HONOLULU — State legislators cut a legal cord yesterday that has tethered Hawaii Superferry to Honolulu Harbor’s Pier 19 since late August, when protests and court rulings first halted the interisland service. At the close of a weeklong special session,
HONOLULU — State legislators cut a legal cord yesterday that has tethered Hawaii Superferry to Honolulu Harbor’s Pier 19 since late August, when protests and court rulings first halted the interisland service.
At the close of a weeklong special session, the House voted 39-11 on a bill intended to enable the controversial catamaran to resume daily trips from O‘ahu to Kaua‘i and Maui while the state assesses the 836-passenger, 282-car ferry’s environmental impact. The bill now awaits Gov. Linda Lingle’s final stamp, having already been approved 20-5 by the Senate Monday.
Lingle is expected to sign the measure into law as soon as she reviews it, effectively saving a company that her administration has supported since its inception more than two years ago.
“I’m glad the Legislature worked cooperatively to preserve this important transportation alternative for the people of Hawai‘i,” she said in a statement.
The bill allows the high-speed ferry to operate under a few added restrictions while a comprehensive environmental impact statement is completed. It also creates an oversight task force and requires the state auditor to investigate how the Lingle administration made the exemption determination.
Kaua‘i Rep. Mina Morita, D-14th District, said the bill was appropriate for Halloween.
“Senate Bill 1, Senate Draft 1, dressed in the facade of the toothless conditions, is still one ugly bill that reeks of the horrors of political favors gone awry and should be haunting this Legislature on how cheap we sold the credibility and respectability of this institution and our moral compass,” she said in her floor speech.
Superferry President and CEO John Garibaldi said he hopes to restart service by Nov. 15, but more legal challenges and community demonstrations on Neighbor Islands may stand in the way.
“Although there are several operational, regulatory and legal steps that need to be completed before Hawaii Superferry will resume service, it is our hope that these tasks will be accomplished within the next two weeks,” he said in a prepared statement.
People for the Preservation of Kaua‘i spokesman Rich Hoeppner said it is “totally unconstitutional for the Legislature to retroactively overrule a judge’s decision.”
The Supreme Court on Aug. 23 unanimously decided that the state Transportation Department erred as a matter of law when it exempted Superferry from an environmental review. In accordance with the state’s highest court, Maui Circuit Judge Joseph Cardoza on Oct. 9 ruled in favor of three environmental groups by ordering Superferry to suspend service to Kahului Harbor until the assessment is completed.
Superferry officials had threatened to pull the $300 million project from the islands if forced to remain idle during an environmental assessment — a process that could take months or possibly years to complete.
The 350-foot “Alakai” catamaran’s use of $40 million in taxpayer-funded, ferry-related harbor improvements triggered the state law requiring the review, which includes mitigating secondary impacts such as those related to traffic, culture and marine life.
A second $85 million ferry is under construction in Alabama and is slated to service Big Island in 2009. Garibaldi said Superferry will rehire about 250 furloughed employees and start selling tickets again soon.
Some community members, who have long-awaited an interisland transportation alternative to flying, cheered the outcome.
Kaua‘i Rep. Roland Sagum, D-16th District, voted in favor of the legislation on behalf of his largely Westside constituents. He said of 5,000 e-mails he received, 90 percent were in support of Superferry.
Noting that he still wants an environmental impact statement and opposed the special session from the outset, Sagum said his support of the measure is mostly due to providing residents with an alternative form of transportation.
“Supporting the Superferry does not mean I do not support the environment,” he said in a statement. “I am a diver, fisherman and surfer, and I am deeply concerned about the environment. There is a perception that if you support the Superferry, you are against the environment — a myth that is being perpetuated by irresponsible officials and certain citizens.”
Sagum serves on the House Energy and Environmental Protection Committee, which Morita chairs.
“Yes, there are issues and impacts in regards to the Superferry, but I believe that the conditions imposed in the bill and those to be required by the governor will protect the environment and move the state towards affordable transportation,” he added.
Sagum’s other Kaua‘i colleagues — Sen. Gary Hooser and Rep. Jimmy Tokioka, D-15th District — voted against the bill.
“This issue for me was never about one company; it was, and has always been, about the process,” Tokioka said in his floor speech, delivered amid three hours of discussion before the final vote.
Hooser agreed.
“We are in this situation today because the established process governing these issues was not properly followed,” he said in a recent statement.
Residents, including many who fear the ferry’s potential to spread invasive species or kill humpback whales, have already started rallying to protest the bill’s approval.
A water demonstration is slated for noon on Sunday, simultaneously in harbors on Kaua‘i, Maui, O‘ahu and possibly the Big Island, said Anahola resident Andrea Noelani Brower.
