Disrespect to iwi isn’t rail’s intent

POSTED: 01:30 a.m. HST, Aug 28, 2012

~~<p>The plan to develop a 20-mile mass transit system for Oahu was dealt a sucker punch last week when the state Supreme Court ruled in favor of a plaintiff alleging the start of construction and the approval of key permits were unauthorized by the state's burial-protection law and regulations. At issue was the city's decision to do its archaeological surveys in sections, to be completed before work begins in that particular phase of the project.</p>
<p>In a unanimous decision reversing a lower court ruling, the high court found that the State Historic Preservation Division, the office that oversees that law, should not have allowed the project to proceed until the entire length of the rail route had been surveyed. Daniel Grabauskas, executive director of the Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation, said HART would comply with the ruling and would not do further "ground-disturbing activities" until that's resolved.</p>
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The plan to develop a 20-mile mass transit system for Oahu was dealt a sucker punch last week when the state Supreme Court ruled in favor of a plaintiff alleging the start of construction and the approval of key permits were unauthorized by the state's burial-protection law and regulations. At issue was the city's decision to do its archaeological surveys in sections, to be completed before work begins in that particular phase of the project.

In a unanimous decision reversing a lower court ruling, the high court found that the State Historic Preservation Division, the office that oversees that law, should not have allowed the project to proceed until the entire length of the rail route had been surveyed. Daniel Grabauskas, executive director of the Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation, said HART would comply with the ruling and would not do further "ground-disturbing activities" until that's resolved. Login for more...