WAILUKU, Maui — The former head of Haleakala National Park urged federal officials in March 2005 to request that Hawai'i conduct an environmental impact statement of the Hawaii Superferry to examine ways to prevent the spread of fire ants, stinging nettle caterpillars, Himalayan raspberry and other invasive species that could threaten the park's delicate ecosystems.

Donald Reeser, who retired in July 2005 after 18 years at Haleakala, told the chief of the Maritime Administration that he was most concerned about "the obvious deficiency" in the number of state Department of Agriculture inspectors, who already were struggling to keep pests from arriving via international, national and interisland air and sea routes.

"It is certainly true the Superferry would not be the only means of transport for such interisland invasions via vehicles," Reeser's letter said. "The point is that the Superferry would increase vehicular transport and that all forms of both trans-Pacific and interisland transportation are in serious need of better measures for prevention of transport of invasive species."

Maritime Administration acting Chief Counsel J. Patrick Wiese responded in a July 15, 2005, letter that the agency was not supplying direct funding or a loan to the Hawaii Superferry, but a $140 million loan guarantee for construction of the company's two 350-foot catamarans.

Wiese said an environmental review was not necessary for the loan guarantee. "However, recognizing the importance of the environmental issues, the Letter Commitment (to Hawaii Superferry) provides that the closing is preconditioned on the State of Hawaii having given all governmental and environmental clearances."

Wiese also said the agency understood that a Maui court case to force the state Department of Transportation to conduct an assessment of ferry-related improvements at Kahului Harbor had been dismissed and that the company had taken "significant steps to address many of the concerns you have raised. ..."

The DOT granted the harbor projects an exemption from environmental review laws a month after Hawaii Superferry was told by the Maritime Administration that the loan guarantee was conditional on a confirmation that no environmental assessment was required.

VEHICLES RAISE CONCERN

The Hawai'i Supreme Court on Aug. 23 ruled the state erred in granting the exemption and ordered the DOT to perform the review. Maui Circuit Judge Joseph Cardoza issued a temporary restraining order three days later that has halted ferry service to Kahului Harbor.

Reeser spoke of the letters during testimony yesterday in a Maui Circuit Court hearing on whether the ferry should be allowed to operate while the DOT conducts the assessment. He was called as a witness by attorney Isaac Hall, representing Maui Tomorrow, the Sierra Club and the Kahului Harbor Coalition. Hall is trying to persuade Cardoza that irreparable damage would be done if the ferry resumes service before an environmental study.

The ferry is expected to carry an average of 400 people and 110 vehicles per load, and it is the interisland movement of vehicles that has most environmentalists concerned.

Hawaii Superferry President and CEO John Garibaldi said outside the courtroom Wednesday that the company's vehicle inspection policy goes beyond what is required of other maritime shippers that transport vehicles in the state.

"We've been been a leader in that. We've had an environmental commitment from day one," he said.

As required of all interisland transporters, the ferry will not allow plants or plant parts on board without a certificate of inspection from the state Department of Agriculture. The ferry also is not allowing the transport of soil.

The company is requiring that vehicles be free of dirt, and ferry staff will conduct random inspections of vehicles and baggage at check-in.

During yesterday's hearing, Reeser said "alien species are the park's No. 1 problem" and that the Superferry would create another avenue for their spread.

"Haleakala is one of the best, if not the best, example of a Native Hawaiian original ecosystem that's left, and the ecosystem is very vulnerable to alien species, so we are very much concerned about what might be brought in on the Hawaii Superferry ... ," he said.

Reeser said he registered his concerns with the Public Utilities Commission in late 2004, and met with Garibaldi and other company officials in early 2005, but he felt his worries were ignored.

The retired park superintendent said he was particularly concerned because it had been a struggle to get the DOT to address the alien species threat during an EIS of Kahului Airport expansion projects years earlier.

The hearing will resume at 9:30 a.m. today.

Reach Christie Wilson at cwilson@honoluluadvertiser.com.