Carroll and guests discuss this week's court ruling regarding the proposed dairy farm being built at Maha'ulepu, upland from the Poipu coast, on the Island of Kauai. Friends of Maha'ulepu are suing to prevent Hawaii Dairy Farms from continuing their current activities on the land, and eventually bringing in a large herd of dairy cows. Bridget Hammerquist,
President
of Friends of Maha'ulepu, and Charles Tebbutt, Attorney for Friends of Maha'ulepu, discuss the results of the court ruling and the issues they are facing.
Hawaii Dairy Farms has been operating for the past few years, building up the land in preparation for receiving a large herd of cows but without the proper permits. They are digging ditches, installing water lines, clearing land and ditches, and putting in water troughs. Just from this preliminary activity it has been shown that during rainstorms increased runoff
is going
into streams, and from there into the ocean. Friends of Maha'ulepu is very concerned that once the cows arrive on Kauai the huge amount of pollution from the cow manure will contribute significantly to the problem. During an extreme storm event it will be a disaster, but even during moderate storms there will be a significant impact from the runoff.
A big concern is also the damage the increase of nitrogen and other chemicals in the runoff will have on the ocean and beaches. Plus, they are concerned about the odor and huge amount of flies that will come with so many cows being located less than a mile from tourist hotels, the beaches, and the community. Maha'ulepu
is not the place for an industrial
dairy farm.
Friends of Maha'ulepu has been protesting the proposed dairy farm since February, 2014. In 2015, after fundraising and donations, they were able to hire Attorney Charles Tebbutt to represent them in court.
Visit friendsofmahaulepu.org for more information about the court case. Also, look for their 10/28/16 letter (posted 11/2/16), regarding current construction activities going on at the site.
Today's points per :
- Hawaii Dairy Farms has understated its activities both pre and post-complaints by Friends of Mahaulepu.
- Activities on the property are part of a larger plan for the proposed dairy, not normal farming activities. Therefore, they are required to have permits.
- There are conflicting opinions of how much precipitation it will take for farmland runoff to have a detrimental effect on the area. Hawaii Dairy Farms is denying whatever Friends of Maha'ulepu say.
This week's court ruling has determined an NPDS permit is required for the initial preparation of the farmland, and Hawaii Dairy Farms was at fault for operating without the permit. Stay tuned for more information.
Streams flow into the ocean at Maha'ulepu
Friends of Maha' ulepu has also discussed the issues on The Carroll Cox Show several of times. Link to the following shows for more information: 11/30/14, 12/14/14, 02/08/15,
03/08/15, 05/17/15, 04/03/16, 06/19/16.
