The SuperFerry comes to Hawai‘i

The following articles track the progress of this controversial issue

Superferry ordered to do environmental assessment
08.23.07
The Hawai'i Supreme Court this afternoon ruled that the state should have conducted an environmental study on its improvements to island harbors for the Hawaii Superferry operation scheduled to start next week. The decision is a major legal setback for the Superferry, but Superferry lawyers were not immediately available for comment as to whether the operations will start as scheduled on Tuesday.

August 15, 2007
Aloha, Citizens for Superferry Sanity;
 We have exchanged information, inspiration, and fellowship during the past two and a half years as this big-money, pet project has made its way like a snake through the grass, heading for our shores.  It has been great to share mana'o with so many worthwhile, dedicated, creative and fun-loving fellow citizens.
 In a week the Hawaii State Supreme Court will be hearing our oral arguments on the main point we have all been making. This misbegotten beast of a project needs to obey the law and comply with Chapter 343 HRS regarding environmental review. The fact that the Court is requesting oral arguments is a positive sign that our legal appeal is being taken seriously. Also in our favor is the fact that we were able to get a favorable declaratory ruling from the State's own Environmental Council in February that an environmental review of the Hawaii Superferry was needed.
 Those of us on Maui who are the plaintiffs in these legal appeals now need your kokua. The four groups which have been involved in these efforts have raised over $30,000 for four separate legal efforts.  We will need to augment that with another $20,000 soon.
 We appreciate that some of you have generously contributed to these legal efforts in the past. We also appreciate that some of you are contemplating your own legal actions. We, however, humbly request your support in this time of impending resolution of our legal challenges.
 If you are willing and able to donate (it's tax deductible!), please send contributions (check or MasterCard/Visa) to: 
Maui Tomorrow Foundation Inc., PO Box 299, Makawao, Hawaii 96768
Or contact Irene Bowie, Maui Tomorrow Executive Director
(phone: 808.268.0303 or e-mail:  director@maui-tomorrow.org )
   Mahalo nui loa and IMUA!
 Lucienne de Naie & Ron Sturtz, for Maui Tomorrow

07.15.07 – Hawaii Superferry foes eager to go to court
With harbor improvements for the Hawaii Superferry reported to be on track, the only apparent threat to the start of the interisland ferry service is two pending court cases with hearings set for next month. Both challenges involve questions about the need for adequate environmental impact studies on the publicly funded port projects for the new service, which will transport passengers and vehicles between Honolulu, Maui, Kaua'i and the Big Island. The best hope for the Sierra Club, Maui Tomorrow and the Kahului Harbor Coalition to delay Superferry operations rests with an appeal of a July 2005 ruling by Maui Circuit Court Judge Joseph Cardoza.

07.02.07 – Superferry case goes to Hawai‘i Supreme Court
The Hawaii Supreme Court will hear Oral Argument on whether the Hawai'i Superferry was illegally granted an exemption from Chapter 343 of the Hawai'i revised statutes which requires an Environmental Impact Statement for projects using public funds. This is an appeal of 2nd Circuit Court Judge Cardoza's earlier ruling. The case has been scheduled for 11:00 a.m. on August 15, 2007.

05.31.07 – Maui Tomorrow and County of Maui Move Forward with their Case
Judge Joel August ruled that the Hawaii Department of Transportation's FONSI (Finding of NO significant impact) for the changes at Kahului Harbor was insufficient.  He stated specifically that the examination of traffic issues was inadequate. 
This is the case in which Maui Tomorrow, the Kahului Harbor Coalition and the County of Maui have joined together as plaintiffs, charging that the State's Environmental Assessment was incomplete.  Judge August asked that the parties come before him on Thursday, August 2 to determine what  relief measures can be required.
Although this decision does not directly involve the Hawaii Superferry "ship", the necessary traffic study will have to examine the impact of the HSF operations bringing up to 280 vehicles into the affected area two time each day (mid-mornings and evenings), and the loading of up to an additional 280 vehicles onto the ferry.
Furthermore, it is expected that there will be many other vehicles (taxis, busses, rental vehicles, etc.) delivering and picking up Hawaii Superferry passengers.  The traffic study will also have to consider the closing of the road between Pier 2 and Pier 1 because that was caused by the Superferry's need for space.  Finally, to get a proper analysis of traffic impacts, it will be necessary to include the huge 450 residential housing unit and commercial center that is soon to be constructed on the site of the Old Kahului Shopping Center (where Ah Fooks burnt down).
Read more about this issue: State traffic assessment fails a test and see photos at: Anti-Superferry demonstrators clog Maui traffic

