The state Department of Transportation wants an exemption from state procurement law so it can move quickly on an environmental assessment for Hawaii Superferry because delays could cause Superferry to leave the Islands.

The state hopes the environmental assessment will take no more than eight months.

The state wants to hire the firm Belt Collins, which is already doing an environmental impact statement as part of a 2030 master plan for Kahului Harbor on Maui, to perform the environmental assessment for the Superferry required by the state Supreme Court.

The $1 million contract would last for one year with a two-year option to extend if it is determined that an environmental impact statement for Superferry is necessary.

"The ferry service is highly desired and environmental review is needed to enable its operation, the DOT must accomplish the EA (environmental assessment) in the shortest time possible to avoid the loss of the ferry operator," Barry Fukunaga, director of the state Department of Transportation, said in the request for an exemption to procurement law.

Michael Formby, the department's deputy director for harbors, said last night the department hopes the environmental assessment can be accomplished in eight months or less. The state has asked Maui Circuit Court to allow Superferry to continue ferry service while the review is being conducted.

The Superferry began service between O'ahu and Maui and O'ahu and Kaua'i on Aug. 26 and suspended service the next day. The Maui court has temporarily halted Superferry visits to Kahului Harbor, and protesters on Kaua'i blocked the ship's access to Nawiliwili Harbor.

Formby said the transportation department's concerns about the potential loss of the Superferry if it cannot resume operation soon were based on its own impressions and not any specific warning from Superferry executives.

"I think it's just a concern that if this process is not expedited, financially the ferry operation might not be able to sustain service if the court were to grant a permanent injunction until the EA is completed," he said. "That's the problem. We just don't know what's going to happen in the court process, it has to play out on its own."

Belt Collins, an international design and engineering firm based in Honolulu, would not comment on the potential contract and referred to the department questions about how long an environmental assessment might take.

The department believes Belt Collins is in the best position to do the job because of the firm's experience and the work it has already done on the Kahului Harbor master plan, which includes Superferry.

The department said the Supreme Court's ruling only requires the state to look at the impact of ferry service at Kahului Harbor, but that it will expand the review to Nawiliwili Harbor on Kaua'i, Honolulu Harbor and Kawaihae Harbor on the Big Island to "avoid future legal challenges and acquire broader community input."

"It's under review right now," said Aaron Fujioka, the administrator of the state's procurement office.

Without an exemption, Fujioka said, the contract for professional services would be competitive and would typically be awarded to the most qualified applicant.

Reach Derrick DePledge at ddepledge@honoluluadvertiser.com.