

HECO wants to build the lines as a back up to two existing linesóa need for additional redundancy many experts reject. And if HECO insists that reliability is the goal, national experience makes it clear that the line should go underground. ( HECO itself estimates the cost of running the line underground at 50 cents per rate payer per month.)

We know that the beauty of Hawaii is our greatest economic asset and the key to a prosperous future.

We have already lost similar battles against massive high power lines in Pearl City and Kapolei/Makakilo. It is time to draw the line.

We Must Stop the Installation of Overhead Power Lines in Our Communities and Conservation Districts Now!

Speak up nowóor regret it forever! (see below for what you can do)

Critical decisions about whether HECO will be allowed to build these lines will be made over the next few months. Join us now in telling HECO: no more overhead power lines.   Never again on Oíahu!

Write to :
Department of Land and Natural Resources
P.O. Box 621
Hon.,  HI 96809
Timothy E. Johns, Chair
Sam Slemmo (responsible for power line project)
Kathryn W. Inouye (Oíahu member)
Colbert M. Matsumoto (at-large member)

The newspapers: (200 word limit, include name, day time phone, writerís signature)
Honolulu Advertiser
Box 3110, Hon., HI. 96802
Fax: 525-8037
Email: letters@honoluluadvertiser.com

Honolulu Star-Bulletin
Letters to the Editor, Box 3080, Hon. , HI 96802
Fax: 523-8509
Email: letters@starbulletin.com

Write or call your elected representatives:
Name of Representative or Senator
State Capitol
Hon., HI 96813
For phone and fax numbers, look in White Pages under ìState Offices, Legislatureî

WHAT OTHERS  SAY

"The fact is that Oahu--all of it--suffers from decades of decisions in which a few bucks were saved at the expense of ever more visual blight---We're in this fix because we've been thinking small---The truth is that, as a community, we've been irresponsible in allowing our beautiful island to be incrementally developed in this way. Particularly considering our dependence on the visitor industry, we should have assumed many years ago that undergrounding electrical transmission lines--and other utility wires--was simply a necessary cost of living here."
The Honolulu Advertiser 10/26/99 Editorial

HECO "has no business putting that obtrusive line up that mountain ridge. It's just poor, short-term thinking that's going to be an eyesore for 100 years."
Jeremy Harris, Mayor, City and County of Honolulu

ìThere has to be a better way.î
Ben Cayetano, Governor, State of Hawaii

How do you feel about the construction of steel towers more than 120 feet tall on Waahila Ridge (the east wall of Manoa Valley) for the overhead installation of Hawaiian Electric Company's proposed Kamoku-Pukele 138,000 volt transmission line project? Please indicate your position on this issue by filling out the form below and submitting it.

Name:

Address:

Phone: Fax: Email:

Are you a Malama o Manoa Member: Yes No

I would like to help this important cause by:

Responding to the EIS

Organizing Community briefings

Writing Letters

Attending Community protests

Joining a phone tree

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