03.30.07 – Souki again sinks Superferry EIS
Maui Rep. Joe Souki has blocked a second bill in the 2007 Legislature that would have required an environmental impact statement on the Hawaii Superferry, repeating his argument that it's unfair to pick on a single harbor user. Souki, chairman of the House Transportation Committee, refused to schedule Senate Bill 702 for a hearing by the committee, effectively killing the bill. It would be wasteful since the state already will prepare an impact statement on the Kahului Harbor 2030 master plan, he said.

03.11.07 – Kahului Harbor EIS needed a decade ago
An environmental impact statement is needed to identify and propose mitigative measures on traffic increases on congested Kahului roadways, on the need for space in land-tight Kahului and Lihue, on a need for safety measures to separate cargo from passengers, on the potential for introduction of unwanted pests, not only aboard the Superferry but in cargo and on passengers from cruise ships, overseas containers and Young Brothers barges.

03.09.07 – Revised bill could delay Superferry
First hailed as a compromise on the controversial Hawaii Superferry, a bill that passed the Senate is now being called "problematic" by ferry officials. And if it becomes law, they said, the interisland service cannot start this summer.

03.06.07 – Superferry EIS is right and legal thing to do
By Sens. J. Kalani English, Gary L. Hooser, Russell S. Kokubun and Shan S. Tsutsui
With the Hawai'i Superferry scheduled to begin operations in July, a cursory review of the Neighbor Island harbor facilities shows that negligible improvements have been made to these areas. There are no bathrooms, no ticket booths, no security screening areas and no vehicular "wash down" facilities. At Kahului and Nawiliwili there will be a "tent" put up as a passenger holding area, and portable toilets will be provided. There will be no parking provided at all, and minimal, if any, improvements made to the adjacent roadway infrastructure.

02.25.07 – Refuting the Myths: Hawaii  Superferry facts  add  clarity  to  the  murky  debate
by Ron Sturtz, President of Maui Tomorrow Foundation, Inc
Many people have asked that I provide a factual overview of the potential environmental impacts of the Hawaii Superferry, and the status of current legal challenges.  I hope that the following facts - in response to a few well-intentioned and passionate, but misinformed letters, editorials and news reports – will be helpful to the discussion.

02.23.07 – State Environmental Council Issues Opinion: Superferry Exemption from EIS is wrong
The State Environmental Council, the advisory commission to the Office of Environmental Quality Control, issued an opinion on Thursday that “the State Department of Transportation erred when it granted to the Hawaii Superferry an exemption from the requirement to do an Environmental Impact Statement.” In a 9:1 vote, with one abstention, the Council stated that the exemption granted by the DOT failed to take into consideration the cumulative and secondary environmental impacts of the Hawaii Superferry project.

02.23.07 – Hawaii Superferry Operational Plan & Commitments

02.15.07 – 'Big concerns' over Superferry remain
A joint Senate committee approved a bill requiring an environmental impact statement be prepared on the Hawaii Superferry, although senators said significant legal issues need to be addressed. Senate Bill 1276 was approved by a joint session of the transportation and environment committees, after the committees went to Maui and Kauai last weekend to receive public comment that was virtually unanimous in favor of requiring an EIS.

02.12.07 – Maui testifiers unanimous, want EIS for Superferry
Public misgivings about this summer's scheduled launch of the Hawaii Superferry resurfaced Saturday during a joint Senate committee meeting while a bill to demand an environmental study of the interisland ferry appeared to pick up steam. With public testimony statewide on a bill to require an environmental impact statement for the ferry running 13-to-1 in favor, Maui state Sens. J. Kalani English and Shan Tsutsui predicted Senate Bill 1276 would advance out of the Senate Transportation and International Affairs and Energy and Environment committees en route to debate on the Senate floor.