“The shortsightedness of our governor and Legislature is unacceptable and depressing,” Brower said. “The statewide demonstrations are in response to this undemocratic process that has taken place. I’m sure there will be really good turnouts. People are feeling frustrated and need a place to express that.”
Attorney Dan Hempey, who represents 1,000 Friends of Kaua‘i, said it was premature to comment on a possible legal response.
“Could (Superferry) be charged with violating a restraining order if they sail to Maui or do they have to go back to Judge Cardoza first?” he said. “These are the types of things we’re considering. I’m not sure the new law invalidates his court order.”
But the bottom line for some legislators remains finding a way to heal communities split over the Superferry saga. Hooser has called for a independent, third-party resolution service to rally leaders to move forward together.
“We need to take responsibility for our actions and reach out to our constituents for and against this issue and together come to a place of healing,” Tokioka said in his floor speech. “The price of this special session, thousands of dollars; the price of an EIS, $1 million; the price of healing our communities, priceless.”
House vote tally
The Hawai‘i House of Representatives voted 39-11 Wednesday to approve a measure that allows the Hawaii Superferry to resume service while the state conducts an environmental study.
Yes votes:
Rep. Karen Awana, R-Kalaeloa-Nanakuli
Rep. Della Au Belatti, D-Tantalus-Makiki
Rep. Joe Bertram, D-Makena-Kihei
Rep. Tom Brower, D-Waikiki-Ala Moana
Rep. Rida Cabanilla, D-Waipahu-Ewa
Rep. Kirk Caldwell, D-Manoa
Rep. Jerry Chang, D-Piihonua-Kaumana
Rep. Corrine Ching, R-Nuuanu-Liliha
Rep. Pono Chong, D-Maunawili-Kaneohe
Rep. Cindy Evans, D-Makalawena-Waimea
Rep. Lynn Finnegan, R-Mapunapuna-Foster Village
Rep. Josh Green, D-Keauhou-Honokohau
Rep. Sharon Har, D-Makakilo-Kapolei
Rep. Bob Herkes, D-Volcano-Kainaliu
Rep. Ken Ito, D-Heeia-Kaneohe
Rep. Jon Riki Karamatsu, D-Waipahu-Waikele
Rep. Marilyn Lee, D-Mililani-Mililani Mauka
Rep. Sylvia Luke, D-Pacific Heights-Punchbowl
Rep. Michael Magaoay, D-Schofield-Kahuku
Rep. Joey Manahan, D-Kalihi-Kapalama
Rep. Angus McKelvey, D-Olowalu-Kapalua
Rep. Colleen Meyer, R-Laie-Kahaluu
Rep. John Mizuno, D-Alewa Heights-Kalihi
Rep. Bob Nakasone, D-Kahului-Paia
Rep. Scott Nishimoto, D-Kaimuki-Waikiki
Rep. Blake Oshiro, D-Aiea-Halawa
Rep. Kymberly Pine, R-Ewa Beach-Iroquois Point
Rep. Karl Rhoads, D-Kakaako-Downtown
Rep. Roland Sagum, D-Niihau-Poipu-Kokee
Rep. Calvin Say, D-St. Louis Heights-Wilhelmina Rise
Rep. Joe Souki, D-Waihee-Wailuku
Rep. K. Mark Takai, D-Newtown-Pearl City
Rep. Cynthia Thielen, R-Kaneohe-Kailua
Rep. Clifton Tsuji, D-Hilo-Glenwood
Rep. Glenn Wakai, D-Moanalua Valley-Salt Lake
Rep. Gene Ward, R-Kalama Valley-Hawaii Kai
Rep. Tommy Waters, D-Lanikai-Waimanalo
Rep. Ryan Yamane, D-Waipahu-Mililani
Rep. Kyle Yamashita, D-Pukalani-Ulupalakua
No votes:
Rep. Lyla Berg, D-Hahaione Valley-Aina Haina
Rep. Mele Carroll, D-Lanai-Molokai
Rep. Faye Hanohano, D-Pahoa-Kalapana
Rep. Hermina Morita, D-Hanalei-Kapaa
Rep. Marcus Oshiro, D-Wahiawa-Poamoho
Rep. Scott Saiki, D-Moiliili-McCully
Rep. Maile Shimabukuro, D-Waianae-Makua
Rep. Alex Sonson, D-Pearl City-Waipahu
Rep. Dwight Takamine, D-Hawi-Hilo
Rep. Roy Takumi, D-Pearl City-Pacific Palisades
Rep. James Tokioka, D-Wailua-Koloa
Excused:
Rep. Barbara Marumoto, R-Kalani Valley-Diamond Head
— Associated Press
