Hawaii’s Superferry Deemed Unconstitutional, Put Out of Business
The behemoth of transportation in Hawaii, the Superferry, is shutting its doors as of this week after the Supreme Court ruled that an act giving it permission to run without the proper environmental regulations was unconstitutional.
The ferry, a monster that could hold 866 people and 282 cars and that uses more fuel than a large plane, was kept running for a year even though it never had the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) that’s required by the state of Hawaii.
Proponents of the ferry said that it provided needed transportation between Maui and Oahu Islands. Environmental activists, however, said it ran through the habitats of endangered humpback whales, dolphins and sea turtles and could transport invasive species to islands. It also brought more cars to already-clogged islands.
Said the president of the ex-ferry, Tom Fargo, in the company’s official statement, “This is a difficult time for all of us. Our employees have been nothing but stellar in their dedication to our company and in their service to our customers and our community. I have been impressed with the commitment of our team in executing with great detail and energy all of our procedures to properly address environmental concerns and provide our passengers with the best customer service… As I mentioned two days ago, we are hugely disappointed with the Supreme Court’s decision that Act 2 is unconstitutional.”
The ruling this week has a long and complex history that is barely encapsulated in the brief statement.
The idea began in 2001 and negotiations brought Fargo to the helm - the former commander of U.S. military operations in the Pacific Ocean. Although there were questions about the ferry’s role in the ocean and whether it was a step in building up the U.S.’s naval strength against China, the issue didn’t come to a head until summer of 2007, when protestors jumped into the ocean to stop the ferry.
>>Read about Hawaii’s environment initiatives at Green Options
Protests led to legal action, with environmental groups winning a Supreme Court ruling to force the ferry to submit to the EIS.
Enter Hawaiian Gov. Linda Lingle.
In a fell swoop she erased the Court’s decision with a new law called Act Two, which basically said that the Superferry could operate as planned, no matter what it does to the environment. She also told protestors that they would be charged under anti-terrorism laws if they tried any more stunts like the one in the summer of 2007.
Lingle, coincidentally, was the person who introduced Sarah Palin at the Republican National Convention. She’s also the first female governor of Hawaii, and she served as the interim Repulication convention chairman in 2004. The Nation puts down Act Two a result of her ambitions to get closer to powerful Republican figures, including John Lehman, who was reported to have been Sen. John McCain’s choice for chief of staff. Lehman was the lead investor for the Superferry.
Environmental groups were not happy with the new law by this Republican hopeful, and brought the case back to court. The ruling this week is the result of that.
All of the Superferry’s employees were laid off a day after the ruling, and the boat is on the lookout for new seas to sail.
Photo Credit: aphis1 at Flickr under a Creative Commons License
