Posted on: Monday, December 15, 2003

EDITORIAL
Cruise industry should accept binding laws

By all accounts, the emerging cruise ship industry in Hawai'i is doing a relatively good job of complying with the environmental standards it has agreed to under a "memorandum of understanding" with the state.

A recent review of the industry's compliance with the voluntary guidelines show close to perfect compliance. But not perfect.

Cruise line officials have acknowledged a number of incidents where treated sewage was released in protected marine areas as well as a handful of other environmental missteps.

To their credit, cruise officials have acknowledged the slipups and promise to tighten procedures so they will not happen again.

But if there are more discharges or other violations of the memorandum, the state has little it can do other than urge the industry to try harder.

The situation illustrates the need for specific state laws, including compliance rules and penalties, for the cruise industry in Island waters.

The value of such laws can be seen in Alaska, where strict legislation has encouraged the industry to adopt state-of-the-art environmental practices on the ships that cruise there.

The industry argues that memoranda of understanding are preferable, since they can be modified quickly as conditions merit. They also say they apply beyond the state's legal territorial limit.

Those arguments have merit. But there is no reason why the industry could not accept statutory requirements within state waters and a voluntary memorandum of agreement beyond that boundary.

The cruising industry is a vibrant, vital and exciting addition to our tourism mix. It is in everyone's interest that it adhere to the highest possible standards of environmental practice.