Hanabusa says public perspective important

The Maui News
Monday, October 22, 2007

By CHRIS HAMILTON, Staff Writer

WAILUKU – Members of Maui's state Senate delegation will hold an emergency meeting today at Baldwin High School to discuss whether the Hawaii Superferry should be allowed to operate while a judge-ordered environmental study is under way.

The meeting will begin at 3 p.m. in Baldwin Auditorium.

Senators are holding the sessions on Kauai, the Big Island and Maui in order to gather public input before they pursue legislation that would allow the high-speed ferry to run between the islands while the state conducts an environmental review of its potential danger to humpback whales or other secondary impacts. Among these are traditional and customary Native Hawaiian practices.

Gov. Linda Lingle has called for a special session starting Wednesday so that lawmakers in both houses can consider the bill. Legislators have said the session could run for a week.

The public briefings will include members of the Senate judiciary, labor, energy, environment, transportation and international affairs committees. Sen. Brian Taniguchi of Honolulu will preside.

"We expect to spend much more time listening than talking," Taniguchi said in a statement issued Friday.

Senate President Colleen Hanabusa said she believes those potentially affected by the bill should have a full opportunity to be heard.

"Their perspective is an important factor in considering what the bill should say," Hanabusa said.

Sen. Rosalyn "Roz" Baker, who represents the 5th District in Maui County, said she wants to make certain that the Legislature mitigates some of the impacts that might come along with the ferry's operation.

"I have supported the Superferry, and I still support the Superferry as a good alternative means of transportation," she said.

Sen. J. Kalani English, representing the 6th District on Maui, is chairman of the Transportation and International Affairs Committee. He said he insisted on the hearings.

He said he is not against the Superferry, as such, but remains upset with the company for lobbying hard to circumvent a bill he proposed last year that would have allowed the ferry to run while a comprehensive environmental impact statement was conducted.

That might have evaded the challenge in the courts, dating back to 2005, by the Sierra Club, Maui Tomorrow and the Kahului Harbor Coalition.

The groups challenged the waiver by the governor and the Department of Transportation of a proposed environmental assessment worksheet. That allowed the Superferry to move forward.

The 2005 challenge was turned back in 2nd Circuit Court, but in August the Hawaii Supreme Court reversed the Maui court, sending the matter back here.

That led to a full month of evidentiary hearings, and two weeks ago, Circuit Judge Joseph Cardoza stopped operations for good until the assessment is done. (A challenge in Kauai courts was withdrawn, but the ferry operators have said they are not ready to operate only from Honolulu to Nawiliwili.)

Environmental assessments can take as long as eight months, while the Senate's proposal for a more detailed environmental impact statement could take about two years. In the meantime, Hawaii Superferry has furloughed most of its employees.

"I'm a little bit dismayed because of the arrogance by Superferry to totally reject the compromise and then ask to get it back now," English said. "It's disrespectful, and it created a divisiveness in the community."

English said he now fears that the state government is on the verge of setting a dangerous precedent by which any business or individual that doesn't like a court ruling can just get the law changed.

The complete text of the draft bill can be found online at www.capitol.hawaii.gov. The meeting is scheduled to last four hours, and each speaker will be given two minutes.

Those who testify are also asked to present their views in writing before the hearing. Testimony can be faxed to (808) 586-6659 or e-mailed to testimony@capitol.hawaii.gov.

Chris Hamilton can be reached at chamilton@mauinews.com.

Copyright © 2005 The Maui News.

Original article URL: http://www.mauinews.com/news/2007/10/22/02Hana1022.html

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