Can a Solar Farm Coexist with Cattle Pens? Renewable Energy Company Will Investigate
A renewable energy developer pursuing a project on lands leased by the state’s central slaughterhouse received a right-of-entry permit from the Board of Land and Natural Resources last month to conduct due diligence investigations.
The board granted the one-year permit over the objections of slaughterhouse operator Hawaiʻi Land & Livestock, LLC (HLL).
Through a May 2019 executive order, management of the 110-acre parcel of state land at Campbell Industrial Park on Oʻahu transferred from the Department of Land and Natural Resources to the Department of Agriculture.
In December of that year, the DOA entered into a 35-year lease with HLL, which plans to use the lands as a holding area for animals awaiting slaughter. The slaughterhouse is located on an adjacent parcel.
However, the governor’s executive order noted that the set-aside to DOA was subject to a reservation of the Land Board’s right to issue leases for renewable energy projects on the land, “provided that the projects do not unreasonably interfere with DOA’s or its lessee’s use of the land for agricultural purposes.”
On January 12 of this year, Eurus Energy America, LLC, asked the DLNR for a right-of-entry permit to conduct land, geotechnical, and biological surveys on the parcel to assess whether it would be feasible to build a solar-based electricity and renewable hydrogen generation facility there. The company, which is owned by Toyota and Tokyo Electric Power, envisions using no more than 90 acres.
“The Department reserved rights for developing renewable energy projects on the land because the land was once designated as income-producing as a prime site for renewable energy projects with its location in Campbell Industrial Park across a Hawaiian Electric Company, Inc. (HECO) facility and close to the west side energy corridor,” the DLNR’s Land Division stated in its report to the board. “The land was previously under a Board-approved development agreement for a renewable energy project, but the developer was not able to secure the HECO power purchase agreement for its project and the development agreement terminated. Soon thereafter, DOA requested the land be transferred to it.”
Land Division administrator Russell Tsuji told the board that the DOA sought control over the property because it was needed to provide water to the slaughterhouse on the DOA’s neighboring parcel.
“Our parcel would be the holding area of cows for slaughter,” Tsuji said.
Renewable Goals
In its permit application, Eurus suggested that since it estimated it would use no more than 90 acres of the site, at least 20 acres would still be available for HLL’s holding pens.
Company representative Nick Hendrickson testified that Eurus has built renewable energy projects throughout the world capable of producing a total of three gigawatts. That includes a 27.6-megawatt solar farm built in 2017 on about 200 acres in Waiʻanae, which was the largest PV facility in the state at the time.
“This is a project we’re very excited about,” he told the board of the possible project on the Campbell Industrial lot.
David Tomlinson, the technical project manager, explained that the company envisioned building a solar farm and converting the energy created into renewable hydrogen.
In a memo to the Land Division, the state’s chief energy officer, Scott Glenn, expressed his support for Eurus’s proposed solar-hydrogen project.
Glenn noted that the soil on the Campbell site is known to be contaminated. “In some cases, contaminated sites are well-suited for solar development and may be facilitated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and [state Hazard Evaluation and Emergency Response branch of the Department of Health],” he wrote.
He added, “The nearby natural gas infrastructure makes the site uniquely well-suited for hydrogen generation and sale to Hawai’i Gas should it be an off-taker. There is also the opportunity to sell hydrogen to other parties for transportation use, which is a substantial need for Hawaiʻi to transition away from fossil fuels for transportation use. In addition, the site’s proximity to other large electrical generation and transmission infrastructure makes it well-suited to sell electricity to Hawaiian Electric. In both cases, the site’s location near this infrastructure would reduce the impacts and the connection and development costs of the proposed project.”
At the Land Board’s April 8 meeting, chair Suzanne Case, who also serves as DLNR director, said, “This is the kind of project I and we envisioned when we were negotiating with previous [DOA] director Scott Enright,” who she said exerted some “very heavy pressure” to allow the parcel to become a lot for cows.
