FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                March 31, 2007

Release No. M-27-07

MAYOR RESPONDS TO GOVERNOR’S

HONOULIULI REMARKS

            In response to comments made yesterday by Governor Lingle, Honolulu Mayor Mufi Hannemann today issued the following statement:

“The governor showed a total lack of understanding when she characterized the City’s treatment of wastewater as ‘dumping untreated sewage into the ocean.’  Her ignorance of the issue, combined with her seeming not to care about the financial burden to all the residents of Honolulu for unnecessary upgrades at the Honouliuli Wastewater Treatment Plant, is deplorable.  She certainly should be receiving a better understanding of the situation from Larry Lau, her deputy in the state health department, who has been involved with the EPA’s decision makers from the outset.

“The governor proved she is out of step with our state’s Congressional delegation, led by Senator Daniel Inouye, some members of the Honolulu City Council, and myself and even members of her own administration who believe we are aggressively addressing the need to upgrade the City’s sewer system, and that the recent decision by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is unfair to our island residents.

“It is unfortunate that the governor automatically chooses not to help the three-fourths of her constituents who call Honolulu home, but instead sides with those who do not live here and would impose their will on us.  The governor appears to be putting politics ahead of the needs of the people.

“I, along with Senator Inouye and others, will continue to fight for the people of Honolulu.  We continue to discuss the issues surrounding what the EPA has termed ‘decades of neglect’ of our wastewater system with the goal of coming up with a plan that is fair, reasonable and affordable.

The public wants our elected officials to exercise leadership, not partisanship, and political cooperation, not political gamesmanship. Our residents deserve nothing less.”

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Contact:

            Bill Brennan, 527-2968

            Mark Matsunaga, 527-5767