Fast Ferry in Washington Leaves Environmental Damage in Wake

By JULIA WELLS

As the Steamship Authority considers a plan to launch high-speed
passenger ferry service between New Bedford and the Vineyard, a new
scientific study has found that a state-of-the-art high-speed passenger
ferry is causing erosion and environmental shoreline damage in the state
of Washington.

The prescription for the Chinook, the ultra-high-speed ferry that
runs between the cities of Seattle and Bremerton?

Slow down.

"This is not over. A lawsuit over property damage continues,
but a few fast ferries are slowing down," declared an editorial in
the Seattle Times last week.

The study results were announced late last month.

The $1 million-plus study was commissioned by Washington State
Ferries last year, after a superior court judge ordered the state ferry
system to examine the impacts of its own high-speed ferry on Rich
Passage, a narrow, six-mile stretch between the Kitsap Peninsula and
Bainbridge Island. In an unprecedented ruling, the judge found that the
ferry system should have conducted an environmental assessment under the
state environmental policy act.

The ruling was later reversed by the state supreme court, a short
time before the environmental study was complete.

The story of the Chinook has many differences but also many striking
similarities with the developing story of high-speed ferry service
between New Bedford and the Vineyard.

Among other things, the Chinook was hailed as an important element
in the effort to revitalize the city of Bremerton and diversify the
economy there. When the high-speed ferry was put into service, property
values went up and the demand for property skyrocketed in Bremerton.

The ferry was first launched in the spring of 1998. The
350-passenger high-speed passenger boat cost $8.7 million to build, plus
the ferry company spent another $650,000 to buy spare parts for the
boat.

A year later, residents of Rich Passage sued the state ferry system,
claiming the waves from the jet-propelled high-speed passenger ferry
were causing erosion and other environmental damage along their beaches.

In August of 1999 King County superior court Judge Glenna Hall
ordered the Chinook to slow down from 34 knots to 12 knots for a
two-and-a half-mile stretch in Rich Passage, until an environmental
study commissioned by the ferry system was complete. The judge did not
rule on the merits of the environmental damage, but she said expressly
that Washington State Ferries should have conducted an environmental
study before putting the Chinook into operation in the spring of 1998.

The ruling was followed by an editorial in the Seattle Times.

"Is this new generation ferry to blame? . . . Precious little
homework was done on the effect of wakes from a catamaran ferry
traveling at 35 mph. . . . Belated environmental assessments are now
under way," the editorial said in part.

"We are complying," responded Paul Green, the director
and chief executive officer for Washington State Ferries in a stinging
response to the editorial. He also wrote:

"Washington State Ferries is committed to providing fast ferry
service to Bremerton. We support the efforts of Kitsap County to
diversify its economy and share in our region's current
prosperity. We have no doubts that the passenger-only fast-ferry program
has suffered a temporary setback. . . . In the long run, however, we
believe a thorough scientific review of what's happening in Rich
Passage will conclude that the Chinook is not the source of the
problem."

Two weeks ago the report was released, and scientists concluded
without question that the Chinook is a primary contributor to the
problem.

The Chinook slowdown will add 10 minutes to the 30-minute trip. It
also means the ferry system will have to eliminate two trips a day from
the schedule.

Area commuters are unhappy about the slowdown, but residents of Rich
Passage - who say their shoreline has taken a beating from the
huge wake generated by the ferry - are rejoicing.

"Gridlocked commuters . . . will be rolling their eyes over
the protests of an extra 10 minutes to the daily ferry commute. So much
for laid-back island life," declared an editorial in the Seattle
Times.

Rich Passage residents continue to press their case in court; among
other things, they want the ferry system to pay for repairing the
environmental damage caused by the ferry.

A press spokesman for Washington State Ferries yesterday said
environmental impacts from high-speed ferries is a growing - and
global -  problem.

"We are finding that this is something that is not just
regional but worldwide - it's a huge issue," said Pat
Patterson.

"Every ferry system in the world is trying to figure out how
to grapple with fast ferries. The science and the technology is forever
evolving," she said: "This is not just about the fast ferry.
It's about the fast ferry and all the other vessels and the
bulkheads and the tides and the currents. We had made the commitment
when this started that if we were part of the problem we would be part
of the solution, and that is why we are now agreeing to slow down the
ferry [Chinook].

"We are hopeful that when we have the money - and that
is the really big problem - that we will be able to develop a fast
ferry that can run through Rich Passage."