Staff at the state Department of Transportation told Hawaii Superferry in October 2004 that a statewide environmental assessment would be required for the new interisland ferry service. But Superferry executives resisted and, within two days, scaled back the project in a calculated attempt to get an exemption from the state's environmental review law, state records show.
Some in the department not only thought Superferry should be responsible for doing an environmental assessment — one described it as the "right thing to do" — but also seriously considered doing an environmental review of the state's $40 million in harbor improvements for Superferry.