One to watch: County files complaint against commercial boat tour operator

According to a county press release (PDF):

The County recently filed a complaint in Fifth Circuit Court against Lady Ann Cruises, Inc. dba Na Pali Explorer.

The complaint alleges that Lady Ann Cruises is not properly permitted to operate commercial boat tours out of the Hanalei River boatyard, and is in violation of the boatyard’s special management area (SMA) permit that was issued by the Planning Commission.

In order to operate legally from the Hanalei River boatyard, Lady Ann Cruises would need permission from the Planning Commission, and no such application has been made nor has such permission been granted.

The complaint also states that loading and unloading of passengers from the Hanalei River boatyard “significantly impacts coastal waters and related coastal resources” and that such activity requires a SMA permit from the Planning Commission.

The County is asking the court to issue a temporary restraining order, preliminary injunction and/or a permanent injunction preventing the loading and unloading of passengers at Black Pot Beach.

Meanwhile, according to the Garden Island -

[A]ttorney Richard Wilson..., representing Lady Ann Cruises, Inc., doing business as Na Pali Explorer, and Mike Sheehan, owner of the river boatyard, said in a telephone interview Friday he welcomes the chance to prove in court what federal courts, state opinions and even the county’s own filings agree to: The county has no authority to regulate any boating in Hanalei River or Hanalei Bay.

Wilson said both Lady Ann and Sheehan have SMA permits, and an argument used by county attorneys seeking to dismiss a 2005 lawsuit Sheehan filed against the county used the following argument:

“The CZMA (Coastal Zone Management Act) does not afford the county authority to regulate commercial boating activity at Hanalei River or Hanalei Bay.”

Lady Ann’s operations are not illegal on any level, Wilson said. “It is fully permitted and fully allowed,” and anybody with a U.S. Coast Guard-certified vessel can operate in navigable waters of Hanalei Bay and Hanalei River, and there is little or nothing state and county officials can do about it, Wilson said.