Oahu Superferry EIS meeting very low turn out; Kaua'i needs to turn out strong.

SUBJECT: HAWAII SUPERFERRY EIS

SOURCE: JONATHAN JAY jonathan@dakauai.com

POSTED: 15 MARCH 2008 - 10:30am HST

Oahu Superferry EIS Meeting:
Kauai can do better than that.

image above:om Mitrano of Belt Collins, the state's consultant for an EIS , gave instructions to people
at a meeting at Farrington High School on Ohau. Photo by Richard Walker

by Jonathan Jay on 15 March 2008 Lets see if tiny Kaua`i with less than 1/12th the population of Oahu, can get 12 TIMES MORE people to this meeting than Oahu mustered.Oahu had only 12 participants in two public sessions. WHAT: Informational Meeting conducted by HI DOT on Superferry EIS WHEN: Two meetings held on Wednesday 19 March 2008 One from from 2:00pm. to 5:00pm. and another from 6:00pm to 9:00pm. WHERE: at the Kaua'i Community College Performing Arts Center.   2 HSF meetings draw 12 people on Oahu by Leila Fujimori on 15 March 2008 in The Star Bulletin Only a dozen people attended the two Oahu informational meetings on the Hawaii Superferry's environmental impact statement yesterday. "Neighbor island residents are much more aware than they are on Oahu" of harbor activities, said Mike Formby, deputy director of the state Harbors Division. "They are aware of when passenger ships are in, cargo ships are in, when milk's arriving. They seem to have a general awareness and consciousness." Formby also said recreational activities are permitted in neighbor island harbors but not in Honolulu Harbor. The state, required to prepare an environmental impact statement for the Hawaii Superferry, is holding meetings on six islands to provide information about the process. The EIS will address, among other things, three proposed new berths to accommodate a second vessel: one each in Honolulu Harbor, Kahului Harbor on Maui and Kawaihae Harbor on the Big Island. Nuuanu resident Lovey Lung, 45, hoped to learn why the Superferry's vessel was damaged and whether the company is financially viable since it suspended operations due to weather and repairs. She fears it might ask the Legislature for more money to finance its operation. "As taxpayers are we going to pay for it?" A hunter said he hoped the Superferry will sail to all the neighbor islands so he could transport his truck and dogs. A condo dweller from the harbor area complained of noise. Thirty people attended a March 4 meeting on Molokai, to where the Superferry has no plans to sail, compared with yesterday's four at the 2 p.m. session and eight at the 6 p.m. meeting at Farrington High School's large auditorium. The Superferry suspended operations several times since starting service in December. It is undergoing repairs to damage to its hull, Formby said. EIS meetings are set for Monday at Maui's Baldwin High School Auditorium, 2 to 5 and 6 to 9 p.m.; and Wednesday at Kauai Community College Performing Arts Center, 2 to 5 and 6 to 9 p.m.

 

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SUBJECT: HAWAII SUPERFERRY EIS

SOURCE: JUAN WILSON juanwilson@earthlink.net

POSTED: 4 MARCH 2008 - 8:00am HST

Hawaii Superferry EIS finally begins

image above: Traffic lined up at Superferry from http://macprohawaii.blogspot.com/2007_11_01_archive.html

HI DOT HSF EIS Meetings on Kaua'i WHAT: Informational Meeting conducted by HI DOT on Superferry EIS WHEN: Two meetings held on Wednesday 19 March 2008 One from from 2:00pm. to 5:00pm. and another from 6:00pm to 9:00pm. WHERE: at the Kaua'i Community College Performing Arts Center. by Rachel Gehrlein on 29 February 2008 in The Garden Island News Informational public meetings on the Superferry's Environmental Impact Statement conducted by the Hawai'i state Department of Transportation for the Hawai'i Superferry are under way. "The meetings are intended to give the public an opportunity to give their input," said Mike Formby, DOT Harbors Division chief. "It's an opportunity to engage the community."Formby said there will be two meetings, one in the afternoon and one in the evening. Scott Ishikawa, DOT spokesman, said the EIS will address the secondary impacts, such as whales and other endangered species, that could be affected by the Superferry. Under Act 2, the law that passed in the Legislature last year, the Superferry is allowed to run provided certain conditions are met while the environmental study is being done. The conditions include operating restrictions during what some call a truncated account of whale season, as the act cites it as January through April, though the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has included the whale season months of November and December. According to the Division of Land and Natural Resources, up to 10,000 humpback whales are in Hawaiian waters every year from November through May. The act was passed out of a special session called by Gov. Linda Lingle following Maui Circuit Judge Joseph Cardoza's ruling that the ferry couldn't sail during its court-ordered Environmental Impact Study. Belt Collins, the firm hired by the state and awarded a $1 million contract to complete the EIS on the Superferry, is supposed to report its findings to the DOT. "Right now, Belt Collins is looking for subcontractors and gathering experts to conduct studies," Formby said. "In a year-long process, we are about two months in." The Superferry is required to avoid the Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary within 100 fathoms or less during those months. "This project has brought mixed opinion," Ishikawa said. "This meeting would be the proper venue for those to voice their opinion." Although the Superferry does not service the entire state, meetings will be on the Big Island, Kaua'i, Lana'i and Moloka'i. "We want to know their feelings," Formby said.

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