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SUPERFERRY FACTS• The Alakai is a 350-foot, high-speed catamaran, capable of carrying 836 people and 230 autos. • Superferry had 236 employees; most will be laid off today. • From April, when Superferry had it first full month of operation, through the end of 2008, it carried 207,000 passengers and 60,000 vehicles. RECENT ALAKAI BOARDINGS November: 18,890 passengers, 5,100 autos and 621 commercial vehicles December: 16,590 passengers, 4,868 autos and 586 commercial vehicles January: 13,312 passengers, 3,718 autos and 622 commercial vehicles Source: Hawaii Superferry
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Friday, March 20, 2009
EIS Study ordered as ferry ends
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Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Superferry To Announce Future Thursday morning 6:30am
From: Dick Mayer <dickmayer@earthlink.net>
Date: Wed, Mar 18, 2009 at 6:45 PM
Subject: Superferry To Announce Future Thursday morning 6:30am
To: Dick Mayer <dickmayer@earthlink.net>
Options Include Leaving, Waiting, Supreme Court Reconsideration
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In every person who comes near you look for what is good and strong; honor that; try to imitate it, and your faults will drop off like dead leaves when their time comes.
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Practice thinking about as many people as you can: "I love you, and want the best for you." and watch tensions dissolve, and all relationships blossom new gifts.
Thursday, January 8, 2009
BREAKING NEWS — Superferry Draft EIS finds significant impacts
BREAKING NEWS — Superferry Draft EIS finds significant impacts
By Coco Zickos
After many months of waiting, the Draft Environmental Impact Statement was made available to the public today, revealing many impacts the Superferry could have on the four main Hawaiian islands if operation were to continue.The EIS assesses the direct impacts the ferry could have to the islands caused by new construction needed to support a large-capacity ferry vessel, and indirect impacts, such as affects on Hawaiian waters and cultural practices.
The report declares that the cumulative effects of the Superferry would significantly and adversely affect traffic within the vicinity of Nawiliwili, Kahului, Kawaihae and Honolulu Harbors. The large-vessel ferry could potentially impact the number of endangered humpback whales, the dispersal of inter-island invasive species and the traditional cultural practices conducted on the islands, the EIS said.
The comprehensive report declares that cultural activities within the vicinity of West Harbor in Kahului would significantly and adversely be impacted due to "new harbor improvements." New pier construction at Kawaihae Harbor would also result in significant and adverse impacts, including those to nearby Pu'ukohola Heiau National Historic Park, obstructing views and affecting not only the rock walls of the heiau, but ceremonial activities as well, due to noise and construction.
Indirect impacts noted in the report include activities such as fishing, surfing and diving, including the potential loss of natural resources as stated in the cultural impact analyses.
The only reportedly beneficial impact reviewed in the environmental draft is that the large-capacity ferry vessel would provide to all harbors a "superior" mode of transportation for disaster planning and emergency response. The statement concludes that the vessel would increase the capabilities and response times of first responders and relief efforts.
To view the EIS in its entirety and to leave comment, visit the Department of Transportation's Web site, hawaii.gov/dot/harbors
For full coverage of the Draft EIS, see Friday's edition of The Garden Island.
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
ABCNEWS.com: The Mission: Send 1,000 Love Letters to Complete Strangers
Aloha,
John
Subject: ABCNEWS.com: The Mission: Send 1,000 Love Letters to Complete Strangers
http://abcnews.go.com/US/story?id=6542201&page=1
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Dwight L. Moody - "I have had more trouble with myself than with any other man I've met."
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Every man stamps his value on himself... man is made great or small
by his own will.
-- J.C.F. von Schiller
The person who says it cannot be done should not interrupt the person doing it.