“We negotiated we could do a renewable energy project [with] panels raised to allow cows to use it,” she said, adding that Eurus’s proposed solar-hydrogen project, which produces a more mobile fuel, sounds like a better idea.
Possible Violations
Although HLL leases the former DLNR parcel for use as a feedlot or holding pen area, the land is not yet being used in that way, according to Land Division agent Luke Sarvis, who recently inspected the property.
“I was expecting to find cattle, corrals,” he told the board. Instead, he saw mostly vacant land. What he found alarming was the extent to which the land was being used as a baseyard, with tractors, trailers stacked high, road-building equipment, girders, excavators …
He also noted abandoned junk vehicles.
When he called the DOA to inform the agency of this apparently unauthorized use, “it became apparent they are very much aware of it,” he said.
The DOA refers to the area Sarvis was concerned about as a bone yard.
“They might ask them to scale it back some, but it’s a use they seem to be permitting. The EO to the DOA is for ag purposes, specifically, feedlot purposes,” he said.
“I didn’t see any sign of cattle. … None of what I saw would be allowed under the terms of the lease,” he added.
He also noted that he had checked with the Honolulu Department of Planning and Permitting to determine whether any of the grading or grubbing that appeared to have occurred on the property was authorized.
“A big part of the parcel has been cleared and leveled and turned into parking lots and roads. … There’s no signs of them getting any permits for grading or grubbing, for construction,” he said.
He pointed out that the land is a federally designated brownfields site and contains significant soil and groundwater contamination.
“In the course of doing grubbing, it’s very likely they spread that stuff who knows where,” he said.
In response to Sarvis’s report, backed up by photos he had taken and attached to the division’s submittal to the board, DOA deputy Morris Atta, a former administrator for the DLNR’s Land Division, said HLL’s justification for the baseyard was that it furthers HLL plans to develop the feedlot and it also supports the slaughter operations.
“Whether or not that constitutes an allowable use, I thought was a bit premature until we hear an explanation from the lessee,” Atta said.
With regard to the development of a renewable energy project on the site, Atta said the DOA understands the DLNR’s reserved right and “we really have no position.”
Bobby Farias, HLL’s owner and operator, explained that there are no cattle are yet on the property because improvements to the slaughterhouse were completed only last October.
“The timing on building out the feed lot depends on need,” he said. Once HLL determines how many cows will be processed at the facility, it will have a better idea of how big the holding pen area needs to be.
With regard to the baseyard/bone yard, Farias suggested that Sarvis simply misunderstood what constitutes agricultural infrastructure.
“Ninety percent of the time, the meat is in a truck on the road,” Farias said. Those trucks, and other equipment needed for hauling, clearing, etc., need a place to park and to be serviced, he argued.
He admitted that clearing had been done to remove concrete and kiawe trees to make room for the trucking company that does a lot of the maintenance on HLL’s non-meat production equipment. (That company, American Hauling, is not in good standing with the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs and was dissolved years ago.)
Land Board member Chris Yuen asked Farias about his company’s utilization plan for the property filed with the DOA.
“What does it say of the area where the equipment is stored? Is that consistent with the plan of utilization?” Yuen asked.
Farias said it was and that the DOA visits the property annually. “The facility where America Hauling is is integral to the slaughter business,” he said, adding that it’s where all of HLL’s shipping containers are repaired.
For the rest of the property, Farias said he envisions building holding pens, with larger pens for longer stays and smaller pens for cows kept close to the slaughterhouse
“Feedlot is a bad title for the parcel,” he said, since that is not actually what the property’s use will be. “Surge tank is the best term. … It would look somewhat like a rotational grazing project,” he said.
However, he did not envision growing grass for the cows to feed on. “I don’t think that would be a great place to grow feed,” he said, noting that there area lot of baling opportunities on Oʻahu.
When Land Board member Doreen Canto expressed concern about the bone yard activities polluting the environment, Farias replied, “Changing a tire or fueling a truck [is] not going to have any negative impact on livestock.”
To have a viable agricultural entity, it takes a fair amount of industrial support, he continued.
“I understand what you are saying. That was not the intention when we transferred [the land],” Case said.
