Draft EIS finds no negative impact from proposed Kauai dairy farm
STAR-ADVERTISER / APRIL 11, 2014
Hawaii Dairy Farms wants to use 557 acres of land in Mahaulepu on Kauai for a grass-fed dairy farm.
LIHUE >> Hawaii Dairy Farms says its planned operation on Kauai will serve as a model for sustainable agriculture and won’t have a negative impact on the environment or surrounding community.
HDF released its draft environmental impact statement for the dairy in Mahaulepu on Wednesday, The Garden Island reported. Kaui County had already approved the dairy’s $7 million building permit in 2014, but HDF spokeswoman Amy Hennessey said they decided to conduct an environmental evaluation to address residents’ concerns.
“We promised the community of Kauai that we would prepare a DEIS for Hawaii Diary Farms, not because we have to, but because it is the right thing to do to help answer community questions,” Hennessey said.
The report says cows will be allowed to roam freely across hundreds of acres of pasture and that measures have been established to prevent the release of large amounts of runoff, including growing thick thatches of pasture grass to serve as what Hennessey called “an organic net.”
The 557-acre dairy is expected to produce roughly 1.5 million gallons of fresh milk annually and create 11 full-time jobs and 36 construction jobs.
Bridget Hammerquist, with Friends of Mahaulepu, an organization against the dairy, said she still does not support the dairy and questioned whether the environmental assessment was conducted as an independent study.
“The draft EIS was extensively prepared by Group 70 International, the very firm that is credited with developing HDF’s waste management plan,” Hammerquist said. “How could anybody conclude that an independent EIS has been conducted if prepared by the same company who prepared HDF’s dairy plan?”
Hammerquist also said she was concerned about water contamination, odor and the cows having shade.
“It gets very hot at Mahaulepu in the summer, and they’ll be crowded,” Hammerquist said. “It’s hard to accept that a plan with no shelter for their cows, other than at milking, is a good living condition.”
The draft environmental impact statement has opened up to public comment for a 45-day period.
4 responses to “Draft EIS finds no negative impact from proposed Kauai dairy farm”
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This sounds like a good thing for Kauai, and the state. If they’ve done the EIS and it shows no problems, then let it move forward and start producing milk locally. I’m tired of drinking milk that’s three weeks old, shipped from the mainland.
it’s so great when people who have no background in a given subject feel the need to comment on it as if they were experts…pretty sure over 500 acres will not result in “crowded” cows. What dairy did this lady manage???? oh yeah, none.
Maybe she has a 34,000 acre farm on farmville.
No feedlot and cows eating grass. When and where may I buy the milk and then the meat from this farm? This is a good kind of farm. Not the kind where the animals are up to their legs in filth and being fed an artificial diet full of Heaven knows what. Yes, I grew up on a farm with cows and horses. When the sun was out, the animals hung out under the trees. No feedlot. They grazed and ate grass. I am pretty sure there are trees there. What was this dairy supposed to do, provide an air conditioned barn for all the animals? I would not be surprised if Bridget Hammerquist is another one of those anti agriculture vegans that Kauai became infested with after the 1990s. Do not remember so many of them butting their nose into everything having to do with farming. Guess they won’t be satisfied until all agriculture is gone and people are reduced looking for food in the wild or trying to grow their own without the aid of modern technology.