-- Chinese proverb
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
Superferry's interisland service depends on court ruling
HONOLULU ADVERTISER Tuesday, December 9, 2008
Hawaii Superferry's interisland
Service may be halted if high court rules against law that let ship operate
By Derrick DePledge
Advertiser Government Writer
The state Supreme Court, whose ruling last year led to a three-month shutdown of Hawaii Superferry, will decide whether the interisland service can continue in a new case to be heard next week.
A ruling could have an immediate impact on whether Superferry can operate between O'ahu and Maui. It could also influence the separation of powers among the governor, the Legislature and the courts.
The Sierra Club, Maui Tomorrow and the Kahului Harbor Coalition, the nonprofit groups that brought the legal challenge that temporarily stopped Superferry last year, have asked the court to declare the new law unconstitutional.
Arguments before the court are scheduled for Dec. 18.
The Supreme Court ruled in August 2007 that the state should not have exempted the Superferry project from an environmental assessment. A Maui court subsequently halted ferry service to Kahului Harbor, while public protests kept the ferry from returning to Kaua'i.
Lingle called a special session of the Legislature, where lawmakers passed a bill that allowed the ferry to resume operation under conditions designed to protect the environment while an environmental impact statement is prepared. Lingle signed the bill into law, and the Maui court allowed the ferry to return to Kahului Harbor.
Many political observers thought the legal challenges were largely over, but the court's willingness to hear the appeal so soon raises the possibility that Superferry may again be stopped.
"This case is now a case of even greater public importance," Isaac Hall, the Wailuku attorney representing the environmental groups, said in court filings.
violations alleged
Hall's main arguments are that the new law violates two parts of the Constitution: Article I, Section 21, which bars the state from making any irrevocable grants of special privileges; and Article XI, Section 5, which says the Legislature can only exercise power over state lands through general laws.
The constitutional restriction on special privileges, according to the Legislative Reference Bureau, is meant to ensure the state acts on behalf of all people and not for the sake of the elite. The provision limiting the Legislature's power to general laws over state lands is designed to prevent sweetheart land deals for private interests.
Lawmakers, mindful of the constitutional restrictions, were careful not to mention Superferry by name in the new law, and instead described a "large capacity ferry vessel."
But Hall argues that the new law was "conceived, cut and tailored" solely for Superferry, a special law that gave Superferry access through an operating agreement to state land at Kahului and other harbors.
Hall also argues that the new law deprives the environmental groups of a vested right, given by the Supreme Court's ruling last year, for an environmental assessment under the state's environmental review law. The new law removed the large-capacity ferry vessel from under the state's environmental review law and created a similar — although not identical — process to conduct an environmental impact statement by next summer.
Hall argues that the new law "amounts to a legislative and executive revision of judicial decisions."
Lawmakers were guided when drafting the new law by the 1992 U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Robertson v. Seattle Audubon Society. The ruling found that it was not unconstitutional for Congress to change timber harvesting rules in federally managed forests in response to legal challenges by environmentalists, who had argued that the old rules threatened endangered northern spotted owls.
The ruling found that Congress did not direct results in the legal challenges under the old law, but instead replaced the legal standards with new provisions.
Lawmakers in Hawai'i essentially did the same thing with Superferry.
State lawyer counters
Dorothy Sellers, the state solicitor general, argues in the state's legal briefs that the governor and lawmakers acted within their authority to create new public policy.
Sellers said the new law is not an irrevocable grant of special privileges for a ferry company because it expires when the environmental impact statement is accepted by the state or, at the latest, by next summer.
The new law is not a special law involving legislative power over state lands, Sellers argues, because the operating agreement is between an executive-branch agency — the state Department of Transportation — and a ferry company. The ferry company also does not have an exclusive right under the agreement and must share state harbors with other users.
Sellers said Hawai'i courts have not addressed the meaning of general law as it applies to Article XI of the Constitution, but the Supreme Court has upheld a legislative act designed to respond to a singular circumstance. In Bulgo v. County of Maui in 1967, the court found that it was constitutional for the Legislature to pass a law tailored for Maui calling for a special election to replace the chairman of the board of supervisors, who had died shortly after re-election and had not begun his new term.
