Big Island Bans Plastic Bags

The Big Island of Hawaii has joined Maui on banning plastic shopping bags.

The Hawaii County Council on Wednesday voted to ban businesses on the Big Island from offering plastic bags at checkouts. Last week, Maui County Council passed the state’s first municipal ban on the plastic bags.

The Hawaii County bill, which is expected be signed by Mayor Harry Kim, will go into effect one year after being signed, according to reports. Maui’s law takes effect in January 2011.

Big Island businesses will be encouraged to offer customers 100 percent recyclable paper bags, which must be made out of a minimum of 40 percent post-consumer recycled content, or reusable totes.

Businesses that continue to use plastic could be fined up to $1,000 or 200 hours of community service for each offense.

Hawaii Island and Maui follow in the footsteps of Australia, China, Israel, Melbourne, San Francisco and Los Angeles which have banned plastic shopping bags and Seattle is considering a 20-cent charge to consumers who want to use a plastic bag. Other cities are considering bans because of the cost of cleaning up flyaway plastic bags in streets and landfills.
 

Grading & Clearing fees may increase

Hawaii County may tighten rules, raise costs, for residents, farmers

Developers wanting to grub or grade property larger than one acre will face new county requirements, plus higher fees under a Hawaii County Department of Public Works proposal. Farmers will also face new rules.

At urban construction sites, runoff, dust and erosion would have to be controlled, and toxic materials safety stored. While such practices are already in place, they vary depending on the type of project and are not written into county code.

All agricultural operations would need a soil and water conservation plan prepared by a licensed engineer or a conservationist. Farms would be checked by the county every five years to make sure plans are being followed. Under current rules, conservation plans for farms are optional, said Public Works spokeswoman Noelani Whittington.

Regardless of whether they're in the town or country, if someone wants to grade an area larger than 15,000 square feet, or grub -- remove vegetation -- more than an acre, they will have to follow a formal process written into the code. New requirements include an erosion control plan prepared by an engineer or land surveyor. Grading permit applications will also have to be filled out by the engineer or surveyor.

Property owners and contractors would be responsible for violations and fines up to $1,000 a day. The county could also require the owner to post a performance bond to cover the cost of work to correct the problem. Farms that fail to follow their conservation plans could be hit with a violation notice as well.

The steps are needed to protect the island's water resources, property and public health and safety, according to the county.

Grubbing permit fees will increase from $5 to $30 for work larger than an acre. And fees for moving the soil around will increase from $5 to $15 per 100 cubic yards, and from $25 to $150 for the first 1,000 cubic yards.

The new provisions would revise Chapter 10 of the Big Island County Code governing erosion and sediment control. Public Works will present the proposed changes to the Public Works and Intergovernmental Relations Committee in Hilo on Sept. 23.

But a County Council ad hoc committee is working on similar measures that are more detailed and spell out more clearly what contractors and owner must do, said Ka'u councilmember Bob Jacobson.

"Ours is a bit more all-encompassing," he said. "We'll be working on it. We're aiming for something that's clear, with fewer intangibles."

Hugh Willocks of Willocks Construction Corp. said he hadn't yet had a thorough look at the Public Works proposal, but his initial reaction was that it'll cost more to get work done.

"It looks like it has far-reaching implications if you have every farmer get a conservation plan by a registered engineer," Willocks said. "It's going to be costly and it's going to slow things down a lot."

"I wonder what prompted it," he said. "It looks like a lot more county oversight, and they have enough work with what they already got."

Jacobson acknowledges there will be greater costs for contractors and property owners.

"But in the long term, there will be less cost to the public in damage to roads and public structures. We're trying to make people more responsible in how they handle drainage ways," Jacobson said.

Chapter 10 has not been updated since 1975. The proposed changes put forth by the Public Works department originated from 2005 meetings between county agencies, the Hawaii State Department of Health, the Hawaii Coastal Zone Management Program, soil and water conservation districts and other parties.

Conversion of Coal-Fired Plant to Bioenergy Facility in Hamakua

Upgrade Work Underway on 24 Megawatt Renewable Energy Project

U.S. Senator Daniel Akaka and U.S. Representatives Neil Abercrombie and Mazie Hirono helped launch Hawaii’s newest renewable energy project at a Hawaiian blessing ceremomy for the Hü Honua Bioenergy Facility in the community of Pepeekeo, on the Big Island’s Hamakua Coast. Financed, operated and majority-owned by MMA Renewable Ventures, a subsidiary of Municipal Mortgage & Equity, LLC, the 24 megawatt (MW) power station will convert locally grown biomass into electricity, supporting the state’s aggressive renewable energy targets. The carbon-neutral power plant also supports economic development and energy independence within the island state, which relies on imported fossil fuels for 90 percent of its energy needs.

