Police on the Hawaiian Island of Kauai have asked the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) for help in capturing eco-terrorists who attacked a concrete water diversion pipeline and dam providing power to two hydro-power generators.
Police said sometime between October 11 and October 18 suspected eco-terrorists used concrete cutting equipment to destroy part of a concrete diversion, interrupting water flow to a ditch that feeds two of the Kauai Island Utility Cooperative’s (KIUC) hydro-generators.
KIUC holds a state permit allowing the utility to divert water to generate hydroelectric power.
The terrorists tore a hole about 10 feet wide by 1 foot deep in the concrete dam and diversion pipeline, allowing water to flow through the dam, rather than into a ditch designed to channel the water to the hydro-generators. They also made multiple vertical cuts across the face of the dam.
Concrete debris fell into the stream and rebar and metal cables were left exposed by the perpetrators, creating a safety hazard at a public recreation area.
The Hawaii Free Press reports, because the action targeted a utility, KIUC Chief Executive Officer David Bissel called it “a deliberate sabotage of Kauai’s electrical infrastructure.” Local law enforcement officials are treating it as an act of domestic terrorism, requesting help from the FBI to investigate the case and capture the perpetrators.
H. Sterling Burnett, Ph.D., ([email protected]) is the managing editor of Environment & Climate News.
H. Sterling Burnett, Ph.D., is the Director of the Arthur B. Robinson Center on Climate and Environmental Policy and the managing editor of Environment & Climate News.
