With the re-launch of the Hawaii Superferry to Maui, the environmental safeguards put in place by Gov. Linda Lingle and the Legislature will be put to the test.

That raises the question: How will we know they're working, and who will tell us if they're not?

Given the dramatic and emotional public outcry over the ferry's impact — and the state's unprecedented effort to allow the ferry to sail — residents rightly expect clear and frequent reports on the efficacy of the state's safeguards.

Following the Legislature's decision to allow the ferry to operate without a completed environmental assessment, the governor announced a long list of sensible operating conditions to ease concerns about the ferry's impact.

Many of these conditions would be enforced by ferry employees, including agricultural screenings of cars and passengers, lookouts to watch for whales, and educating passengers on the rules regarding cultural and natural resources.

At the request of environmental groups, the state is also creating a risk assessment task force to keep an eye on the ferry and issue reports "during the first months" of its operation, according to Lingle.

The task force's findings are expected to contribute to the full environmental assessment to be completed sometime in the future. But the public should have access to them well before that.

In a statement after the bill allowing to the ferry to operate passed, Lingle noted that the the measure and the operating conditions "will preserve an important interisland transportation alternative for the people of Hawai'i while protecting our natural and cultural resources."

She's right about preserving our transportation alternatives. And that's a good thing.

Now it's up to the state to make good on its promise to protect our resources. Clear updates on how the Superferry is complying with those safeguards will help residents determine whether that promise has indeed been kept.