![]() ![]() “UH/TMT’s promises to ‘comply with regulations’ for leaks or spills further begs the question of whether these substances should be permitted in a conservation district in the first place,” Pisciotta and other telescope opponents wrote in a brief contesting the project’s approval.Īnother concern is the telescope’s potential impact on wildlife. For instance, unlike other observatories in the past, the TMT will not use mercury.Ĭritics of the TMT question whether that’s enough, given the expected use of other hazardous chemicals. Past incidents have ranged from small indoor mercury spills that were cleaned up quickly to up to 1,000 gallons of sewage seeping into the ground in 2008.ĭawson said TMT officials are doing what they can to mitigate potential chemical spills, in part by avoiding the most dangerous chemicals. The observatories have a history of accidentally spilling sewage and chemicals including hydraulic fluid and propylene glycol. “Did you look hard enough to see if there was impacts?” she asked skeptically. That double-walled septic tank will collect all the water, wastewater and chemicals used so they can be trucked off the mountain, Dawson said.īianca Isaki, a board member of the organization KAHEA: The Hawaiian Environmental Alliance, doesn’t believe the EIS findings are based on sufficient studies. But the study concluded that the impact would be “less than significant” because the TMT is designed to lower that risk. The project’s EIS acknowledges that adding buildings could disrupt the flow of rainwater and that wastewater discharges create the potential for pollution. Silverswords near the Mauna Kea Visitor Information Center on April 10. “It’s a physical thing, it’s not an opinion thing.” TMT spokeswoman Sandra Dawson maintains that there’s no way that anything that goes into the ground near the planned telescope can get into the aquifer. One of the most frequently voiced concerns is whether the telescope construction could pollute the aquifer. TMT officials have sought to minimize the observatory’s potential environmental impact. ![]() “I left because I couldn’t defend the university’s claim that they were taking care of the mountain,” she said. She hasn’t always felt that way: Two decades ago, she worked as an assistant telescope specialist for the British government on Mauna Kea. Given the University of Hawaii’s history of poorly managing Mauna Kea’s environmental and cultural resources, Pisciotta believes the TMT would further desecrate the mountain she holds sacred. Pisciotta, who leads the group Mauna Kea Anaina Hou, said there hasn’t been a comprehensive study of how the telescopes have affected the water supply. That’s not sufficient for longtime opponent Kealoha Pisciotta, a plaintiff in two cases challenging the telescope. TMT supporters believe enough has been done to ensure there’s no water pollution and argue that the socioeconomic and scientific benefits of the telescope supersede any lingering environmental concerns. Still, according to the project’s environmental impact statement, a planned road extension could curtail the habitat of the Wekiu bug, an indigenous insect that until 2011 was a candidate for the endangered species list.Īnd while the analysis found little threat to the island’s water, opponents question whether more complex studies should be conducted, considering that the Mauna Kea aquifer below the peak supplies water to the east side of Hawaii Island. TMT officials say they have sought to minimize the project’s environmental effects by choosing a site where fewer animals might be affected, building a double-walled septic tank to handle all wastewater, and committing to using less hazardous chemicals in the observatory. It may also involve replacing two buildings at Hale Pohaku, a dormitory area about 9,200 feet up the mountain.Īn environmental impact statement approved by the state in 2010 concludes that the entire project would have a “limited incremental” impact on the biological, visual, cultural, archaeological and geological resources of the mountain.īut the analysis also acknowledges that the cumulative impact of the telescopes on the mountain continues to be “substantial, significant, and adverse” because of how the telescopes have altered the mountain’s geology, squeezed animal habitats and affected Native Hawaiian cultural practices.Įquipment lies unused at the TMT construction site April 9 due to protests on the mountain. The project will take up another 5 acres extending the road leading up to the mountain and adding a parking lot. Once completed, the observatory and its support building will span 1.4 acres. Thirteen observatories have already been built on the top of the state’s tallest mountain, but the TMT will be by far the largest. As protests against the Thirty Meter Telescope continue, many critics say they’re worried that the $1.4 billion project will damage Mauna Kea’s environment.
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