WAILUKU, Maui — Hawaii Superferry officials said they will continue service between O'ahu and Kaua'i despite a temporary restraining order issued yesterday by a Maui judge that effectively halted travel to the Valley Isle.

The order by 2nd Circuit Judge Joseph Cardoza, which came on the ferry's second day of commercial voyages, allows the vessel to sail to Maui to pick up stranded passengers and return them to their port of origin. After that, the state Department of Transportation is temporarily barred from allowing the Superferry to use state facilities at Kahului Harbor, including loading barges and ramps, staging areas and roads.

The judge scheduled a hearing for 1:30 p.m. tomorrow to decide whether to issue a preliminary and/or permanent injunction that would extend the ban on Superferry use of the Maui harbor until the state conducts an environmental review, which could take months or years.

Hawaii Superferry spokeswoman Lori Abe said yesterday there will be no Maui trips today or tomorrow, but that Kaua'i service will continue on its regular schedule of a single daily round trip. The company is making arrangements for passengers stranded on O'ahu and Maui to get back home on airline flights, but those who took their vehicles with them will not be able to return on the ferry until Thursday or Friday, Abe said.

It was not immediately known how many people are affected.

Following a Hawai'i Supreme Court ruling Thursday that the state was wrong to have exempted ferry-related improvements at Kahului Harbor from the state's environmental review law, the company pushed up its start date and launched Sunday, offering $5 fares. It had originally planned to begin service today.

The company said it transported 4,000 passengers in two days and has received 23,000 bookings.

REFUNDS OFFERED

Customers who booked travel to or from Maui for today or tomorrow will automatically be issued a refund, the company said. O'ahu and Maui passengers who were planning to travel Thursday and beyond can request a refund via the Hawaii Superferry Web site or its call center, although the company is advising that filing the request online is a more efficient option.

Because the Maui court case initiated by the Maui Tomorrow Foundation, the Sierra Club and the Kahului Harbor Coalition involves only Kahului Harbor, the order does not prevent the Superferry from operating between O'ahu and Kaua'i.

The company issued a statement yesterday saying it hopes to resume regular Maui service on Thursday by persuading Cardoza not to issue a preliminary or permanent injunction.

Isaac Hall, attorney for the three groups, filed documents early yesterday seeking the order and said he was "very pleased" that Cardoza granted the request. He said the state would have saved all parties a lot of time, trouble and expense if it had begun an environmental study more than two years ago when the issue first arose.

State Transportation Director Barry Fukunaga issued a brief statement saying the agency is complying with the terms of the order while awaiting the outcome of tomorrow's hearing. "We will also be proceeding with the environmental assessment process as instructed by the state Supreme Court," he said.

Deputy Attorney General William Wynhoff said yesterday he will argue at the hearing that the Superferry be allowed to use the harbor facilities while the study is conducted.

The higher court's decision did not address the question of whether the review could be done concurrently with continued ferry service, but language in Cardoza's order would seem to have settled the matter. The order notes that under Chapter 343 of the Hawai'i Revised Statutes, acceptance of a final environmental review is a "condition precedent," meaning the review must be done before a proposed project or action can commence.

The judge said allowing ferry operations to continue at Kahului Harbor would render "meaningless" the court decision on the necessity of an environmental assessment and violate HRS Chapter 343, which established the environmental review system.

Wynhoff said Cardoza was only borrowing language contained in a proposed order submitted by Hall, and that the order was granted without the state being allowed to argue otherwise, which is normal in handling a temporary restraining order request.

"He signed the order without giving us an opportunity to comment. We hope and believe Judge Cardoza has not prejudged the issue," he said.

"We continue to believe the best course of action would be for the Superferry to come pending an environmental assessment."

Last week's Supreme Court ruling stemmed from an appeal of an earlier decision by Cardoza dismissing a complaint filed against the DOT by Maui Tomorrow Foundation, the Sierra Club and the Kahului Harbor Coalition. Cardoza had ruled the plaintiffs did not have standing to bring the complaint.

DECISION REVERSED

The higher court reversed that decision, and went a step further by ordering the environmental review of Kahului Harbor improvements.

The DOT spent $40 million installing barges, ramps, fencing and utilities for the ferry at the Honolulu, Kahului, Nawiliwili and Kawaihae harbors. State attorneys unsuccessfully argued the projects were exempt from HRS Chapter 343 and that the ferry is no different from cruise ships and other users that have expanded service at DOT harbors without environmental scrutiny.

Hall said the law requires that the secondary and cumulative impacts of a project and what it facilitates be considered, not just the project itself.

HRS Chapter 343 states that "an environmental assessment shall be required for actions that propose the use of state or county lands or the use of state or county funds." The assessment determines whether projects are likely to have a significant effect on the environment, and if the answer is yes, a more thorough impact statement is required.

If the environmental assessment determines a "finding of no significant impact," preparation of an EIS is not required.

The push for a full-scale environmental review has come largely from Neighbor Island residents, who say the potential impacts of interisland ferry service include traffic congestion around ports, the rapid spread of invasive species, ferry collisions with humpback whales, and pressure on local fishing, surfing and camping sites when people take their vehicles to other islands.

The 350-foot vessel can carry more than 850 people and 250 vehicles, but the company projects an average load of 400 passengers and 110 vehicles.

Hawaii Superferry officials insist they have met all of the DOT's requirements and conducted their own studies that led to rigorous operating procedures dealing with traffic, security, vehicle inspections and whale avoidance.

Reach Christie Wilson at cwilson@honoluluadvertiser.com.