Sellers also argued that the environmental groups have no vested right to an environmental assessment for Superferry under the state's environmental review law because the August 2007 Supreme Court decision was not the final judgment in the case.
The appeal, Sellers said, is "an assault on the inherent, essential power of the Legislature to speak for the people and to revise the public policies of the state as the Legislature determines necessary."
Last year, lawmakers were not enthusiastic about returning in special session to help Superferry but agreed because of the potential benefits of interisland ferry service. Lawmakers found that the ferry was an alternative mode of transportation that could help move people and cargo between the islands and could be an asset in disaster relief.
State Senate President Colleen Hanabusa, D-21st (Nanakuli, Makaha), said she believes the Legislature acted properly. She wishes, however, that the state House, Lingle and Superferry had agreed with the Senate and supported an environmental review of the project before the court ruled that such a review was required.
Hanabusa predicted that justices would decide the appeal based on an Article XI test of whether the new law is general or special.
'a major problem'
If the court were to issue a broad ruling limiting the Legislature's power, Hanabusa said, lawmakers may have to consider asking voters to amend the Constitution.
In 2006, for example, voters approved a constitutional amendment that allowed the Legislature to define what constitutes the continuous sexual abuse of a minor under 14. The court had ruled that a law defining continuous sexual abuse was a violation of the right to due process because jurors were not instructed that they had to be unanimous about which specific acts amounted to continuous abuse.
"If the Supreme Court comes back and says that we don't have the right to make exceptions to the law, for whatever reason, then we're going to have a major problem," Hanabusa said.
Irene Bowie, the executive director of Maui Tomorrow, said the environmental groups deserve a real environmental assessment of Superferry, not what their attorney has described as a "pseudo-process that falls far short" of the state's environmental law.
"I think that this has been an illegitimate process. I don't think there's any real results that we'll come away with on this," Bowie said of the new law. "We would absolutely like to see this done over again in the proper way."
Reach Derrick DePledge at ddepledge@honoluluadvertiser.com.
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The person who says it cannot be done should not interrupt the person doing it.
-- Chinese proverb
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
The New Book, Fargo on the Big Island, and Confronting Act 2
1.) The book on this is catching fire. There have been some interesting phone conversations and e-mail's exchanging hands between the islands about the book.
2.) Fargo went to speak to the Kawaihae community on Sunday. They were expecting him there for at least a couple of hours. He started getting peppered with difficult questions, like about DU, so he got short and left after only an hour before a number of people in the small audience could ask their questions. The flaming about this in e-mails from those in attendance is noteworthy. Why would a person take a time consuming round-trip to go over their from Oahu and then only stay for an hour? Here is the only article on the event: "Superferry Update; Questions remain unanswered at Kawaihae meeting."
3.) HSF announced yesterday they are offering 2 for 1 deals but only to military personnel. I wasn't even going to recognize this story, but others have, so I'll just say ridership must be low. Otherwise, the preference doesn't surprise me.
4.) Lastly Joan Conrow has a fairly decent blog entry today on word about the new book, Superferry Chronicles. I found the comments to her blog entry to be especially enlightening. One or two of the comments there clarify the size of the crowd at Nawiliwili Harbor in August 2007; it was somewhere between 1000 and 1500. Those comments also clarify the filled and overflowing auditorium at the beginning of the event when the Governor's Unified Command came to speak in Sept. 2007.
But what I found especially interesting was that one of the anonymous commentors asks if people have read what Ken Stokes has written on the issue? Surprisingly, I had not, so I looked it up. I was surprised with what I found. This is important because it relates to a similar type of evaluation that could be used by others with an influenced Act 2 EIS. Here are my responses to Ken's 2006 post on this subject:
"...Well, we'll take it in order:
1. Claim- "Ironically, concerns about the energy efficiency of inter-island transport have only recently entered the debate amid claims these boats would actually generate more emissions than inter-island jets, though the available data (see below) suggest the opposite is true."
