STAR-BULLETIN / 2007
Opponents of the Hawaii Superferry, docked in Kahului, have appealed the lifting of the injunction stopping its operation.
|
|
Foes fight ferry’s environmental OK
WAILUKU » Some groups on Maui are challenging a Maui Circuit Court decision to allow the Hawaii Superferry to operate without first completing an environmental study.
Maui Tomorrow, the Sierra Club and the Kahului Harbor Coalition said Circuit Judge Joseph Cardoza made the wrong decision when he lifted an injunction against the Superferry on Nov. 14.
Cardoza determined that the state Legislature, in passing Act 2 in special session last fall, exempted the Hawaii Superferry from the requirement of completing an environmental study before starting operation.
Earlier last year the Hawaii Supreme Court ruled that an environmental study was required for the Superferry under state law and upheld an appeal by the groups, but the Hawaii Legislature passed Act 2 to change that law.
Maui Tomorrow Executive Director Irene Bowie said that the appeal filed yesterday with the Hawaii Intermediate Court of Appeals challenges the constitutionality of Act 2, which exempted "large-capacity ferry vessels."
Bowie said state legislators overstepped their authority in trying to help the Superferry and that they intruded into the powers of the Judiciary.
Maui Tomorrow attorney Isaac Hall said the Superferry, which is undergoing repairs in dry dock, continues to pose a "threat of actual irreparable harm to multiple endangered and protected resources."
Bowie said financial support for the appeal has come not only from Maui, but also statewide, including Kauai, where groups have protested the environmental exemptions given to the Superferry.
"We have been heartened and encouraged to go forward with this appeal by so many people throughout the state contacting us and offering both moral and financial support," Bowie said.
Superferry officials were unavailable for comment.