A proposed dairy farm on Kauai is finding out just how tough it can be to start a new milk-producing facility.
An opposition group says Hawaii Dairy Farms, which wants to start producing milk next year on 582 acres in Mahaulepu, is proceeding without proper permits, according toan Associated Press article. The same group of residents and biologists also fear the $17.5 million dairy will negatively impact the environment.Fifteen people signed a letter directed to the Department of Public Works, asking it to take a closer look at the proposed dairy farm, saying, among other things, that the dairy "cannot be entrusted with so precious an area.”
Hawaii Dairy Farms spokeswoman Amy Hennessey, however, said the company never went outside of its permitting. It's disheartening, she said, to hear some believe the project is not doing what's right for the community.
“We don’t want to do something that’s harmful,” Hessey was quoted in a The Garden Island article by Chris D’Angelo. “Some of the assumptions that are made in this letter are based on just that — assumptions. They don’t have all of the information, so they’re extrapolating things from this to create a picture of inadequacy.”
Hennessey said the public should remember that the farm is not yet in operation, and the company is doing what it can to be a good community partner and address concerns. PD
—Summarized by PD staff from cited source
