Checking in on the ever-contentious TMT

From time to time, we look into the Hawaiian Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT) project in which UC is involved to see what is happening, if anything. As blog readers will know, the TMT has been the subject of protests - along with some support - at the public comments segments of Regents meetings. From Hawaii News Now:

There’s another struggle over the management of Mauna Kea. A special oversight authority set up to manage Mauna Kea after the Thirty Meter Telescope protests could get a rewrite by lawmakers, but it’s opposed by the authority itself. Members of the state Senate Committee on Water and Land on Thursday debated Senate Bill 2297, which aims to clarify the management of Mauna Kea between Mauna Kea Stewardship and Oversight Authority and the Board of Land and Natural Resources.

Act 255 was passed by Legislature and then signed into law by then-Gov. David Ige in 2022. It created a Mauna Kea Stewardship and Oversight Authority. “This bill actually clarifies that if a decision were to come to a head between the Mauna Kea Authority and the Board of Land and Natural Resources, the board, if this bill passes would be the final authority,” said State Sen. Lorraine Inouye, chair of the Land and Water Committee.

Inouye introduced the bill and says she wants to make sure conservation lands are protected and the state has jurisdiction over conservation, enforcement and finances. “I’m concerned that this administratively attached agency in name only is exempt from any oversight,” said Inouye.

But her measure is opposed by the 11-member Mauna Kea Authority. “We would be taking away that vote from people that didn’t have a voice and make them basically an advisory board,” said John Komeiji, Mauna Kea Stewardship and Oversight Authority chair. The authority was formed after the TMT protests and years of alleged mismanagement.

The Office of Hawaiian Affairs supports SB 2297. It has sued the state over mismanagement at the mountain and last month filed a lawsuit trying to dissolve the Mauna Kea Authority. “That authority, unfortunately, is unconstitutional,” said Kurt Klein, OHA board counsel.

But State Sen. Kurt Fevella, who opposes the TMT project, had sharp words for OHA. “You guys always worry about not getting your fair share from the university, and the state, but not really caring about how the mauna is being treated,” said Fevella. “Now because the authority is ready to go, everybody wants to take it apart,” he added.

Inouye deferred decision-making on the bill until [Feb. 5] to get more input from OHA.

Source: https://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/2024/02/02/renewed-power-struggle-over-management-mauna-kea/.

I know. It's hard to figure out from this account who is doing what to whom. I think the take-away is that there remains a political muddle in Hawaii over the TMT issue.