SLOW OUR SUPERFERRY

Requiring an EIS does not mean opposing the Superferry. An EIS merely clarifies impacts that will occur as a result of the Superferry's operations.

The Superferry could be a positive thing for many people, but there will be negative impacts; that is for certain.

With or without and EIS, law and policy makers must immediately take action on: the likelihood for collisions and injury to humpback whales and other marine life; introduced automobile traffic, both tourist and local; invasive species; harbor usage; public recreational facilities, and OVER USE of natural resources.

What is the extent of these impacts? What plans are in place to deal with these impacts? Who is going to pay for the mitigation of those impacts?

IF hundreds of cars travel to Kaua'i daily, some of them will be loaded with folks going fishing and our coral reefs could be affected.

Our natural resources are already impacted here on Kaua’i; and there is an obvious problem with over fishing statewide. Local fishers report that catch size and fish numbers are declining.

There are no MPA’s (marine protected areas) here on Kaua'i, and it would not take much to make our reefs resemble other places in the state where there once were fish and now are none.

Collisions with the bow of large ships are the greatest cause of whale mortality. The Superferry, a catamaran, has two pointy bows.

There is a direct relationship between the occurrence of a whale strike and the speed of the vessel in a collision.

The Superferry will be going very fast, 37 knots (42 mph), in the day and at night. Most of the mortalities that have been documented occur when a vessel is traveling in excess of 13 knots

Speed restrictions in the range of 10 to 15 knots (17.25 mph) are a means of reducing the occurrence of ship strikes. When collisions do occur at lower speeds, the damages to both whale and the vessel is usually less serious.

The Superferry has proposed to slow down to 25 knots in shallow waters. A high proportion of Humpback Whales are found in deep water and can surface anywhere to breathe; mother and baby whales are especially vulnerable and it is quite common for them to swim in open water just below the surface.

Proposed visual observation offers also inadequate protection since Humpback Whales often swim just below the surface and could not be seen even with image-stabilized binoculars. The HSF also plans to operate at night, making visual operations impossible.

Some say it’s a done deal… Some say an EIS may not occur…

Instead of waiting until the Superferry gets here or until an EIS happens; policy and lawmakers must join with the community to realize these serious impacts and take immediate actions to ensure these impacts are avoided before it is too late or Kaua’i residents spend time and money trying to play catch up after the ferry has arrived.

12/03/07

To recap some of what we have seen in the Superferry episode:

n Government officials openly and notoriously engaged in a conspiracy to violate the law.

n The media studiously ignored the illegal nature of the government actions.

n The media characterized those trying to stop the conspiracy as engaging in mob rule, radicals, or otherwise people not warranting respect in the community.

n The media studiously ignored the harm done to the people on Kaua′i through false arrests, seizure of property, assault, battery, and all the other violations.

n The media repeatedly broadcast a single episode in which people, trying to stop a car about to run over protestors lying down in the road, banged on the car and tried to let the air out of the tires. The media never explained why people were responding to that particular car.

n The media characterized people trying to ensure a sober and thorough examination of consequences for violating the law as inciting people to break the law.

n The media, with two exceptions, refused to publish the call for Lingle's impeachment.

n The media refused to cover the Order to Cease and Desist issued by the King.

n The media refused to cover the Petition for Quo Warranto Writ filed by the King at the Supreme Court.

n The media refused to cover the Petition for Writ of Mandamus filed at the Supreme Court by plaintiffs in the federal suit seeking an order to put the Superferry injunction back in place.

n The media refused to cover the Petition for Order to Show Cause filed at the Supreme Court asking for the disqualification of the Attorney General's Office from any further involvement in Superferry cases.

n The media refused to cover the complaint filed against the Attorney General's Office at the Office of Disciplinary Counsel.

n Numerous law enforcement agencies followed orders without examining the legality of the actions they were being asked to facilitate.

n The same law enforcement agencies made no attempt to understand the position of the citizens protesting the government's actions and made plans to repeat their illegal actions.

n The government published a document essentially slandering groups intending to engage in legal, First Amendment protest as "dangerous and unlawful."

n The Legislature ignored the open and notorious conspiracy to violate the law engaged in by the highest Executive Branch officials.

n The Legislature passed a law to further the goals of that conspiracy.

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