Playing Nice
The DLNR’s reserved right to develop a renewable energy project on the land is conditioned upon it not unreasonably interfering with the DOA’s agricultural activities there.
To Farias, there is no way the energy project could co-exist with the slaughterhouse-associated activities.
Farias seemed to be under the impression that Eurus would require HLL to forfeit its lease with DOA, which he said was highly unreasonable.
He opposed the right-of-entry permit because he saw the project as a non-starter.
To this, Land Division administrator Tsuji said that Faris misunderstood the leasing situation. The lease to Eurus would be with the Land Board and HLL’s lease with the DOA would remain intact. “I just want to clarify that,” Tsuji said.
Board member Vernon Char was torn over how to proceed. “I would hope DOA would take a stronger view and advise … rather than merely rely on Farias’s company,” he said.
Former DOA director Enright, who now works for HLL, said he found the discussion adversarial and recommended that the DOA’s and DLNR’s land management divisions “settle it.”
In written testimony, Enright complained of inaccuracies in the Land Division’s submittal to the Land Board “that could have been avoided had there been better communication; and I mean ‘communication’ in the full meaning of the word between the two land divisions involved.” He added that HLL would have allowed Sarvis to inspect the property had he asked, which would have cleared up the apparent misunderstanding of the bone yard’s role in the slaughterhouse operations.
“[T]his is the same disregard for communications that has DLNR and HDOA trying to implement Act 90 decades after it became law,” he finished, referring to an act that requires certain DLNR lands to be transferred to the DOA.
Board chair Case told Enright, “I did not appreciate your comment that we were, as is typical, taking an adversarial position, like we’re doing with Act 90.” She said her department has been trying to work collaboratively for years with ranchers and multiple users. “Ranch wars don’t help anyone.”
Enright apologized, but insisted that granting Eurus a lease would be “steamrolling agriculture,” effectively brushing aside millions of dollars that had been spent on upgrading the slaughterhouse.
Farias added, “This would be another show the state isn’t getting behind agriculture. … The slaughterhouse will depend on the feedlot next door to ensure its feasibility for years to come.”
Case reminded Farias that the executive order allows renewable energy development in a manner that does not interfere with the DOA’s activities. “We will make every effort to be careful that your use of this parcel for ag purposes is not unreasonably interfered with. We’re talking about two very high priorities — renewable energy and ag. … The goal is to work this out in a way that works for everyone,” she said.
“Bobby, I never told you you would be displaced,” Tsuji added.
The board then unanimously approved the permit, with member Canto voting with reservations.
(This article has been corrected to clarify that the Oʻahu slaughterhouse is not the state’s main producer of local meat, but is centrally located. Our original story stated that it was the state’s primary slaughterhouse.)
Paia Temple Gets Permit For Temporary Sandbag Revetment
On April 8, the Land Board approved construction right-of-entry and revocable permits to the Mantokuji Mission of Paia to install a temporary sandbag revetment on 784 square feet of coastal state land.
Among other things, the mission must submit to the Department of Land and Natural Resources’ Office of Conservation and Coastal Lands a plan to relocate threatened structures by next May and post a bond for the cost of removing the structure should it fail to remove it before its emergency Conservation District Use Permit expires on May 12, 2024.
The Zen Buddhist temple was built in 1906, and includes a residence, bell tower, columbarium, and graveyard.
In 1933, the mission granted the County of Maui an easement to allow for sand mining. A tsunami in 1946 also may have caused significant sediment loss from the local beach system, according to an April 8 report by the Department of Land and Natural Resources’ Land Division.
Since then, erosion has exposed an old dump site makai of the temple. “In this area, rusted car parts, carpet, glass, tires, and other debris are entering the marine environment. If left in its current condition, the shoreline will continue to move toward the temple structure,” a report by the DLNR’s Land Division states.
The temple is now 14-16 feet from the shoreline, which is eroding at a rate estimated by the University of Hawaiʻi’s Coastal Geology Group to be 1.6 feet a year.
