I am compelled to respond to the testimony from the first committee meeting on HB2919. I don’t’ know if this email is appropriate, or who it should be sent to, but neighbors are contacting me and I had a sleepless night because of various ludicrous points within these testimonies.

It was with utter disbelief that Alan Yamamoto would have the impropriety to record a statement relating resident’s health to increased operating expense: “possibly adding thousands of dollars to each voyage and impacting bottom line” particularly to a legislative committee charged with protecting citizens from just this sort of abuse!

Residents are being exposed to air pollution that has been correlated with severe illness and even deaths (see Mortality from Ship Emissions: A Global Assessment

J A M E S J. C O R B E T T, *, †J A M E S J. W I N E B R A K E, ‡ E R I N H. G R E E N, ‡P R A S A D K A S I B H A T L A, |

V E R O N I K A E Y R I N G, ⊥ A N D A X E L L A U E R ⊥

College of Marine and Earth Studies, University of Delaware, 305 Robinson Hall, Newark, Delaware 19716, Department of

STS/Public Policy, Rochester Institute of Technology, 1356 Eastman, Rochester, New York 14623, Nicholas School of

the Environment, Duke University, Box 90328, Durham, North Carolina 22708, and Deutches Centrum fuer Luft- undRaumfahrt (DLR) DLR-Institute fuer Physik der Atmosphaere,Oberpfaffenhofen, Wessling, Germany)

A few residents have already sought medical attention for upper respiratory distress. During trade wind periods the plume inundates the Niumalu community. On the Kona wind days it runs through the nearby Kauai High School; over 1400 students and staff are exposed to the noxious fumes/pollutants. This concept of collateral damage/acceptable losses is inconceivable! The large NCLA passenger base could simply absorb the loss by way of a small individual fuel surcharge – a small price to pay for a visit to the paradise that is Kauai; if not, Nawiliwili may not be compatible with “hoteling”/over-nighting of cruise ships. I have never advocated suspending cruise ship use of Nawiliwili. However, if berthing in Nawiliwili is not affordable due to increased fuel expenses, Port Allen should be considered, as the prevailing winds blow offshore there. I have already contacted Mr. Yamamoto with information supporting the safety of fuel changes as documented by Terry Shore, the clean water campaign director with the California environmental group Bluewater Network in her article: “Ship Fuel Switching is Routine and Doable” from http://blog.foe.org/portwatch/2007/08/index.html. I also provided information from Tesoro regarding cleaner fuel availability (.05 sulfur diesel used by tugs and superferry).

Regarding the DOH testimony about “sensitivity” to smells; professional environmental consultants and research have shown that symptoms such as headaches, upper respiratory congestion, chest pain, burning eyes and throat indicate serious health concerns. The Kauai DOH log includes these types of complaints from many individuals throughout our community over the past few years (copies of various complaints are available from me on request). When we smell the pollution we close up our houses before the associated symptoms occur.

The “source” argument promulgated by the DOT and Governor Lingle is a preposterous “smokescreen” (pun intended). Donald Greer PH.D. has done an emission inventory using “Current Methodologies and Best Practices for Preparing Port Emission Inventories”, Presentation by: Louis Browning, ICF International / Kathleen Bailey, U.S. EPA. May 17, 2006,

http://www.epa.gov/ttn/chief/conference/ei15/session1/browning_pres.pdf

This shows that cruise ship emissions provide thousands of times the pollutants of all other sources in the Nawiliwili Harbor area; which is the reason complaints only occur during cruise ship stays, and particularly over night when their electrical generation needs are high.

Residents were unable to provide testimony on HB2191 as we received notice of the meeting/bill only after it had occurred. Please share this response with any/all appropriate or let me know where I can send it. Residents are convinced that if all concerned with the cruise ship Bunker Fuel emission air pollution problem could simply sit in our living rooms when the plume is obvious they would support any and all efforts to immediately prevent further damage to Niumalu resident’s health.

Mahalo, Gary Craft