State Senate leaders want to hear what the public has to say on a proposed bill that would allow Hawaii Superferry to sail while the state assesses the inter-island operation’s environmental impact. With Gov. Linda Lingle expected to convene a
State Senate leaders want to hear what the public has to say on a proposed bill that would allow Hawaii Superferry to sail while the state assesses the inter-island operation’s environmental impact.
With Gov. Linda Lingle expected to convene a special session Wednesday, lawmakers have invited residents to an informational briefing on draft legislation to save the company at 2 p.m. today at King Kaumuali‘i Elementary School cafeteria in Lihu‘e.
A court order on Maui and protests on Kaua‘i have kept Superferry’s 350-foot “Alakai” docked at Honolulu Harbor since late August.
Meanwhile, residents have poured their opinions on the controversy through massive amounts of e-mails to state legislators.
Rep. Jimmy Tokioka, D-15th District, said yesterday that he has received more than 5,000 e-mails in the past several days from community members statewide voicing their thoughts on the 836-passenger, 282-car catamaran.
The lawmaker has logged the letters to help aid his decision on how to vote should a special session be called, but maintains there are “serious concerns about the process utilized by the Lingle administration in exempting the Superferry from an environmental review.”
The vast majority, an estimated 80 percent of the 4,800 e-mails not from Kaua‘i residents, supports legislation to let Superferry sail while an environmental impact statement is completed, Tokioka said.
Of the 300-plus letters sent from the Garden Isle, he said 45 to 55 percent are opposed to the operation running during the review.
Some 95 percent of O‘ahu residents who have sent him letters support a bill to let the company run, he added.
“Some are nasty. Some are good,” Tokioka said, adding that the e-mails range from one sentence to five pages in length.
“I implore you to hold firm to the laws of Hawai‘i as upheld by the state Supreme Court,” Kapa‘a resident Bonnie Earls-Solari says in an Oct. 16 e-mail to the representative. “… There is not another place in the country where a major transportation method could be introduced without an environmental impact report before the project is initiated. Why? Because irrefutable evidence shows that after a project is complete, it is too late.”
Other letters called on Tokioka to support draft legislation to save a company that would provide an alternative means of inter-island transportation.
“We want the Superferry — competition is good,” an anonymous Hawai‘i resident says in a one-line e-mail sent last week.
Groups for and against Superferry have made sample letters available for residents to use to voice their position to legislators by simply attaching their names. Tokioka said more than 60 percent of his e-mails are of this nature.
Although the state spent $40 million on ferry-related harbor improvements statewide, which included a boarding ramp at Nawiliwili Harbor, the representative said he believes Kaua‘i lacks the infrastructure necessary to accommodate the operation.
Tokioka noted no bathrooms — “not even a portable toilet” — exist at the end of the jetty road where hundreds of residents would check in and disembark from the daily service to and from O‘ahu.
He also questioned the impact of loading and unloading 150 to 250 cars onto two, one-way roads within a 45-minute window every evening except Saturday.
“I’m saying no way … that’s crazy,” Tokioka said.
Superferry is “by far” the biggest issue statewide that has prompted constituents to communicate with their legislators. Tokioka said he has read every e-mail sent to him and continues to encourage community members to send their comments along with their names and contact information.
“From the time the issue of the Superferry arose to now, many people throughout the community have voiced concerns to me and I have tried to voice their concerns via County Council and at the Legislature,” he said.
Before he became a state lawmaker, Tokioka served on Kaua‘i County Council and helped pass legislation unanimously approved in 2005 that called on the state to require an environmental impact statement on Hawaii Superferry before it started operating.
The state ignored similar resolutions passed two years ago by Big Island and Maui county councils.
On Aug. 23, the state Supreme Court ruled the state Transportation Department erred in its decision to exempt Hawaii Superferry from an environmental assessment.
A Maui circuit court later decided the Alakai must remain in port during the review — a process expected to take six months or even years, depending on the findings.
Superferry officials have said the company would leave the islands if forced to remain idle during the assessment.
Tokioka said the governor, House and Senate need to agree on the language of the proposed bill prior to calling a special session or risk political consequences.
Kaua‘i’s three representatives and senator have said they oppose an emergency session, but remain outnumbered.
State legislative leaders have worked behind closed doors the past couple weeks hammering out the draft legislation, which includes operating restrictions and creates a task force to keep tabs on the review process.
Citing recent court rulings and established state statutes Kaua‘i activist Rich Hoeppner said considering the bill is “totally unacceptable” even if modifications mandate slower speeds to reduce the likelihood of collisions with endangered whales.
“After two days in Honolulu talking to legislators, it is apparent that we on the outer islands have our work cut out for us,” he said in an e-mail statement yesterday. “We must convince those that come to Kaua‘i that the bill should not be passed … they are here to listen to our views, not to issue a Lingle ultimatum.”
State Sen. Brian Taniguchi will chair this afternoon’s public input session, and two others set for tomorrow on Maui and Tuesday on the Big Island.
The meetings will include members of the Senate’s committees on Judiciary and Labor, Energy and Environment, and Transportation and International Affairs.
“We want to be sure that people understand that this is our chance to hear from the public,” Taniguchi said in a news release. “Those who could be affected by the Superferry’s operations should take the time to review the draft bill and share their concerns or comments. We refer to this as an informational briefing because it comes before the bill is formally introduced, but we expect to spend much more time listening than talking.”
Tokioka said he just learned of the meeting yesterday and would be unable to attend, but encouraged residents to “get out and voice their concerns.”
The last time a state delegation visited Kaua‘i regarding Superferry, more than 1,000 residents packed the War Memorial Convention Hall. People booed Lingle, heckled Transportation Department officials and shouted at Coast Guard officials.
With this visit limited to state senators, lawmakers have said they expect a cooler reception on this heated issue.
“It is somewhat unusual for us to be doing this kind of road show, if you will, for a bill scheduled to be heard by the Legislature,” Senate President Colleen Hanabusa said in a news release. “But this is an unusual bill under unusual circumstances. The Senate feels strongly that those who will be directly affected should have an opportunity to be heard. Their perspective is an important factor in considering what the bill should say.”
To read the draft bill in its entirety, visit www.capitol.hawaii.gov.
• Nathan Eagle, staff writer, can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 224) or neagle@kauaipubco.com.
