KahuPuna Blog Article: Demand Health and Cultural Studies to Stop Puna Geothermal Venture’s Harm! 07/12/2025

wearepuna
5 days ago
4 min read

PGV’s 55-Year Legacy of Harm in Puna

For over 55 years, the Puna Geothermal Venture (PGV) has scarred Puna, Hawaii, threatening our health, environment, and sacred Native Hawaiian culture. Located in the Kilauea East Rift Zone, PGV’s drilling desecrates the lands of Pele, the volcano goddess, and Kaneikawaiola, the deity of life-giving waters. The 2024 Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) for PGV’s expansion was approved despite evidence of fraud, ignoring toxins, seismic risks, and cultural harm, as exposed in the ongoing 2024 lawsuit led by Sara Steiner. It’s time to demand accountability—join our petition for comprehensive studies to stop PGV!

Why PGV Must Stop

PGV’s operations have caused decades of damage:

●Health Risks: Toxic releases, like the 1991 KS-8 blowout, 2013 EPA violations ($76,500 fine for hydrogen sulfide), and 2014 Tropical Storm Iselle incident (39 pounds of H2S), have led to respiratory issues, neurological symptoms, and unstudied cancer risks from arsenic and mercury. No health studies exist despite 55 years of community suffering and activism demanding said studies.

●●Cultural Desecration: Drilling violates Pele’s sacred lands, restricting access to sites for hula, oli, and offerings. Palikapu Dedman’s 2024 injunction testimony highlights the FEIS’s failure to consult Native Hawaiian practitioners, causing spiritual trauma.

●●●Environmental and Seismic Dangers: The 2018 Kilauea eruption resulted in lava covering PGV wells and hazardous quenching practices, leading to numerous explosions during the "well quenching" process, which are responsible for many of the fissures in Leilani Estates today making all sick who are downwind from them, all the way to the pohoiki coast. The injunction includes graphs from a USGS insider showing thousands of micro earthquakes spreading miles in all directions, with the epicenter being Ormat PGV.

The injunction emphasizes seismic risks that have been completely ignored and a highly deceptive Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), yet PGV plans to expand to 46 MW by 2027. With all the old and active drilled wells, there are numerous pathways for lava to reach the surface in our communities, instead of following the volcano's natural course down the Lower East Rift Zone (LERZ) to its ocean entry at Kumukahi, known as the "ladder of the sun" and a cultural and traditional source of life. This natural Earth process has now been permanently obstructed and altered by Puna Geothermal Ventures' fracking.

The gallery below contains crucial educational information on this topic. Please take a moment to view the images. For additional educational resources, exit this blog article and visit the main website.

The USGS Study Isn’t Enough

In March 2024, the Hawaii County Council approved a $428,000 USGS groundwater study, proposed by Councilwoman Ashley Kierkiewicz, to test PGV’s impact on Puna’s water sources. While a bare minimum start (Ashley is a placed pawn by the actual geothermal as the Puna "district 4 rep" who hides from her constituents, who actually came from Hastings and Pleadwell, PGV's lawyer firm) , it’s limited to groundwater, ignoring:

●Air quality and health impacts from toxins like hydrogen sulfide.

●Downslope wells and coastal springs, as past studies (2015, 2020) missed these areas.

Cultural desecration of Pele’s lands, as raised by Dedman and community elders at the June 2023 FEIS meeting.

The 2013 Adler Report called for health studies, but none have been done. Community voices, by the hundreds, for decades, demand broader research to expose PGV’s full impact.

Our Petition: Demand Health and Cultural Studies

Join us to call for:

●Health Studies: Peer-reviewed research on respiratory, neurological, and cancer risks from PGV’s toxins (hydrogen sulfide, arsenic, mercury).

●Environmental Monitoring: Expand the USGS study to include air quality, downslope wells, coastal springs, and all contaminants.

●Seismic Assessment: Investigate PGV’s role in inducing seismicity, especially post-2018 eruption risks.

▪︎Cultural Study: Document the desecration of Pele’s lands and Kaneikawaiola’s waters, including restricted access and spiritual trauma, through ethnographic research with Native Hawaiian practitioners.

●Moratorium: Suspend PGV operations, including the 2024 Power Purchase Agreement, until studies confirm safety.

Why This Matters to Puna

The 2024 lawsuit exposes the FEIS’s fraud, ignoring extreme community concerns , comments, and Native Hawaiian testimonies. Elders at the June 2023 meeting shared tears over Pele’s desecration, reflecting 55 years of pain. PGV’s parent, Ormat Technologies, profits while our health and culture suffer, backed by a contract until 2052.

Take Action Now

Sign the Petition: Add your voice at https://chng.it/KNzXHXHXrF to demand studies and stop PGV. Every signature counts!

Join Us on August 26, 2025: Attend the Pāhoa Neighborhood Facility for the quarterly public community PGV meeting to share your story and demand closure.

Share on Social Media: Spread the word on instagram and FB (#AOLEPGV #PGVINJUNCTION2024) and TikTok (#AoLePGV). Here's a Sample post: “PGV poisons Puna and desecrates Pele! Sign our petition for health and cultural studies: https://chng.it/KNzXHXHXrF #AoLePGV.”

Get in Touch please ! : Email wearepuna@gmail.com to participate in the cause or tell your PGV story. The KahuPuna organization is compiling a book of testimonials about Ormat Puna Geothermal Venture, and your experience, no matter how significant, is important.

Stand for Puna’s Future

Puna’s health, environment, and sacred heritage are at stake. Comprehensive health and cultural studies will expose PGV’s toxic legacy and desecration of Pele’s lands, which is also why they refuse to do these for so long, and in turn doing so will help to pave the way to shut it down.

Join the #AoLePGV Facebook group, Join our community to protect Puna. Sign the petition today https://chng.it/KNzXHXHXrF and stand with us on August 26, 2025 at PGV's next "Public Community Meeting" at the Pahoa community center !