Response- HSF burns 15 times more petroleum based fuel to cover the same route than an Hawaiian Air jet. Even if you brought the maximum number of people transported to the same for each, a jet airplane is at least twice as efficient as HSF using no more than 1/2 the fuel that HSF takes to transport the same number of people the same distance. This is mainly so because the boat has 4 diesel engines moving through more water resistance and these planes have 2 jet engines moving through less resistant air. One could question whether one pollutes the air more than the sea and vis-a-versa, but I would think the petroleum carbon is released into the environment nevertheless. From an economic standpoint, a jet plane is much more efficient than HSF, assuming there is not really the need to move cars quickly interisland.
2. Claim- About the traffic, and "300 vehicles" split evenly going north and south.
Response- A key point here is that they don't all come and go in one day. They accumulate over a number of days in the beginning, as people are here for a number of days, weeks; ie. visitors and construction workers. The accumulated daily average total, assuming uninterrupted service, would amount to more like 1000 to 2000 additional cars on the island. These roads, esp. between Wailua and Kealia, cannot handle that kind of influx.
3. Claim- As for "the added risk and impact" of invasive species "must be fairly small."
Response- Well, first of all, we don't know, and certainly an economist would not know. Maybe a biologist or a DOA or DLNR officier might have a better idea on that. What we do know is that Kauai does not have the size of invasives populations that Oahu and the Big Island, and that even Maui have. Those would include the mongoose, fire ants, varroa mites, and coqui frogs, among others. All of those have been spreading between the other islands, but not to Kauai, except for the coqui in small numbers.
Just one example I'll mention. The Nene geese are well established on Kauai, at least on the Northshore. I see and hear them on the land and at low altitude all the time. That is not the case on the other islands. THIS IS the beautiful state bird. If the mongoose gets established here, you can kiss the Nene and other egg-laying endangered native species goodbye.
4. Claim- "And, regarding threats to whales...the Superferry's "mitigation" responses to these challenges probably makes this boat less of a threat than the hundreds of "whale watch" tour boats...Again, there is some risk here, yet probably not large."
Response- "Less of a threat" how so? When whale watch boats have infrequently had accidental collisions with whales, they almost never result in the whale's death, as the whale watch boats are relatively small and moving slowly. Inertia, mass and velocity, are what determine the threat of fatal collisions between boats and whales as has been documented about every couple of months in places like the Canary Islands. So far, the ferry here has not operated consistently or at all in Jan., Feb., or Mar. last season. It remains to be seen what its track record will be operating daily during the height of the whales season here, assuming it can handle the Winter sea conditions and not run into other mechanical problems again as it did last Winter.
5. Claim- "Conceivably, the ferries could be a win-win…As in: keep the travel AND cut the [CO2] emissions."
Response- It's not a win for the company, because they have not and probably never will actually cover all of their costs, much less the significant costs they have been able to formally externalize to the State. As for less CO2 emissions, I am not convinced that burning 400 gallons of jet fuel releases more CO2 to the environment than burning 6000 gallons of diesel fuel to cover the same route.
Aloha, Brad
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-- Chinese proverb
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Superferry begins seasonal voyage into seasickness
Superferry begins seasonal voyage into seasickness
by Larry Geller
As we head into Winter, the seas around Hawaii will begin to get choppy. Bouncing in the middle of it all is the Hawaii Superferry, now with increased passenger load, headed for another barf-filled season. It's inevitable and predictable. Here's possibly the first report of the season, with thanks to Dick Mayer.
Blogs started as personal "journals," and many still are. So it's interesting to see this account of a Superferry voyage as part of a blog post on a Maui vacation:
So we just got back from our vacation on neighbor-island Maui (not neighboring and NOT outer island). We took the Superferry (huge mistake) and stayed at the all-suites Fairmont Kea Lani in Wailea. Hung out in Wailea the whole time and had a blast. Since we already live on a tropical island, wasn't sure how "vacation-y" it would feel, but it was so much fun. We can't wait to visit more islands.
