LIHU‘E — Two Kaua‘i community organizations are suing the state Department of Land and Natural Resources, claiming the department failed to sufficiently examine the environmental impact of a proposed Kaua‘i Island Utility Cooperative energy project.
On Dec. 27, then-DLNR chairperson Suzanne Case issued a finding of no significant impact, or FONSI, for KIUC’s 65-year long West Kaua‘i Energy Project, a proposal to build a pumped-storage hydroelectric system on the westside of Kaua‘i.
The finding determined the project “will not have a significant effect on the environment,” allowing plans to move forward without developing a more detailed environmental impact statement backed by a public hearing.
However, community groups Po‘ai Wai Ola and Na Kia‘i Kai are challenging the DLNR’s approval process, arguing that issuance of the FONSI was improperly expedited.
“At the most basic common sense level, our clients are concerned with — how can you say that this project won’t have a significant impact on the environment?” said Elena Bryant, associate attorney at environmental nonprofit Earthjustice, who is representing the groups.
In their complaint, the groups allege DLNR officials ignored due process by allowing Case to issue a FONSI without state Board of Land and Natural Resources oversight or a public hearing.
“The way it happened here, outgoing chair Suzanne Case was very clear that this was something she wanted to sign off on before she left the department, and she utilized a 7-year-old general delegation from the board, delegating to the chairperson the authority to issue FONSIs on (environmental assessments),” Bryant said. “And so, it’s our position that the delegation itself — it’s such a blanket delegation — is improper.”
The West Kaua‘i Energy Project, if completed, would be the first solar-powered, pumped-storage hydroelectric system on earth.
Pumped-storage hydroelectricity uses gravity to transform water flow into an all-natural battery. Two reservoirs at different elevations are connected by a penstock, or pipe.
During the day, solar panels would power pumps to move water up the penstock into the higher-elevation reservoir. Then, at night, operators could release the water back down the penstock through a series of turbines, bringing power to the grid on demand without the use of fossil fuels.
According to KIUC, the project would provide up to 25 percent of Kaua‘i’s power supply and likely bring the county grid to nearly 90 percent renewable generation.
Critically, though, the project would also divert up to 26 million gallons of water per day from the Waimea River for a period of at least 65 years. For Po‘ai Wai Ola and Na Kia‘i Kai, this point constitutes the core of their concerns.
“We’re not against renewable energy, you know what I mean?” said John A‘ana, Po‘ai Wai Ola vice president and a longtime taro farmer. “We’re for renewable energy. We’re just not for wasting water for it.”
The complaint also alleges that commitments made by KIUC in its 2017 Waimea Watershed Agreement and 2020 follow-up agreement, such as restoration of river flows where not needed for agricultural use and minimizing its “waste” of waters, are not mentioned in KIUC’s environmental assessment.
“That follow-up agreement is where KIUC had made certain commitments to operating the project in a way that would insure that any water diverted for energy generation would be matched with an agricultural usage,” Bryant said. “And those are legally binding commitments. And none of that is included in the final document.”
For A‘ana, this lawsuit is part of a long line of efforts to protect Kaua‘i’s natural resources.
“The way we grew up is, we take care of the ‘aina,” A‘ana said. “We take care of the water for the next generations and pass it on to the next generation. So we’re just thinking about, what are we gonna pass on to our grandkids and their kids? That’s important to us, and for us to give away the water that our grandkids and their kids might need in the future, we’re not gonna do that easily.”
KIUC counters
KIUC challenged the groups’ claims in a statement sent to The Garden Island late Monday afternoon, arguing that studies for the energy project were conducted in compliance with the state’s environmental review process.
“KIUC began work on environmental, hydrology, engineering and cultural/archaeological/historic analyses for WKEP more than four years ago,” the statement reads. “Dozens of studies and surveys, including many commensurate with the requirements of an environmental impact statement, were completed, and no significant impacts were identified. Numerous avoidance, minimization and mitigation measures as recommended by federal and state agencies were identified in the final EA for incorporation into the construction and operation plans.”
The statement also notes the project’s first draft environmental assessment was published for public comment in 2021, and that water use for the project was established in a mediation agreement approved by a number of parties, including Po‘ai Wai Ola.
Additionally, KIUC emphasized the project as a critical component to their goal of running on 100 percent renewable energy.
“A legal challenge to the extensive environmental due diligence that has been completed could delay the project for years,” the statement reads. “In the meantime, every month the project is delayed an additional 6,600 tons of CO2 emissions — which could have been avoided — is released. Delays also increase the cost of the project, creating additional financial burden that will be shouldered by KIUC’s members.”
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Jackson Healy, reporter, can be reached at 808-245-0427 or jhealy@thegardenisland.com.
