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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Wednesday, April 13, 2005

On Big Isle, calls go out for ferry EIS

By Kevin Dayton
Advertiser Big Island Bureau

HILO, Hawai'i — Residents in the Waimea and Kawaihae areas are demanding that an environmental impact statement be done for the proposed Hawai'i Superferry project to outline the ferry's effect on traffic, on Kawaihae Harbor and on the surrounding area.

"They say it's not going to affect us, but it will," said Waimea resident Bee Henderson, who paddles in Kawaihae Harbor five days a week. Henderson said she believes that if the Superferry operates in the harbor, it will put an end to the annual Kawaihae Canoe Club regatta there.

John Garibaldi, Hawai'i Superferry chief executive, has said forcing the project to do an EIS would take nine months to a year, and would kill the project, but Henderson said the EIS should be required anyway.

"I think if it's a good idea, it will survive an EIS and it will be a good thing. I'm just concerned that things haven't been thought through," she said. Henderson said she wants to know more about a project that is relying on $40 million in state-financed harbor improvements.

Members of the Big Island County Council on Tuesday will consider a nonbinding resolution on the issue.

The Kaua'i and Maui county councils have already approved similar resolutions calling for an EIS for the project.

County Councilman Pete Hoffmann, whose district includes Kawaihae, said he has heard from about 50 constituents who want an environmental study done. Almost all of them like the Superferry idea, but want it to be carefully planned out.

"We think the Superferry effort is a good one, but we are questioning whether the planning has been done properly," he said.

The project has also run into problems at the state Legislature, where the Senate Ways and Means Committee has blocked efforts to set aside the $40 million in state money for harbor improvements for the project.

Last month three environmental groups sued the state and Hawai'i Superferry, demanding that a thorough EIS be conducted. The lawsuit was filed March 21 in Maui Circuit Court by lawyer Isaac Hall on behalf of the Sierra Club, Maui Tomorrow and the Kahului Harbor Coalition.

Two passenger and car ferries would shuttle between O'ahu, Maui, Kaua'i and the Big Island under the Superferry proposal.

Garibaldi has said he needs all government approvals in place for the project by June 30, and has said a yearlong delay to conduct the environmental study would result in the loss of $200 million in capital and the first of two ferries under construction in Alabama.

Reach Kevin Dayton at kdayton@honoluluadvertiser.com or (808) 935-3916.