Gov. Neil Abercrombie on Monday withdrew Genevieve Salmonson’s appointment as director of the state Office of Environmental Quality Control after it appeared she would not be confirmed by the state Senate.

Environmental and community groups had opposed Salmonson’s nomination because of her role in the Lingle administration’s exemption of $40 million in harbor improvements for the Hawaii Superferry from environmental review.

Louise Kim McCoy, the governor’s spokeswoman, said Salmonson had asked that her name be withdrawn because of personal reasons and that the governor “respects her wish to do so.”

Salmonson, who was director of the office at the time of the Superferry exemption, was one of several state officials who had some oversight responsibility over the project. Environmentalists have argued that she should have insisted on an environmental review.

“We regret the debate about Ms. Salmonson had to play out in public, and we appreciate the leadership she demonstrated in stepping aside. We look forward to working with governor in finding the right pick to move Hawaii forward,” Robert Harris, the director of the Sierra Club of Hawaii, said in an email statement.

The state Supreme Court ruled in 2007 that the Lingle administration’s exemption for Superferry was an error. The court ruled in 2009 that an alternative environmental review process for Superferry adopted by the Legislature and Gov. Linda Lingle after a special session was also unconstitutional, and the Superferry soon ended operations in the islands.

Abercrombie’s aides had defended Salmonson as highly qualified and capable. She was first appointed as director of the agency by Gov. Ben Cayetano in 1999 and served under Lingle until 2007.

Abercrombie appointed Salmonson in May as interim director, pending Senate confirmation. The Senate Energy and Environment Committee had scheduled a confirmation hearing for Salmonson for this morning during the special session, but several senators had said that her nomination was in trouble.

Sen. Mike Gabbard (D, Kapolei-Makakilo), the committee’s chairman, thanked Salmonson for her service at the agency. “We received many testimonies expressing concerns about her confirmation and many of my colleagues also had their doubts,” he said in an email. “I’m hopeful that our next OEQC director will provide the best leadership possible for this important environmental post.”

Some of Abercrombie’s allies were prepared to fight for Salmonson and believe the environmentalists who opposed her were displaying political muscle as much as any policy objections.