Proposed SuperFerry Subject of Recent Legal Action Facts & Fictions
Senators Tsutsui and English have introduced the following legislation for the 2007 session requiring an EIS for the Superferry. Our own Representative Mele Carroll is Vice Chair of the committee hearing it.
On 9/28/05 Judge Helen Gillmor dismissed the suit brought by the Sierra Club, Maui Tomorrow and Kahului Harbor Coalition seeking to
require the Superferry to prepare an Environmental Impact Study (EIS).
Maui Group, Maui Tomorrow, and the Kahului Harbor Coalition filed suit to require a full EIS on the project after several months of meetings with Superferry head John Garibaldi produced no agreement for an EIS. Superferry's operational plans (like where cars will load and unload), continue to remain "confidential information."
"I think the investors would want to know the environmental impact of the project before putting their money into it," said Isaac Hall, attorney for the environmental groups.
Superferry attorneys argued that federal law specifically excludes loan guarantees authorized by the Maritime Administration.
Hall said the exclusion was not applicable in the Superferry case. If the suit was dismissed based on that argument, Hall said, he will strongly urge his clients to pursue the case at the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
Many other groups, Kaua'i County and Maui's Mayor and County Council have called for an EIS review as well, but are not party to the lawsuit. Concerns ranged from the possible 250 cars leaving and 250 cars entering the Pu'unene-Ka'ahumanu intersection during loading, collisions with whales, impact on campsites and the creation of a new, rapid dispersal method for alien species.
State DOT and SuperFerry backers claim there was no time to do an EIS and still make the project work, although they acknowledge the ferry project has been in the planning stages for 2 years or more.
The State Senate voted against spending $40 million on harbor improvements needed by the ferry project, but the funds were re-inserted in the legislature's final approved 2006 budget during conference committee deliberations.
Most Club leaders support additional transportation choices being available for local residents, but see the need for a well-planned effort that can prove sustainable and affordable. Sierra Club activists have lobbied for many years to get better inspection of existing freight and auto shipments at Maui's harbors and airports. Legal settlements by other allies resulted in a state-of-the-art freight inspection facility planned for at Kahului Airport.
It is our hope that current legal efforts will help create safe and sound transportation options.
On 9/28/05 Judge Helen Gillmor dismissed the suit brought by the Sierra Club, Maui Tomorrow and Kahului Harbor Coalition seeking to
require the Superferry to prepare an Environmental Impact Study (EIS).