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COUNTY COUNCIL COUNTY OF KAUAI Resolution RESOLUTION
REQUESTING THAT
AN ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT
WHEREAS, Hawai‘i Superferry, in
association with Austal USA, is proposing to provide non-stop, roundtrip, ferry
service daily between the islands of Hawai‘i, Kaua‘i, Maui, and Honolulu
commencing in the year 2006; and WHEREAS, this service provided by
the world’s newest and largest passenger vehicle catamaran will help to connect
the islands and could transform the State, positively or negatively; and WHEREAS, this operation plans to
eventually expand its fleet by the year 2008 with additional ferries and
service twice daily to each island; and WHEREAS, Hawai‘i Superferry intends
to provide an efficient, environmentally friendly, state-of-the-art, ferry
service for passengers and vehicles between the islands at approximately half
the price of flying; and WHEREAS, this system will expand our
State’s transportation infrastructure and economy by hopefully lowering the
cost of travel and shipment of goods and agricultural products; and WHEREAS, although this service
promises many benefits to the residents of Kaua‘i, it could also create or
exacerbate problems, such as an increase in crime and the spread of invasive
plants and animal species, such as the fireweed, the mongoose, and coqui frog, to
Kaua‘i; and WHEREAS, the spread of the mongoose
or coqui frog could cause untold damage to the environment, economy, and
visitor industry; and WHEREAS, this daily service could
also burden the existing State harbors and highway infrastructure since it will
transport up to 900 passengers and 250 vehicles per ferry, with plans for
expansion by the year 2008; and WHEREAS, good planning requires a
thorough and methodical anticipation of impacts and the identification and
implementation of ways to prevent or mitigate the negative impacts; and WHEREAS, it is not the intention of
the Council, in the absence of convincing analysis, to stop or obstruct the
Superferry; rather, it is the intention of the Council to protect the land and
people of Kaua‘i against a degradation of the environment and social fabric by
encouraging a proper planning process that would prevent or mitigate possible
negative impacts of the proposed Superferry to an acceptable level; now,
therefore, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE
COUNTY OF KAUA‘I, STATE OF HAWAI‘I, that it requests the Department of
Transportation, Harbors Division, to require that an Environmental Impact
Statement (EIS) be completed prior to commencement of the Hawai‘i Superferry
operation to identify and address possible negative effects of this new service
to Kaua‘i, or in the alternative, the Council requests that the Hawai‘i
Superferry itself voluntarily engage in such a process and live out its
commitment to responsible planning and socially conscious corporate action. BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that copies
of this Resolution be transmitted to Governor Linda Lingle, Mayor Bryan J.
Baptiste, the Kaua‘i Legislative Delegation, the Sate Department of
Transportation, Harbors Division, the State Department of Agriculture,
Quarantine Division, the Kaua‘i Invasive Species Committee, John Garibaldi,
CEO, Hawai‘i Superferry, Tim Dick, Founder and Chairman, Hawai‘i Superferry,
Greg Metcalf, CEO, Austal USA, and John Cole, Executive Director, Division of
Consumer Advocacy. Introduced
by: JOANN
A. YUKIMURA D:\My
Documents\Word Docs\Resolutions\SUPERFERRY.doc/CA:ao
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