Parties in the contested case for the Thirty Meter Telescope toured the summit of Mauna Kea on Monday morning.
The site visit provided a way to “see firsthand the location and observable impact of the…project,” according to documents filed with the state Board of Land and Natural Resources last month.
The contested case hearing is slated to begin at 10 a.m. Oct. 11 at the Hilo Naniloa Hotel.
It is the second contested case relating to the TMT project — a $1.4 billion observatory on 6 acres of the mountain’s western summit. The site is located at 13,100 feet above sea level.
The project has been opposed and protested by some Native Hawaiians, who consider Mauna Kea sacred. Other Native Hawaiians support the TMT, saying astronomy is an important part of Hawaiian culture.
Last year, construction of the telescope was halted after several protests on Mauna Kea. In December, the state Supreme Court remanded TMT’s land use permit, finding that the BLNR violated due process rights of opponents by voting to approve it before having the first contested case hearing.
The new contested case is being overseen by hearing officer Riki May Amano, a retired judge, and includes the original six parties to the first case as well as several new parties. There are about two dozen parties in total.
On Monday, a convoy of nine trucks and vans wound its way to the summit, pausing at two ahu built near the telescope construction site, the site itself, the Subaru Telescope and a spot farther down the mountain where an ahu was removed last year by a Mauna Kea Support Services employee doing roadwork.
More than 30 people took part in the visit, which lasted just less than two hours.
University of Hawaii spokesman Dan Meisenzahl described the morning as “smooth sailing.”
“It appears that everything the judge wanted in the site visit was accomplished,” he said. “We’re looking forward to the contested case hearing starting.”
Unlike the previous visit in 2011, which included walking tours of the sites, there was just one stop where participants left their vehicles. That stop was the batch plant, where construction materials would be staged for the TMT. It is located just shy of the summit, before entering the telescope areas.
“Safety is the primary concern,” Amano told each carload of people prior to driving up the mountain.
From the windows of the vehicles, parties could see a large red balloon floating at the observatory construction site. It was intended to illustrate the height of the telescope, and sat 187 feet above the ground.
According to plans for the site visit, the balloon was placed by staff of the University of Hawaii at Hilo, who helped set up the morning tour. A balloon also was used as an illustration during the 2011 site visit.
The UH system holds the master lease for the summit. The TMT project still has a sublease with UH, for which it currently pays $300,000 annually.
One of the ahu located near the telescope site is the focus of a potential criminal case against Palikapu Dedman, who previously told the Tribune-Herald he placed bones belonging to an ancestor on the ahu to show that the summit is a Hawaiian burial site.
An environmental impact statement filed by TMT did not find any burial sites at the summit but did find many located more than 1 mile from the telescope site.
Attorney Lincoln Ashida, who is representing Perpetuating Unique Educational Opportunities Inc., one of the new parties to the case comprised primarily of Native Hawaiians who support the Thirty Meter Telescope, said the visit was “perfectly planned and executed.”
“Everyone was very respectful,” he said.
Many said the visit went much faster than anticipated.
Joseph Kualii Lindsey Camara, a new party to the case who opposes the telescope project, said the visit went well but he would have liked to spend more time at the sites.
“I think you get a better feel of the place, but it is what it is,” he said. “All of the areas are really different, you know? It’s a lot of different spaces.”
Hawaii Tribune-Herald staff writer Tom Callis contributed to this report.
Email Ivy Ashe at iashe@hawaiitribune-herald.com.
