As the Goddess Pele continues to erupt and display her powerful volcanic nature, the State of Hawaii and PGV scramble to create a Worst Case Scenario evacuation plan.
(image credit for the above depiction of Goddess Pele goes to Cathrine Langwagen)
(image obtained from Paradise Helicopters depicting a face in the lava)
Hawaii Gov. David Ige (D) has already issued an emergency proclamation. The Governor also publicly stated that the State is not prepared to handle a complete evacuation of the area.
The state has requested and been approved for FEMA assistance during this emergency. National Guard and other military outlets are on standby. Vacation rentals in the Puna area have been requested to cease all operations to preserve water resources and prevent unnecessary evacuations. There is a concern that the lava flow could disrupt the water supply for that area.
(this update was published by Hawaii Civil Defense)
On May 5th, 2018 Citizens of Hawaii attended a public meeting regarding the volcanic eruption. Valid concerns regarding the PGV facility being impacted by the volcano were openly expressed by The People of Hawaii during the meeting and nearly all the concerns were shot down by both PGV and the local government. PGV has a long,controversial and sordid history on the Island. Aside from countless EPA violations and the misuse of federal tax payer grant money, the use of flammable and toxic substances at the Geothermal Plant has been a major conflict within the nearby residential community.
During the meeting, it appears that the Mayor Harry Kim may have attempted to downplay the concerns of the people and was quoted as saying: “I’m gonna address the question. Anyone who’s been here since 1980’s, 90’s, 2000, I know some of the emotions of the geothermal. I’ll ask you to trust me on this...They’re in complete shutdown.” Kim went on to say that, “We will assure you that Civil Defense, Department of Health, will monitor this institution of the geothermal, and ensure that whatever hazard is created, it is not by geothermal,They are in the process of removing all flammable materials, and if it’s inadequate, then we’ll move it from there. It is on a shut down.”
When The People of Hawaii continued ask the hard questions regarding the evacuation of the pentane, the response from Civil Defense Administration Talmadge Magno was a clear attempt at delegating the responsibility onto other agencies. He was quoted as saying that if the handling of the chemical substances was “within the industrial guidelines for that product”, then it would be out of his authority.
At the public meeting, Mike Kaleikini who is a representative from the PGV corporation attempted to pacify the community and was quoted as stating:
“As soon as the first cracks appeared in Leilani and on Pohoiki Road, we proactively went ahead and shut down additional equipment.” Kaleikini went on to say that the facility had moved the flammable pentane was moved away from the ‘inundation zone.” Pentane is a hydrocarbon, which is flammable just like propane,” he said, “and so we shut that down. We inventoried it. We moved it out of the inundation zone. And as soon as the first reports of lava was spewing, what we did next was shut down the entire plant.”
At this meeting, Mike Kaleikini failed to inform the public that the pentane was moved a mere 100 feet away from the original site, to a higher elevation. The PGV site was fast tracked into a complete shutdown due to the facility being within close proximity to the volcano and the lava flow. The fact that the streets were literally cracking open and emitting steam was an obvious indication that the facility was close to the highly active East Rift Zone. This is a detail that should not be overlooked. Why did this billion dollar corporation, which received EPA requests in 2016 to be prepared for a worst case scenario, ultimately believe that it was safe and effective to move the pentane only 100 feet away from the original site?
The People of Hawaii continued to keep the pressure on PGV and attempt to hold them accountable for the hazardous chemicals that were being housed near the active East Rift Zone. These concerned citizens boldly pushed the local and state governments to step up and help protect the community from a potential “worst case scenario.” It took 6 more days before all of the pentane was officially removed from the site and moved to a different location on the island. It is important to note that PGV did not have adequate transport tanks on site to move the pentane in a timely fashion which resulted in multiple transportation trips. It
Aside from the controversy regarding the evacuation of the flammable pentane, there were ample concerns expressed by the community regarding the underground injection wells that the PGV relies upon. These underground wells are often dug thousands of feet into the earth with some reaching a depth of 8000 feet. On May 8 Mike Kaleikini stated that despite a 6.9 magnitude earthquake the underground wells were “in good shape.” He went on to say that the wells had been shut off but said that the company had no intention of plugging the wells. Since then, Civil Defense, Local government and even the Governor have expressed concerns that these underground wells may become compromised from earthquakes and lava flow. If the underground wells rupture it could release toxic hydrogen sulfide and other dangerous chemicals into the atmosphere.
(Image obtained via screenshot from bigislandadventurenews)
(Image obtained via screenshot from hawaiitribuneharold)
The State is currently seeking help from well experts on the mainland; they are reaching out and requesting insight for how to manage the situation. It is being reported that the wells may be filled with water in attempts to prevent rupture. Wil Okabe, managing director for the County of Hawaii, recently expressed apprehension about the wells and stated that “We’ve put cinder and other things on top of them, but we are still waiting for more information from experts on the mainland about how to deal with them.”
Former PGV employee Bob Culnan was recently interviewed on the topic. While he believes that the water cooling method could work, it would need to be done quickly. There is a concern that if the underground wells explode it could make it harder to cap them off in the future In the scenario that the wells cannot be capped off it could mean that the wells could essentially belch out toxic fumes for years.
Today it was reported that the Civil Defense facility had closed its doors to the press. In the past few days, several news and media outlets have reached out to PGV officials and its parent company, Reno, Nev.-based Ormat Technologies, but there has been no response yet.
There are currently 17 active fissures on the island, most of these sites are actively pluming and emitting lava. It was said that some of the lava is being launched as high as 300 feet in the area. The volcanic eruption continues to grow and expand and the lava flow was said to be nearly ¼ mile in proximity to the PGV facility. It has been suggested that if an explosion were to happen at the PGV site it could impact the residential area within a 3 mile radius.
(note: the above images were captured from this live feed )
The Local and State governments appear to be in a reactive state as the situation continues to unfold. Despite decades of public outcry regarding the dangers that the PGV facility presents to the community especially in a scenario such as a large scale volcanic eruption, it is becoming painfully obvious that the PGV corporation and elected state officials did not heed the concerns that were expressed by The People of Hawaii. As we watch the situation on Hawaii unfold, I believe it is fair to wonder what could have happened, had the concerns expressed by the community had not only been acknowledged but respected and acted upon? Is it possible that this situation could have been planned for? In 2016 when the EPA mandated that PGV plan for a "worst case scenario" did the corporation follow through with the requests and did the corporations plan include the factors that are being experienced right now? I personally believe it is imperative that we, as a society, ask these hard questions so that we can begin to hold these billion dollar corporations accountable for the reckless actions and choices they make at the risk of the public and our enviornment.
