Question: Why can’t anything be done about excessive noises emanating from a residential construction site on Puuikena Drive atop Hawaii Loa Ridge for more than two months? Numerous residents of Aina Haina have complained to the state Department of Health, but nothing has been done to mitigate the noise that’s been going on since Aug. 1. The hydraulic hammering generally goes on from 10 a.m. daily, Monday through Friday. Doesn’t the Health Department have noise regulations for alleviating the noise? If so, why isn’t it enforcing its own rules and regulations? The constant noise is driving almost everyone batty.
Answer: Health officials say they sympathize with your noise concerns, but that they can’t ban construction noise and the best that can be done is to work with contractors to minimize the sounds whenever possible.
Department of Health noise regulations allow construction activities, by permit, from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday and 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday.
"Louder activities," such as pile-driving and rock-breaking, are restricted to 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. weekdays. However, there is no maximum decibel level contractors have to abide by.
There apparently is relief in sight for your neighborhood in terms of the pounding noise, although that’s probably because work using "hoe rams" — hydraulic impact hammers — to penetrate the hard blue rock on the property is winding down.
"We’ve been trying to work with the contractors as far as the number of hoe rams they’ve been using (and) if they have other options," said Jeff Eckerd, acting program manager for the Health Department’s Indoor and Radiological Health Branch.
They were asked to submit a "noise management plan," including what work needs to be done and how long it’s expected to take.
But Eckerd said the options are few when it comes to dealing with blue rock.
According to the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory — hvo.wr.usgs.gov/volcanowatch/2000/00_10_19.html — "’Blue rock’ is the bane of contractors, especially road builders and pipeline installers, because it is difficult to break."
Blasting is an option that would shorten the work time, Eckerd said, but few contractors are willing to consider that because of liability concerns.
"In the past, (blasting) has jarred loose rocks in other areas, and boulders go rolling down the hill, so they try to avoid blasting as much as possible," Eckerd said. "The only other alternative, sadly, is hoe-ramming."
Question: What is the website to access the camera that is focused on the statue on the Kuhio beach in Waikiki?
Answer: You can check out the city’s Web cameras at www1.honolulu.gov/cameras.
However, you must have Windows Media Player in order to view live shots from Kuhio and Waikiki beaches or any other live shots.
In addition to the beach Web cameras, the city has links to viewing live City Council meetings; more than 90 of the city’s still traffic cameras, including information about the latest traffic "incidents" from the Honolulu Police Department dispatch center; and live camera sequences of traffic "hot" spots.
MAHALO
To everyone who helped me when I passed out on board Omni Air Flight 109 on Sept. 14. As soon as the captain turned off the "fasten seat belt" sign, I went to the restroom. When I got back to my seat, I felt hot, so I stood up to adjust the air vent. Then I fainted. Mahalo to my cousin Glenna, who saw I was unresponsive and notified the flight attendant. Mahalo to the lead flight attendant, Geraldo, and the entire flight crew; to Joey, a firefighter at the Waipahu Fire Station; and to a nurse whose name I didn’t get. — Joy
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