Local support of the project is overwhelming. Local union leader Rickard Baker, division director of ILWU 142 Hawaii, reported over 95% of the area’s residents approached have signed a petition in support of converting the power plant into a biomass-to-energy facility.

In addition to the members of Hawaii’s Congressional delegation, remarks in support of the project were delivered by State Representative Dwight Takamine and Jane Testa, Hawaii County’s director of research and development.

“Like its name, which means ‘to come out of the earth,’ Hü Honua turns to the land to effectively and sustainably meet Hawaii’s power needs,” said Dan KenKnight, director of Hü Honua BioEnergy LLC. “Projects like the Hü Honua Bioenergy Facility play an important role in shifting Hawaii’s energy mix away from imported petroleum toward renewable sources. Our partners at MMA Renewable Ventures bring to the project the management and operational expertise needed to ensure that Hü Honua continues delivering reliable clean energy for decades to come.”

Supplying energy directly to the regional utility grid, Hü Honua will deliver enough electricity to power approximately 18,000 homes on the Big Island, or between 7 and 10 percent of the island’s total energy needs. Employing plant materials that otherwise go unused, the power plant will stimulate the local agricultural industry and prevent tens of thousands of tons of green waste from taking up scarce space in Hawaii County’s landfills each year. The project is also expected to create hundreds of local jobs.

“By its very nature, renewable energy can deliver benefits that are not only local but also global by reducing pollutants that contribute to global warming. As project partner on Hü Honua, we are collaborating with many stakeholders to ensure this project benefits the community, the economy, and the environment,” said Matt Cheney, CEO of MMA Renewable Ventures. “We are proud to be entering the bioenergy market with this investment in Hawaii’s clean energy future.”

Hü Honua marks the first bioenergy project in MMA Renewable Ventures’ growing portfolio of solar, wind, bioenergy and energy efficiency projects. Since 2002, MMA Renewable Ventures has developed more than 40 MW of clean energy generation, including North America’s largest photovoltaic system at Nellis Air Force Base.

MMA Renewable Ventures is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Municipal Mortgage & Equity, LLC (“MuniMae, ” OTC: MMAB.PK), MMA Renewable Ventures finances, owns and operates renewable energy and energy efficiency assets in the United States. The Company provides leases, Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) and other customized financial solutions to help its customers manage energy costs. MMA Renewable Ventures is dedicated to delivering competitively priced, clean energy and energy savings to customers, strong partnership options for project developers, and exceptional opportunities for institutional investment in the clean energy sector. For more information about MMA Renewable Ventures, visit www.mmarenewableventures.com.

Bank of Hawaii: Economy to stay sluggish into '09

Faced with slumping home sales, fewer visitors and sticker shock at the pumps and the grocery store, Hawaii’s economy will remain in a rut for the rest of the year, according to a new economic forecast by Bank of Hawaii.

Inflation hit 4.9 percent for the first half of the year and is expected to remain flat at 4.7 percent for the rest of 2008 due to high food, household utilities and gas prices

The bank’s chief economist, Paul Brewbaker, forecasted further declines in personal income, visitor arrivals and employment for 2008.

Job growth, which grew slightly in the first quarter, slowed to 0.3 percent and is expected to remain at 0.6 percent in 2009.

Inflation-adjusted income growth will be relatively unchanged at 0.2 percent. The state’s unemployment is expected to rise through 2009, he said.

The visitor industry, hurting from Aloha Airlines and ATA’s bankruptcies, is expected to fall 6 percent. The airlines’ woes contributed to a 12.5 drop in North American arrivals during the first half of this year.

Visitor arrivals will rebound 3.8 percent in 2009, according to the report.

The real estate and construction industries inevitably felt ripple effects from the credit crunch on the Mainland.

Construction will see a 6 percent drop in projects this year and another 3.2 percent drop next year.

Hawaii’s residential real estate business has been resilient and prices have held up well compared to the Mainland, Brewbaker said.

But he warns that Hawaii’s residential real-estate valuations could be at risk and could follow a pattern of decreasing home prices in California.

“California prices move down so fast. They risk sucking Hawaii down into the hole,” he said. “The capital tends to flow from the higher markets to the lower markets, and Hawaii might be in a position to be caught in the downdraft.”

Full Report: Hawaii Economic Trends August 2008