Hawaiian groups contest
planned Mauna Kea scopes

The groups want an environmental
impact statement to be done

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By Rod Thompson
rthompson@starbulletin.com

KAILUA-KONA >> Several Hawaiian organizations are calling for a contested-case hearing on four Keck "outrigger" telescopes proposed for Mauna Kea.

If granted by the state Board of Land & Natural Resources, the contested-case process could cause a lengthy delay for the $45 million National Aeronautical & Space Administration project.

The Land Board took public testimony on the project last night in Kona and is scheduled to hear testimony at 6 p.m. today in Hilo in County Council chambers.

The telescopes are called outriggers because they would stand next to the two huge Keck telescopes and would be small in comparison.

An environmental assessment for the project says four outriggers are planned for construction this year, and two others might be built in 2007.

The outriggers would be in 35-foot-high domes beside the 111-foot-high Keck domes.

The domes would be built on the unpaved parking area surrounding the Kecks that was created during their construction.

The contested case is being sought by Kahea, the Hawaiian-Environmental Alliance; the Royal Order of Kamehameha I; Mauna Kea Anaina Hou; and 'Ilio'ulaokalani.

Kahea spokeswoman Cha Smith said a major problem is that only an environmental assessment has been done for the project.

The groups want a more thorough environmental impact statement.

The assessment is more than an inch thick, far bigger than normal for such a document. Smith said that writing a lengthy assessment is a new tactic used by developers but still falls short of the more rigorous requirements of an impact statement.

She said there are many unknowns, such as the status of the wekiu bug.

The assessment says that from 1982 to 1999, the number of the summit bugs fell by 99.7 percent "in certain areas."