TMT is not being built on Mauna Kea
The Mauna Kea Hui at the first Contested Case Hearing (2011) about the CDUP for TMT.
The TMT is not being built on Mauna Kea. You know that. We know that. Yet UHH has been claiming they started TMT construction in 2019, in order to be in compliance with condition #4 of their conservation district use permit (CDUP) that requires “Any work done or construction to be done on the land shall be initiated within two (2) years of the approval of such use…” Tune in at 1pm on Tuesday 11/07/23 (via livestream only) to hear us make the common sense argument to the Land Board that construction has not begun on TMT.
The Land Board approved the TMT CDUP on September 28, 2017 – which means that their original deadline to start construction was September 28, 2019. However, in 2019, the University of Hawai‘i (UHH) sought and were granted a two-year extension of the CDUP based on its June 25, 2019 testing of GPS equipment and partial survey of the Submillimeter Array access road and July 12, 2019 survey of underground fiber optic and electrical lines. This extension gave them until Sept 28, 2021.
On April 28, 2021, UHH told Land Board staff they had “initiated” work based on actions in 2019 – including inspections for invasive species on July 15, 2019, a “Kick-Off Meeting” between TMT and its contractors to discuss construction on July 8, 2019, and removal of an ahu on June 20, 2019. Discussing construction is not the same as initiating construction. Based on their erroneous definition of “initiating” TMT construction, UHH argued they had complied with CDUP Condition 4.
In 2021, Mauna Kea Anaina Hou, Kumu Paul Neves, Kūkauakahi Ching, Deborah Ward, and KAHEA (aka the Mauna Kea hui) filed a motion pointing out to the Land Board that UHH was violating its CDUP because the TMT is not being built on Mauna Kea. We argued the Land Board should re-open its permitting proceedings and listen to the many reasons UHH/ TMT cannot build the TMT on Mauna Kea. Not in 2019. Not in 2021. Not under the Land Board’s permit. The TMT will never be built on Mauna Kea.
Finally on Tuesday, 11/07/23 our 2021 challenge will finally be heard. There will be no public testimony taken, as only parties who submitted filings in the original 2021 motion can argue. Those parties are: the Mauna Kea Hui, the Flores-Case ‘ohana, Cindy Freitas, Lanny Alan Sinkin/Temple of Lono, PUEO, UH Hilo and TMT. Tune in here to watch the hearing: https://www.youtube.com/c/boardoflandandnaturalresourcesdlnr
