Posted on: Friday, September 26, 2003
State plans tougher cruise ship guidelines
By Kelly Yamanouchi
Advertiser Staff Writer
The state plans to set stricter guidelines for cruise ships to report pollution incidents and prepare for oil spills.
Health Department officials met with cruise lines for three hours yesterday to discuss changes to the standing guidelines, known as a memorandum of understanding. The agreement was signed in October by Gov. Ben Cayetano and cruise line representatives, but it is subject to an annual review to monitor its effectiveness.
The discussions highlight the continuing challenges that the state faces in accommodating the growing numbers of visitors traveling on cruise ships.
While the cruise passengers' spending and tax dollars help to improve the state's economy, the increased arrivals are raising questions about the state's ability to adequately safeguard Hawai'i's natural resources.
"We're trying to protect Hawai'i's environment better," said Larry Lau, deputy director for environmental health at the Health Department, and the agreement "needs refinement."
One proposed amendment will require the cruise lines to report any wastewater discharges that violate the agreement within 10 days of an incident and tell the state by the end of the year about any discharges that violated the pact since it was signed last year.
"We don't believe there have been ... any slip-ups," said John Hansen, president of the North West CruiseShip Association. "We hope to maintain that good record."
Another amendment will require the cruise lines to have emergency plans in place in the event of an oil spill. The cruise lines would be required to provide information to help the state prepare for cleanups, as is the case with other Pacific Coast states.
Hansen said the cruise lines already have oil spill response plans and complying will not be a problem.
State officials and cruise representatives expect the amendments to be finalized by December after the changes are discussed with officials not at the meeting.
All major cruise line members of the North West CruiseShip Association except for Carnival Cruise Lines attended the meeting, including Norwegian Cruise Line, Princess Cruises and Holland America Line.
A public meeting is tentatively scheduled for Dec. 11 to discuss the cruise memorandum of understanding and how it is working.
The state and the cruise lines also plan to form a working group to study the effectiveness of advanced on-board wastewater treatment systems used by ships in Alaska. If used here, the systems would allow cruise ships to discharge wastewater closer to shore.
A lingering concern of the state and environmentalists is the lack of regular inspections of cruise ships by state officials.
Lau said the Health Department plans to accompany the Coast Guard on its spot checks or inspections, starting with one on Kaua'i scheduled before the public meeting.
Lau said the state has not yet exercised its full rights for inspections under the memorandum of understanding because of the limited number of inspectors.
"At some point this may well become an issue of resources," Lau said.
Sierra Club of Hawai'i director Jeff Mikulina said the state should adopt laws regulating the cruise industry rather than rely on the memorandum of agreement, which does not have the force of law.
Mikulina said the monitoring should be paid for by the cruise industry and penalties imposed for violations, which other states require.
The amendments discussed yesterday are good changes, "but it's still a voluntary agreement," Mikulina said.
"If they violate that, what happens? Absolutely nothing."
Reach Kelly Yamanouchi at 535-2470, or at kyamanouchi@honoluluadvertiser.com.
