Some on council miffed over ferry decision

LIHU‘E — Kaua‘i County Council-members JoAnn Yukimura and Daryl Kaneshiro Thursday voiced frustrations over a decision by a state Senate committee to hold up a bill requiring an environmental impact statement for the Hawaii Superferry service.

Leaders proposing the interisland ferry, which is alternatively known as the H4, to carry cargo, vehicles and passengers between the islands hope to start service as early as next year, if the craft and port facilities are ready.

Other council members, including council Chairman Kaipo Asing, council Vice Chairman James Tokioka and Councilmembers Mel Rapozo, Shaylene Iseri-Carvalho and Jay Furfaro, generally threw their support behind the concept of the ferry service.

They said the service will help boost the island’s economy and will enable Kaua‘i families and island sports teams to travel to neighboring islands at lower costs than are possible now by flying.

Members of the Senate Committee on Transportation and Government Operations voted to hold up a bill that would have required an environmental impact statement (EIS) review from Hawaii Superferry Inc.

The bill will become moot if does not move out of the Senate committee.

A spokesman for the Superferry operation said the EIS requirement would kill the project because the bill would jeopardize $200,000 in funding by delaying start of the service. An EIS usually takes at least a year to complete.

Kaua‘i County Council-members approved a resolution calling on leaders of the Harbors Division of the state Department of Transportation to perform the EIS.

Council members cited concerns about invasive species — mongoose and coqui frogs — making their way to Kaua‘i through the ferry system.

The legislators also voiced concerns that daily stopovers would burden state harbors that are already used by passenger ships and commercial barges. Yukimura introduced the resolution, which carries no legal weight and merely outlines councilmembers’ feelings about the subject.

Yukimura remained adamant about the need for an EIS. “I don’t care if it is required or not (by law),” Yukimura said. “They should be doing it on their own initiative.”

Yukimura said the project is good in that it will enable Kaua‘i farmers to ship their goods to larger markets elsewhere in the state, and will enable residents to get to other islands at lower travel costs.

“But if it causes invasive species to come here, if it makes our surf sites more crowded, if it makes our roads more crowded, then its net value starts to get less and less,” Yukimura said.

She said the mayors of the Big Island and Maui County asked the state Legislature for $2 million to check the spread of the noisy coqui frogs, which originate from Puerto Rico and have found homes in parts of Hawai‘i, including Lawa‘i on Kaua‘i.

Yukimura said the concentrations of frogs found on those islands amount to a “terrible nuisance, a huge, noisy problem” that “visitors hate.”

“It would affect our visitor industry detrimentally,” Yukimura said.

She said an EIS would assess “what risks are, and figure out mitigation measures.

“But if you don’t address those risks, and they have invasive species, we will lose terribly. Our economy, our tourist industry, is going to lose terribly,” she said.

She said she believes the proponents of the ferry project are as conscientious about protecting the environment as those wanting the EIS.

“I don’t think they want, any more than we do, to cause negative impacts on our island. And they need to be accountable for their actions,” Yukimura said.

But Dr. Ray Chuan, a government watchdog, contended concerns about invasive species coming to Kaua‘i have no merit.

The mongoose and coqui frog have had plenty of opportunities to get to Kaua‘i in the past aboard passenger ships and barges, but they haven’t, he said. “They are not here (in noticeable numbers),” Chuan said.

“The push to have the study for the EIS is irrelevant because the reasons cited by the environ-mental community, unfortunately, represent what many people have criticized as the elitist attitude of environmentalists.”

Chuan said he likes the idea that “common folks” will have a chance to visit other islands at reduced travel costs.

Kaneshiro said the Senate committee action frustrated him. He said it was his impression the bill would “start the process” for an environmental assessment (EA), followed by an EIS should the EA, a smaller study, show the potential for more severe impacts from the ferry operation.

“Without that bill, they can do anything now. That is what concerns me,” Kaneshiro said.

Kaneshiro, a rancher, said he is particularly concerned about the potentially negative impact invasive species could have on Kaua‘i’s agricultural industry and wildlife.

Furfaro said if no EIS is done, perhaps an EA, a less in-depth study, could be ordered instead.

“I do believe this council has invited representatives from the ferry operation to speak with us in the near future, and the question I could possibly raise is ‘how about an environmental assessment for Kaua‘i?’” Furfaro said.

Having company leaders perform an EA would allow for public comment, Furfaro said.

The EA process, for instance, could look at how many vehicles could come to the island, identify ferry berthing locations, and look at invasive-species issues, Furfaro said.

The EA process also will look at the number of people who could be coming to Kaua‘i aboard the ferry, and will help county leaders allocate resources and funds better, and determine the best ways to enhance parks and public facilities, Furfaro said.

Furfaro said he supported the ferry service because it is a way for youth organizations and those participating in youth leagues, and their families, to get to off-island tournaments without having to pay a lot for travel costs.

The same benefit could be offered to Kaua‘i residents wanting to take in operas or theatrical productions on other islands, Furfaro said.

Rapozo said the ferry will bode well for Kaua‘i as well, but said he and the rest of the council supported the resolution calling for the Harbors Division of the state DOT to require an EIS because the study has merit.

He said people called him after the vote, and asked him why he supported the resolution. Rapozo said he won’t “pursue it (the call for an EIS),” because of the action by the Senate committee, and because, “to me, the people have spoken.”

Rapozo also said it was unfair for the EIS condition to be imposed on the Superferry service if the same requirement was not imposed on luxury-liner passenger ships and barges.

Luxury liners create significant impacts on the islands they visit, and on offshore waters, Rapozo contended.

When ships visit island ports, “that means thousands of people stepping off a ship,” he said. Cruise ships also are allowed by law to release treated sewage three miles from shore, Rapozo said.

Asing said he also feels the project will benefit Kaua‘i residents by helping them to control travel costs.

“There is no question,” he said. “A few years ago, I was in Seattle, and took the ferry boat across to Victoria Island. So I am a little familiar (with such a service), having used the ferry, driving off the ferry.”

Although he supported the council resolution, the power to impose the EIS requirement ultimately rests with the state, Asing said.

“If the state finds that it is necessary to do the EIS, so be it,” he said. “If they find that it is not,” so be it, also. “It is not our jurisdiction.”

Iseri-Carvalho said she also feels the Superferry will provide a “good alternative mode of transportation” to costly plane flights. She also said it was her understanding that environmental studies were not required for passenger ships or barges, and if that is the case, “why single out” the Hawaii Superferry system? It is not feasible to impose this kind of burden on the Superferry.” she said.

Lester Chang, staff writer, 245-3681 (ext. 225) or lchang@pulitzer.net.