02.11.07 – More On Super Shibai
Senator Gary Hooser's blog offers comments on Superferry

02.10.07 – EIS has strong support from Kaua‘i
The majority of residents who testified at a meeting on Kauai threw their support behind a Senate bill that would require Hawaii Superferry conduct a detailed environmental impact statement before beginning ferry operations in July. More than 120 people crowded into the historic County Building to hear all or part of the Senate committee hearing convened to discuss the bill. Those attending voiced concern the ferries might collide with federally protected marine life, increase traffic congestion, and bring more crime, homeless people and drugs to Kaua'i.

02.08.07 – Senators told ship could hurt humpbacks
A state Senate joint committee was warned Wednesday of the likelihood that the Hawaii Superferry would strike and injure humpback whales during normal operations between the islands. An expert witness brought in by the Pacific Whale Foundation provided data on what the effects of the ferry operations could be, said Sen. Shan Tsutsui, whose Central Maui district includes Kahului Harbor.

Pacific Whale Foundation Testifies to Protect Whales
Pacific Whale Foundation President and Founder Greg Kaufman traveled to Honolulu to testify before two Hawaii State Senate Committees on the need for an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) prior to allowing operation of the Hawaii Superferry. Kaufman's testimony before the Senate Transportation and International Affairs Committee, and the Energy and Environment Commiteee, was in support of Senate Bill 1276, which would require an EIS for the Superferry.

01.19.07 – Who will win: Hawaii Superferry or four state senators?
This week, shipbuilder Austal USA will launch the first of two 353-foot aluminum catamaran ferries in Mobile, Alabama for a series of open sea trials. They will deliver the first vessel to Hawaii Superferry in early spring. Also this week, the state Legislature begins its 2007 session. Four outer-island state senators will be sponsoring legislation to require an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) before the inter-island fast-ferry venture commences, currently projected for this summer.

01.14.07 - Superferry to launch Thursday
This week will mark a milestone for Austal USA in Mobile, Alabama when it launches the first of two Hawaii Superferry craft from its south ship shed on the Mobile River. Work is under way in Mobile on the second vessel, scheduled for delivery in early 2009.

01.07.07 - Superferry review sought
Four influential Neighbor Island state senators, who believe Hawai'i Superferry has not convincingly explained its possible effect on the Islands, will try to require an environmental impact statement before the scheduled launch of ferry service between O'ahu, Maui and Kaua'i in July. The senators want a more thorough review of the Superferry even if it means delaying the launch.

12.13.06 - Ferry compromise encouraged
An attorney for Maui County said she's "hopeful" that various groups can get together and resolve their differences rather than engage in a legal dispute over the proposed interisland Superferry.

12.08.06 - State harbors chief grilled by judge over Kahului plans
The question before the court is whether three citizen groups and Maui County have a legitimate claim in a lawsuit seeking to require the state Department of Transportation to prepare a full environmental impact statement on the environmental effects of harbor expansion - including improvements for the Hawaii Superferry.

11.21.06 - Slowing down could reduce whale injuries
It's distressing to see the increase in the number of collisions between ocean vessels and humpback whales. Researchers say we've had six collisions so far this year, up from four last year. And while that number might seem small, that increase should initiate discussion for speed limits in certain segments of our waters, with the hope of reducing the number of these accidents.

11.19.06 - Kahului judged too busy for Superferry
Kahului Harbor can't meet all the future demand of cargo ships, cruise ships, the interisland Superferry and other users, said Maui Planning Director Mike Foley. The harbor is already too crowded, and there won't be enough room to accommodate increased traffic brought by barges, ferries, recreation vessels, small boats, fuel imports and storage.

11.16.06 - Planner: Kahului Harbor is not enough
When the public at large got its first chance to offer suggestions for the next Kahului Harbor master plan, the state was told to expand its horizons - to plan not just for the island's only commercial port but for maritime needs generally.

07.26.06 – Ship of fools
Some Hawai'i residents tell Superferry officials to shape up or ship out

See also:
Save Kahului Harbor