LIHU‘E — Kaua‘i Island Utility Cooperative received an unprecedented petition Monday, calling for a special member meeting and member vote on the Board of Directors’ March 29 decision to enter into two contracts with a Mainland energy developer. The contracts
LIHU‘E — Kaua‘i Island Utility Cooperative received an unprecedented petition Monday, calling for a special member meeting and member vote on the Board of Directors’ March 29 decision to enter into two contracts with a Mainland energy developer.
The contracts are to embark on several hydroelectric projects though the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s permitting process.
“KIUC is working with its outside legal counsel to review the petitions, verify signatures and certify the results,” KIUC spokeswoman Anne Barnes said in a press release. “The cooperative will also begin planning for a special meeting so it is prepared should the petition be certified as having the required number of unique, valid signatures.”
If the co-op certifies the petition contains a minimum of 250 member signatures, it will be required to hold a special meeting within 30 days and conduct a special mail-in vote to determine whether the co-op should overturn the board’s decision to explore six hydro development projects with Free Flow Power of Massachusetts.
KIUC’s bylaws allow members via petition to ask for an approval or nonapproval, by vote, of any action by the board, provided that no vested rights are effected, said David Proudfoot, the co-op’s legal counsel.
“If they get the 250 valid members requests, which they don’t quite have yet, then it would go to our election vendor,” Proudfoot said, adding that the bylaws require the time frame for such a vote be “reasonable.”
Adam Asquith, who started the petition, said there needs to be serious discussions about hydro development because, like everything in Hawai‘i, it is all about the process.
“Several of us feel protocol was breached,” Asquith said. “Bringing in the federal process before there was a discussion about anything, especially when it comes to water, is deeply provincial. We just need to talk about the right approach.”
Asquith said the FERC process used by Free Flow Power to secure preliminary permits to exclusively develop hydroelectric projects on Kaua‘i waterways could usurp Hawai‘i’s existing water laws and tie up the utility with subsequent litigation. Ultimately, it could slow the development of hydro power on the island rather than expedite it, he said, and he supports the appropriate development of hydro resources on island.
“With the FERC process,” he said, “we’ll go to litigation and never go forward … If you invite Frankenstein into the room, people are going to freak out. You can’t even talk to a monster. There are at least three entities getting ready to fight this through litigation.”
This is the first time KIUC has ever received a member petition, Proudfoot said.
“We are at the very beginning of a multi-year stakeholder engagement process, so it is understandable that there is some misinformation and confusion at this early stage,” KIUC CEO David Bissell said in a statement.
“We already have conducted many meetings with groups and individuals to answer questions, correct misinformation and start working together on this long process, and we know there will be many, many more meetings in the future.”
Meanwhile, members who wish to participate in the petition have until Tuesday to submit their signatures. A copy of the petition may be downloaded from islandbreath.org and mailed to Adam Asquith at 4654 Haua‘ala, Kapa‘a, HI 96746, or call Asquith at 635-8290 and he will pick it up.
See an upcoming edition of The Garden Island for more information about Kaua‘i hydro development and the FERC process.
• Vanessa Van Voorhis, staff writer, can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 251) or by emailing vvanvoorhis@thegardenisland.com.