First, the Hawaii Superferry. We chose to take the Superferry because we thought it would be a fun experience and a convenient way to take our car. Wrong. I was so seasick, I made frantic calls on the Superferry to the reservations desk to cancel my return trip. It was 3+ miserable hours. Joe and kids did okay, but we (foolishly) sat in first class at the bow (front) of the ship which made it extra rocky! Joe returned on the ferry with the car, and the kids and I flew back. It was about the same price and only a 34 minute plane ride.
This is news that is not filtered through a newspaper that runs Superferry ads, it's real. The author talks about all the al fresco dining on Maui, and ABC stores, so I think we're looking at a genuine tourist experience.
Permalink posted by Larry @ 10/14/2008 11:11:00 AM
POSITIVE QUOTE OF THE DAY
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The person who says it cannot be done should not interrupt the person doing it.
-- Chinese proverb
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Second Superferry on budget and ahead of schedule for Hawaii Delivery
Now they're not even hiding the fact the new SF is to benefit the military.... see the inconspicuous last line of the news report...
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Saturday, September 20, 2008
Maui ocean resources finding way onto ferry
From: Dick Mayer <dickmayer@earthlink.net>
Date: Sat, Sep 20, 2008 at 10:31 AM
Subject: Maui ocean resources finding way onto ferry
To: Dick Mayer <dickmayer@earthlink.net>
Maui ocean resources finding way onto ferry
WAILUKU » Maui Mayor Charmaine Tavares said she was "gravely" worried about attempts to take prohibited resources from waters around the Valley Isle and bring them aboard the Hawaii Superferry.
"I am appalled by the reported amount of marine resources that are leaving our island with Superferry passengers," she said.
During a state oversight task force meeting yesterday, enforcement officers reported that in the first half of August, they found passengers trying to take aboard 63 pounds of opihi, 60 pounds of fish and 43 pounds of limu.
Tavares said in a written statement that she wants state agricultural and conservation officials to continue inspections beyond December.
State conservation enforcement officers have been assigned to work with Superferry employees to inspect passenger belongings through the end of December and to assist the task force in preparing a report.
The task force report is expected to be presented to the Legislature by January.
Tavares said state enforcement officers are needed to conduct the inspections.
"The years of education and training they bring to the operation cannot be replaced by a handful of hours of training that Superferry employees receive," she said.
State conservation enforcement official Randy Awo said there has been a rise in the volume of ocean resources that passengers have tried to bring aboard the Superferry, including fish, limu and opihi.
In response to Maui residents' concerns, a state executive order banned using the Superferry to transport many ocean resources.
Superferry official Richard Houck said he felt his employees were capable of doing the inspections and the taking of ocean resources has been small.
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Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Court appeal hangs over Superferry
Court appeal hangs over Superferry
Three groups are challenging a law that allowed the ship to begin interisland trips
Honolulu Star-Bulletin
Sunday, August 24, 2008
By Ken Kobayashi
One year after a Hawaii Supreme Court decision that led to a temporary halt of Superferry operations, the interisland service enjoys increased ridership and plans to expand to the Big Island next year.
The legislative power over the lands owned by or under the control of the State and its political subdivisions shall be exercised only by general laws, except in respect to transfers to or for the use of the State, or a political subdivision, or any department or agency thereof.
The Superferry survived thanks to the state Legislature, which passed a law that essentially negated the high court's ruling of Aug. 23, 2007. But the Superferry must still overcome a remaining legal hurdle to continue its twice-daily service between Honolulu and Kahului Harbor on Maui. Three environmental groups - the Sierra Club, Maui Tomorrow Inc. and the Kahului Harbor Coalition - have filed an appeal challenging the constitutionality of the law, called Act 2.
