A hearing over whether the stalled Thirty Meter Telescope has officially launched construction has been postponed and will not be heard Friday at the state Board of Land and Natural Resources.
Meanwhile, Land Board Chair Dawn Chang has formally declared she can be fair and unbiased in the
matter despite having previously worked for the University of Hawaii and the Department of Land and Natural Resources in matters related to the Mauna Kea summit and its astronomy uses.
Oral arguments in the hearing were deferred by DLNR after the parties involved reported scheduling conflicts. A new date for the hearing has not been
selected.
The dispute centers around a condition of the project’s conservation district use permit, which was issued in 2017 and requires the start of construction within two years.
Former Land Board Chair Suzanne Case gave permit holder UH Hilo a two-year extension to meet the condition in 2019, due in large part to protests against the TMT project. Then, in 2021, she granted a request to sign off on the construction condition based on preliminary work and an attempt to start construction in 2019.
The Mauna Kea Hui challenged the action, and BLNR agreed to reopen the contested case hearing for the limited purpose of determining whether UH Hilo, on behalf of TMT International Observatory, complied with the construction condition.
The $2.65 billion landmark telescope is on hold while it pursues an influx of hundreds of thousands of dollars from the National Science Foundation, which has restarted a lengthy environmental review process.
Last week Chang wrote a “disclosure statement” saying she can be fair and objective in the case.
Before she was tapped by Gov. Josh Green as BLNR chair, Chang was principal of Ku‘iwalu Consulting for over 20 years, during which time the firm worked for UH and DLNR.
For the university, from 2007 to 2009, Ku‘iwalu oversaw the preparation of a comprehensive management plan for the state-leased lands managed by UH on the mountain.
In 2020 Ku‘iwalu was
contracted by DLNR to
conduct an independent
assessment of UH’s implementation of the same comprehensive management plan.
That report offered mixed reviews. While Mauna Kea’s natural and cultural resources were being effectively managed, the report said, UH failed to properly consult with and engage
Native Hawaiians on matters related to cultural and
resources issues and
decision-making.
The report was held up by state lawmakers as one reason for taking the management responsibility for Mauna Kea away from the university and giving it to a new entity with Native Hawaiian representation.
The Maunakea Stewardship Oversight Authority will take over management in 2028 following a five-year transition period.
“I do not believe that my previous work as a consultant in preparing the (comprehensive management plan) or independently evaluating UH’s compliance with the CMP will affect my ability to be fair and objective in weighing the evidence and arguments fairly,” Chang’s statement says.
At no time was she employed by TMT as a consultant, she added.
The BLNR hearing, when it is scheduled, will reprise the contested case hearing that occurred over 44 days in 2016 and 2017, limited to the condition on construction. Many of the same parties will be given 15 minutes to present their arguments to the board.
