Posted on: Monday, May 28, 2001

Editorial
Cruise line regulation must be consistent

By all accounts, the environmental standards set by the booming cruise line business in Hawai'i meet or exceed any state or federal standard.

Still, as staff writer Michelle Kayal pointed out in her story last week, it is imperative that the various regulatory authorities pull together a coherent, enforceable and consistent set of environmental guidelines before this industry explodes in Island waters.

Within the next several years, the number of port calls by cruise liners is expected to double, to more than 500 a year. Five ships will be permanently based here for interisland sailings, up from today's two.

While this is a glamorous addition to our visitor industry mix, it comes with its own set of concerns. These cruise ships produced enormous amounts of waste, both garbage and effluent.

On-board systems are supposed to treat sewage and wastewater before they are discharged. And nothing is supposed to go overboard until the vessel is under way and at least three miles out to sea.

The cruise operators say their own standards exceed these rules.

There is no reason to think the cruise line owners want to be anything other than good guests and welcome neighbors.

But good intentions and sound environmental policies work best when they are clearly understood and uniformly enforced by the state, federal agencies and the cruise operators themselves.

Alaska, which experienced a huge surge in the cruise business long before Hawai'i, learned this the hard way. As a result, there are special rules that apply in Alaska that go beyond anything required elsewhere.

Hawai'i should learn from the Alaska experience and put into place the best regulatory scheme possible before the industry booms.

That's the best way to ensure the cruise business will remain a permanent and welcome part of our tourism industry.