If the groups prevail, the Superferry would be not be able to use the Kahului Harbor improvements built for the ferry until a review is completed on the impacts of the Superferry on the environment, a process that could take months.
While state and Superferry lawyers defend the law, one environmental lawyer said the challenge has merit.
"Ultimately, I think the Supreme Court will take very seriously this type of appeal," said David Henkin, staff attorney for Earthjustice, an environmental group not involved in the case.
Tom Fargo, Superferry president and chief executive officer, declined to speculate on what might happen if the Maui groups prevail. "It's impossible for me to comment on a hypothetical situation like that," he told the Star-Bulletin. "Nobody's crystal ball is that clear."
A ruling on the appeal is not expected for weeks, perhaps months.
Environmental Impact
The heart of the legal dispute is whether the state should conduct an environmental review of the Superferry operations before its 350-foot Alakai can bring passengers and cars to Maui.
The high court ruled that the state erred in determining in February 2005 that the Superferry operations were exempt from the review, which must be done under state law prior to the start of the activity.
The high court's unanimous opinion came five days before the ferry's planned inaugural voyages to Maui and Kauai.
The Aug. 23 ruling by the five justices set off a tumultuous week that included Superferry officials moving the start date two days ahead of schedule at a reduced $5 fare; Kauai protesters preventing the Alakai from docking at Kauai's Nawiliwili Harbor; and Maui Circuit Judge Joseph Cardoza issuing a court order on Aug. 27 halting Superferry operations to Maui.
Two months later on Oct. 31, state lawmakers convened in a special session to pass a law that said the "unique and critical importance" of the ferry service warranted a change in the environmental laws. The law required the state to conduct an environmental review of the operations by preparing an environmental impact statement, but also allowed the Superferry to resume operations.
Act 2 was signed two days later by Gov. Linda Lingle.
Cardoza lifted his order Nov. 14. The Superferry's Alakai later resumed sailings to Maui. Sailings to Kauai remained on hold after Coast Guard officials recommended suspending service because of security concerns.
Draft Being Prepared
The environmental impact statement is a keystone of the state's environmental protection laws. For the Superferry, it requires a study of the service's impact on "the economic welfare, social welfare and cultural practices of the community and state" as well as on marine animals and plants, traffic, public safety and control of invasive species.
It also allows the public to express concerns about the proposed projects, according to state law. And it must consider ways to minimize any "adverse effects" and alternatives to the proposed action.
The state is preparing that statement, not only for Superferry operations on Maui, the subject of the legal dispute, but also for Kauai and the Big Island.
State Transportation Director Brennon Morioka said 11 public hearings have been held around the state from March to May and hopes to complete the impact statement by June or July.
A draft statement is scheduled to be completed in October or November, at which time the public will have 45 days to comment on the draft. The state would then address those comments in preparing the final impact statement, he said.
Legislature's Role
The completion of the statement, however, will not resolve the legal dispute, according to Isaac Hall, the three Maui groups' lawyer, who calls the current effort to prepare an environmental statement "bogus."
Hall said that if Act 2 is declared unconstitutional, the state must redo the environmental impact statement because laws require that the state prepare the statement before the operation starts.
"If you prepare an EIS while the action is undertaken, it jeopardizes the validity of the statement," he said. "It's likely you'll tolerate more of the adverse impact of the project."
An environmental impact statement normally takes two or three years to prepare, Morioka said. But he also said the state might be able to rely on some data collected in the current process, which would shorten the time if the state had to redo an impact statement.
Whether the state has to start all over in preparing an impact statement, however, depends on the Maui groups' appeal of the law.
Some legal observers say they face an uphill fight. The rationale is that because the Legislature passed the state laws requiring an environmental review before a project gets under way, the lawmakers are free to change the law.
It's a point emphasized in the state's legal briefs.
"The judicial branch of government construes and interprets the laws that are relevant to disposition of a case, but does not itself legislate or make laws," Deputy Attorney General Dorothy Sellers said.