In addition to exposing the dump site, erosion has unearthed old graves “and there are also headstones scattered on the beach,” the Land Division report continues.
The mission has hired a contractor to remove the landfill debris, the loose headstones, and an old concrete brick crematory oven that used to be underground but is now exposed.
It has also hired the engineering consulting firm Oceanit to develop a beach restoration plan. “There is currently no specific long-range plan,” the report states.
Mission president Eric Moto testified to the Land Board that the temple, facing an existential crisis from the last decade of erosion, has been working with Oceanit since the spring of 2018.
“We all worked long and hard to see this project through,” he said, noting that it has required obtaining an emergency CDUP, a Special Management Area minor permit from the county, and working with an architect to meet OCCL requirements for relocation of threatened structures.
“Mantokuji worked with all the county laws and requirements. … While others may choose to illegally dump rocks and come away with fines just a fraction of what we are spending, Mantokuji is doing everything by the book,” he said.
In response to questions from board members about what gravesite debris might be on the beach, Moto explained that the graves are at least 100 years old and all of the records from that time are in Japanese. Some graves probably had nothing left below the head stones, he said, adding that he was not sure if what was buried were urns or coffins.
Land Board Deadlocks On Fireworks Show Permit
Six years ago, avid waterman and then-Land Board member Keone Downing dumped on the board’s meeting table a garbage bag full of litter he had collected from the reef after a fireworks show at the Kahala Hotel & Resort.
It was one of the first times a board member had expressed concern about the potential environmental impacts from fireworks shows staged on state beaches.
The board has since continued to grant right-of-entry permits for firework shows, mainly to hotels or their contractors. To address the debris concern, it’s now a standard condition for the company obtaining a permit to provide a $2,500 deposit to ensure a timely post-event cleanup.
On April 8, the DLNR’s Land Division requested approval of a permit to Pyro Spectaculars North, Inc., for a fireworks show at Fleming Beach Park in Lahaina a few days later. The Ritz Carlton had hired the company to conduct the show for a corporate event being held at the hotel.
Board member Tommy Oi asked the division’s Daniel Ornellas whether the company had plans to remove fireworks debris from the ocean after the show.
Wayne Hijiki of the Ritz Carlton said that there was a lot of wave action off of the beach park. He said he would be open to adding a permit requirement to check in the water for debris, so long as there were no safety issues. However, he added that he could not speak for Pyro.
Kevin Moore, assistant administrator for the Land Division, said that in conversations with the company’s CEO, he understood there would be a cleanup of the beach and submerged area. “This is a northern exposure on Maui. … They won’t have good visibility with active surf. It’s still an obligation to clean up, to the extent they can,” he said.
The board approved the permit, with members Oi and Kaiwi Yoon voting in opposition.
“Lots of waves is no excuse for not cleaning debris in the ocean. Even if it’s paper, you’re still polluting the beach, you’re still polluting the ocean. If the waves are making it hard to clean up the ocean, you shouldn’t be doing fireworks there,” Oi said.
Board chair Suzanne Case voted in favor of the permit, but with reservations. She said she had reservations about all of the permits for fireworks shows that come to the board, because of the impacts “not just to people but to animals.”
“The public benefit is not very high here and there are impacts,” she said.
Two weeks later, Pyro requested another permit for a fireworks show for the Ritz Carlton. This time, Russell Sparks, an aquatic biologist with the DLNR’s Division of Aquatic Resources, commented on the harm the show and its associated set-up might have on the dune system, the protected sea turtles and monk seals that sometimes rest on the beach there, and the ocean environment.
He said there are published studies of the heavy metals in fireworks fallout, which may impact water quality. Without further study, “[t]here is no way to declare these fireworks events will have minimal or no significant effect on the environment,” he stated in written comments to his division administrator, Brian Neilson.
After much discussion of the impacts fireworks may have on protected species, and even the climate, the board ultimately deadlocked 3-3 on a motion to approve the permit, effectively denying it. Chair Case had to leave the meeting before the vote. Board members Oi, Yoon and Aimee Barnes voted in opposition.
— Teresa Dawson
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