Measure won't stop Superferry

Measure won't stop Superferry

The Maui News
Friday, March 09, 2007

HONOLULU (AP) – The state Senate approved a compromise bill Thursday that allows the Superferry to start service in July and requires a study of its potential environmental dangers.

The measure passed by a 21-4 vote, but it still faces opposition in the state House, where representatives haven't decided whether they will even consider the bill.

The bill requires the state to prepare an environmental impact statement for major harbor improvements and implement its recommendations.

It was born out of concerns that the Superferry, which is scheduled to launch July 1, would strike humpback whales, carry invasive species between the islands and cause traffic jams when it unloads cars at the harbors.

But the revised proposal removed all mention of the Superferry from its language so that it applies to all harbor users, not just the 900-passenger, 250-car ship.

"This is no longer a Superferry bill," said Sen. J. Kalani English, D-East Maui-Lanai-Molokai. "Our harbors need this. . . . We have to bite the bullet. We have to make sure and environmental impact statement evaluates the future uses of our harbors."

Opponents of the bill said it could be used to justify lawsuits aimed at stopping the Superferry.

"A lot of people would like to believe this bill is moving us to a middle ground," said Sen. Sam Slom, R-Diamond Head-Hawaii Kai. "You still allow for the possibility of lawsuits to slow, disable or delay the Superferry."

The bill now heads to the House Transportation Committee, where chairman Rep. Joe Souki, D-Waihee-Wailuku, hasn't decided whether he will take up the issue. If he doesn't schedule it for a hearing, the bill would not move forward.

Original article URL: http://www.mauinews.com/story.aspx?id=28422

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