"The Legislature speaks for the people," she later added.
But the Maui groups cite two state constitutional provisions: Article 1, section 21 and Article 11, section 5. Hall argued that the provisions prohibit state lawmakers from passing a special law to benefit a single business enterprise, particularly when dealing with state lands, site of the Kahului Harbor improvements for the Superferry.
The reasoning is that the Legislature should be passing laws for the general welfare of the public and should not be cutting special deals on behalf of a single business, Hall told the Star-Bulletin.
Although the law refers to a "large capacity ferry vessel company," Hall argued that it's clear that Act 2 deals solely with Superferry.
Henkin said he believes the Maui groups have raised a "very serious claim, one that has a lot of appeal in terms of making sure our environmental laws can be effective in protecting us from unwise decisions ahead of time."
The State's Position
The state responded in its legal brief filed last week that Act 2 does not violate either constitutional provision. Superferry's legal brief incorporated the arguments by the state.
The law did not give anyone an "irrevocable grant" prohibited by Article 1, section 21 because Act 2 specifies it will be repealed on the 45th business day following the end of next year's legislative session or when the environmental impact statement is completed, whichever is earlier, the state argued.
The state also said Act 2 does not provide "special benefits and immunities" for the Superferry alone because the law applies to all large-capacity ferry vessels. The law also did not deal with exercising control over state lands, the state argued. Act 2 simply exempted large ferry vessels from the laws requiring an environmental review before a proposed activity, the state said.
The Maui groups failed to establish that it is "unconstitutional beyond a reasonable doubt (or by any standard)," the state said.
Rise in Ridership
While the appeal has been simmering, Superferry officials are touting an increase in ridership. They celebrated its 125,000th passenger last week and continued to plan for expanding to the Big Island and Kauai.
The Alakai carried 36,600 passengers between Honolulu and Maui in July, about a 40 percent increase from June, according to Superferry officials. The number of vehicles was 9,200, a 36 percent increase over June.
"Ridership is still very good," Fargo said. "I would say we're just about where we expected to be." He said they are targeting May to start service from Honolulu to Kawaihae Harbor on the Big Island using a second ferry, whose construction is about 80 percent complete.
For Kauai, he said, Superferry officials wanted to first establish a reliable track record of service to Maui, hear from Kauai residents and make sure they get reliable information about the interisland operation.
Fargo said they didn't have a firm date for the Kauai service, but said it would be after the state completes its impact statement.
During the now twice-daily trips to Maui, Fargo said, the Superferry has been "very diligent" about complying with environmental laws. No major issues involving violations of the law have surfaced, he said.
"Our goal is to meet and exceed the (environmental protection) standards because we believe them to be important also," he said.
Looking to High Court
But the final word on whether the state's current environmental review is adequate rests with the Hawaii Supreme Court, which a year ago yesterday shocked the state and Superferry officials.
With its ruling issued just days before the Superferry's inaugural voyages, the high court made clear that environmental laws must be followed, regardless of the potential harm to the business.
The appeal is with the Intermediate Court of Appeals, but Hall said he will ask that it be transferred to the high court because the appeal deals with matters of "great public importance" and whichever side loses in the Intermediate Court will likely ask the high court to review the ruling.
Hall said he has until early next month to respond to the arguments by the state and Superferry, the final legal briefs for the case.
He would not comment on whether he has a better chance with the five justices who would be considering the constitutionality of a law that shot down their decision.
Henkin doesn't think so. "I'm confident the justices are not going to be caught up in any kind of personal connection to round 1," he said. "I'm sure they will look at round 2 and give a neutrally fair and dispassionate decision."
WHAT'S THE LAW?
The two state Constitution provisions cited by the Maui groups challenging the state law that allows the Superferry to operate before an environmental impact statement is completed:
Article 1, section 21 - Limitations of Special Privileges
The power of the State to act in the general welfare shall never be impaired by the making of any irrevocable grant of special privileges or immunities.
