Lingle proposes to spend $345 million for 'lifeline'

The Maui News
Wednesday, December 19, 2007

By BRIAN PERRY, Assistant City Editor

HONOLULU – Kahului Harbor would receive the lion's share of funding of an ambitious statewide harbors modernization plan announced Tuesday afternoon in a news conference at the governor's office.

Kahului is the "most critical harbor" needing improvements statewide, said Harbors Division Chief Mike Formby, while Gov. Linda Lingle said Kahului is "most in need of expansion and improvements."

Under the modernization plan, Kahului Harbor would receive $345.1 million, or about 41 percent of the $842 million projected to upgrade harbors statewide through the 2012-13 biennium.

As Maui's only commercial harbor, Kahului is the third-busiest in the state and the busiest on any Neighbor Island, according to a fact sheet from the state Department of Transportation's Harbors Division.

Kahului Harbor has strained to accommodate the controversial Hawaii Superferry. It also has been coping with shipments of nearly all commodities for an island population that has grown 32 percent in the last 15 years.

Under a Kahului Harbor 2030 Master Plan now being prepared, the harbor's west breakwater will be transformed from a mostly open area to a bustling port with a breakwater extension to block swells, a ferry/barge slip with a terminal building, and a cruise ship terminal. Also, more land is being sought by the state for expansion of the east side of the harbor with a new east breakwater, upgrades to the Pier 1 fuel line and strengthening of Pier 2B.

Formby said that on Dec. 12, the state filed a draft environmental impact statement on the Kahului Harbor 2030 Master Plan with the state Office of Environmental Quality Control. A notice of the filing is expected in the Dec. 23 OEQC Bulletin.

He said that environmental study incorporates all the proposed Kahului Harbor improvements, except for additional land acquisition, which would be handled in a separate environmental review process.

Lingle said the six-year time frame for completing harbor improvements statewide includes the environmental review process, which the state Department of Transportation had attempted to waive for harbor projects for the Hawaii Superferry service.

Two years after critics filed a suit over the issue, the Hawaii Supreme Court in August ruled that the state had erred in waiving an environmental assessment for $40 million in Superferry-related harbor improvements.

Formby said current demands on Kahului Harbor exceed its yard capacity and pier space. Also, there's a need to separate passenger and cargo traffic at the harbor and to expand cargo operations.

The state already has spent $9.8 million to acquire property at the Old Kahului Store and at the Kahului Railroad Building, and would be looking to acquire more land in that area, Formby said.

Lingle said the harbors modernization plan would take six years and not tap general fund money, relying instead on revenue bonds paid for from harbor fees, rentals and land leases.

The governor said a consensus has been reached by state administration officials, legislators and major harbor users that improvements need to be made as soon as possible.

Everyone agreed, she said, that harbor upgrades "should have been done a long, long time ago."

"As an island state, harbors are our lifeline," the governor said.

She added that 98 percent of all imported goods come through state harbors, including new vehicles, fuel and construction materials.

Lingle said projections for future harbor demand show a 27 percent increase in cargo by 2010, a 66 percent increase by 2015 and a 93 percent increase by 2020.

Doing nothing to increase the capacity of state harbors would "drive up the cost of living" and put constraints on the state's economy, she said.

"We must improve and expand our harbors," Lingle said.

Achieving a consensus among the key players to support harbor improvements was not easy, and she called it a "one-time opportunity."

"We must get it right," she said.

State Sen. J. Kalani English, chairman of the Senate Transportation and International Affairs Committee, called the plan a "once-in-a-cycle opportunity." He said the Senate supports the initiative and, for the most part, agrees with the plan.

"If we are unable to do it, I don't think this opportunity will come around for another 50 years," he said during the news conference.

English added that he would like the state to improve all harbor facilities, including those in Hana where there are condemned pier facilities that threaten to further isolate an already remote community. English's 6th Senate District includes Haiku, Hana, Molokai and Lanai.

"Right now, the small boat harbor is in critical need of repair, and the pier has been condemned as unsafe," English said in news release. "At the same time, bridges in the area are old and either out or failing, and our airport offers no commercial service. Without a working harbor, in the wake of a natural disaster, Hana would be completely shut off. We need to have infrastructure in place to maintain those vital links."

For the statewide harbors modernization plan, English pledged to "help move this initiative forward."

Gary North, chairman of the Hawaii Harbors User Group and a senior vice president with Matson Navigation Co., said harbor users agree with the plan's priorities and are keenly aware of the limited berths and other resources at harbors statewide.

House Finance Committee Chairman Marcus Oshiro, D-Wahiawa-Poamoho, said the wide-reaching plan prepares for the future shipping requirements of residents, businesses and visitors.

"While commercial harbor improvement is not a glamorous issue, it is one of the most basic issues that the Legislature must confront, and the task must begin now,'' he said.

The Associated Press contributed to this story. Brian Perry can be reached at bperry@mauinews.com.

2030 MASTER PLAN

Improvements and expansion at Kahului are projected to cost $345.1 million over six years, with funding from the Harbors Special Fund. Plans include:

• Extension of west breakwater.
• West harbor ferry/barge slip with terminal building, paving, utilities and fencing.
• West harbor cruise ship terminal.
• New east harbor breakwater.
• Upgrading of Pier 1 fuel line.
• Acquisition of land to expand the east end of Kahului Harbor.
• Strengthening Pier 2B.

Copyright © 2005 The Maui News.

Original article URL: http://www.mauinews.com/news/2007/12/19/01harb1219.html

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