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Public testifier urges county to drop herbicide purchases from legislative package, warns of ocean‑mining impacts
Summary
A Kona testifier told the committee that county herbicide purchases and spraying practices are causing cancer in parts of the community and urged the council to remove herbicide items from its legislative priorities; she also urged the county to oppose proposed ocean‑mining actions that she said would harm fisheries and Native Hawaiian communities.
A member of the public who identified herself as Shelley Hagi (also saying her full name as Shelly Makahala Nicole the 3rd) used her allotted public testimony time to urge the committee to exclude herbicide purchases and related measures from the county’s legislative package and to oppose deep‑sea mining proposals.
“My name is Shelley… we need to stop the purchase of anything to do with herbicides,” she told the committee, saying some former county employees developed cancer after being required to spray herbicides. She described areas on Hawaii Island where she said herbicide application has harmed people and ecosystems and asked the council to research county spraying practices and procurement.
Later in her testimony she raised separate concerns about proposed ocean mining and lease activity, saying that industrial seabed mining could affect fisheries and communities nearest to Hawaii Island. “Please help save Hawaii, and please help put this forward toward the Department of Interior,” she said.
Committee members acknowledged the testimony; Councilmember Villegas later raised herbicide use as a legislative priority during the HSAC package discussion, and members asked staff to consider research and potential bill language. The testimony was delivered during the public‑comment portion of the meeting and did not result in immediate formal action.
The committee did not adopt specific herbicide procurement language that day; council members suggested follow-up, research and potential inclusion in the HSAC legislative package process.
