![]() There may also be endangered species requirements, coastal zone management issues "and a host of other environmental rules and regulations, " Hayes said, but it would be up the federal agency giving the funds. agency giving the money.īut it is possible, he said, that the project would be required to complete a new environmental impact state-ment that complies with the National Environmental Policy Act, as well as conduct a formal consultation with Native Hawaiians as called for in Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act. If TMT does get the additional funding it needs, there likely are several regulatory hoops the project would have to go through.Įnvironmental planner Jim Hayes, president of Planning Solutions and primary author of the Mauna Kea master plan, said the additional environmental review would be determined by the U.S. "Anybody proposing to build there would have to weigh the risks pretty heavily, " Chun said. Greg Chun, executive director of the Center for Maunakea Stewardship, said that if the TMT is not built, the site will be available for another telescope, although the master plan will continue to restrict the number of telescopes on the mountain to nine by the end of 2033. Nobody knows, right ? There are funding challenges ahead for the TMT, and the master plan is resilient to either outcome for the TMT." "We don't know if TMT is going to get built or not. "The master plan has been crafted in a way that basically reflects reality, " said Doug Simons, director of the UH Institute for Astronomy. "And if you have a choice at any time to stand up or to speak out for our aina, for our people, for our lahui, you have to do it, because that's our kuleana."ĭuring a virtual forum Wednesday, UH officials said that while the 20-year master plan certainly does accommodate the TMT-since it is an authorized and permitted project-it also works even if the telescope isn't built in Hawaii. "The moment we stay silent is the moment we lose everything, " Healani Sonoda -Pale of Ka Lahui Hawai 'i told the crowd. Speakers pledged Friday to continue resisting the TMT whenever it is built, saying it will desecrate sacred land that was stolen from the Indigenous people of Hawaii. "The UH has shown itself to be a bad manager of these important lands for over 50 years and their master plan for the future of Mauna Kea validates the fact that UH has not been listening nor do they care about the harm further development on the summits will do to the Kanaka Maoli people and to those who love and protect this mountain, " organizers said in a news release publicizing the event. In the meantime, the Native Hawaiian opponents of the stalled project held their first major protest in the past year and a half Friday as the University of Hawaii is preparing a master plan for Mauna Kea that welcomes construction of the controversial observatory.Īn anti-TMT crowd of about 100 gathered late Friday afternoon on the UH campus, where speakers criticized the university for its role in continuing to push for the large telescope in spite of years of protest. The survey's report is expected to be released in the next few months and might well recommend funding for the TMT as many of the white papers submitted as part of the once-a-decade evaluation describe the importance of next-generation telescopes, such as the TMT, to carry astronomy to the next level. ![]() Slater said the outcome of the survey "will shape the future of astronomy for the years to come."
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