Article 11, section 5 - General laws required; exceptions
Key dates in the superferry legal battle
» Aug. 23, 2007: After hearing arguments earlier in the day, the Hawaii Supreme Court unanimously rules that environmental laws require the state to review the impact of the Superferry operations on the environment. The ruling overturned a 2005 decision by Maui Circuit Judge Joseph Cardoza.
» Aug. 24, 2007: Superferry officials announce they are moving up the scheduled launch by two days, and one-way fares will be reduced to $5 a person and $5 a vehicle.
» Aug. 26, 2007: Superferry's Alakai departs Honolulu to Kahului Harbor and returns, but the afternoon cruise to Kauai is met by protesters in the waters of Nawiliwili Harbor. Alakai returns to Honolulu Harbor.
» Aug. 27, 2007: Cardoza issues an order banning Superferry operations to Maui until the state conducts an environmental review. (The Maui court case does not directly apply to Nawiliwili Harbor, but Superferry and state officials follow the Coast Guard's recommendation in suspending service to Kauai because of security issues raised by the protest.)
» Oct. 31, 2007: The state Legislature passes Act 2, allowing the Superferry to operate while the state prepares an environmental impact statement. Act 2 says, "It is clearly in the public interest that a large capacity ferry vessel service should commence as soon as possible."
» Nov. 14, 2007: Because of Act 2, Cardoza lifts his ban on Superferry operations to Maui.
» Dec. 13, 2007: Superferry resumes service between Honolulu and Maui, although it is later disrupted by high waves and repairs.
» Feb. 29: Sierra Club and two other groups file formal notice that they will appeal Cardoza's ruling. Like all appeals, the case goes to the Hawaii Intermediate Court of Appeals, the state's second-highest court, but the three groups will ask that the appeal go directly to the Hawaii Supreme Court.
» Aug. 18: The state and Superferry file legal briefs defending Act 2.
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Superferry Military Link
from reporter Joan Conrow's blog, Kauai Eclectic
Superferry Military Link
I just checked out Larry Geller's Disappeared News blog and he has a very interesting post that confirms something that many of us have believed all along: the Hawaii Superferry is indeed intended for military purposes.Larry quotes a report in today's edition of BYM Marine and Maritime News that contains this nugget:
Austal was recently awarded a new contract to provide additional features and equipment on the second Hawaii Superferry to facilitate its use by the military. This follows on from the long term charter, since 2001, of the Austal built 101 metre vehicle-passenger catamaran "WestPac Express" by the III Marine Expeditionary Force (MEF) based on Okinawa, Japan. As an adapted commercial vessel "WestPac Express" has demonstrated the enormous flexibility, cost savings and efficiencies achievable by commercial fast ferry technology over conventional air or sea transport.
As you may recall, the company had sought federal funding to equip the second ferry with ramps that would allow the military vehicles to easily access the ship. Other documents indicated that Austal also wanted to add desalination and sewage treatment plants and widen the hull to facilitate military uses. The total price tag was $5 million.
The article also states that Austal USA, which built the Alakai, continues to participate in the process to secure the lucrative Navy contract to build Joint High Speed Vessels for the military. It states:
The Austal JHSV Team's low risk, proven technology solution combines the expertise of Austal USA, Austal Ships (Australia) and General Dynamics Advanced Information Systems (GDAIS).
Austal USA's Mobile, Alabama shipyard is unique in having the proven infrastructure and trained workforce in place to design, construct, deliver and service 100 metre+ high speed ships in the US. Austal USA recently launched the 127 metre trimaran LCS-2 "Independence" combat ship for the US Navy and has under construction the second 107 metre Hawaii Superferry catamaran high speed vehicle-passenger ferry. In 2007 Austal USA delivered the first Hawaii Superferry "Alakai" for intra-island service in the Hawaiian islands.
Thanks, Larry, for picking up that bit of "news."