The pros and cons of whether electric poles atop Waahila Ridge should get taller and carry more voltage will be presented beginning tomorrow in a contested case hearing before a state Board of Land and Natural Resources hearing officer. Waahila power lines electrify
hearings beginning tomorrowBy Diana Leone
dleone@starbulletin.comSeeking to increase the size of its electric lines over the ridge between Manoa and Palolo valleys to 138 kilovolts is Hawaiian Electric. The utility has maintained since the late 1970s that upsizing the lines will be an important reliability improvement for the electric system.
Opposing HECO are three community groups: Malama O Manoa, The Outdoor Circle and Life of the Land. The groups say the taller poles will destroy the scenic beauty of Waahila Ridge, and that their construction will disrupt native plants and birds and could even precipitate landslides on the steep valley walls.
And finally, they question the actual need for the increased capacity.
In some of its written testimony already filed in the case, Life of the Land suggests alternatives, such as distributed generation of electricity, could more efficiently meet Oahu's power needs, without disturbing the environment.
Meanwhile, some of HECO's prefiled testimony shows that the electromagnetic emissions from the proposed lines would be at or below the levels at many other electric lines in Honolulu and notes that there are no state or federal standards for electromagnetic fields.
The Waahila Ridge contested case hearing will be held in the Kalanimoku Building, 1151 Punchbowl, in Room 322B. Hearing
The hearing begins at 9:30 a.m. Thursday and at 9 a.m. on subsequent weekdays, with possible evening sessions after the first day. It's scheduled to run through Nov. 9.
Emotions have run high in the case, with hundreds of residents filling a March 22 public hearing before the land board. It was out of that hearing that community groups formally called for the contested case hearing.
The hearing officer, retired Maui Judge E. John McConnell, ruled in a telephone conference among the parties yesterday that all witnesses requested by the various parties will be allowed to testify. HECO had asked that all or part of the testimony of a number of witnesses be thrown out.
After hearing testimony, McConnell will make a recommendation to the state Board of Land and Natural Resources, which is expected to make a decision by mid-February, 2002.