Draft supplemental environmental impact statement for construction camp housing at Hale Pohaku, Hamakua, Hawaii

Author:

MCM Planning,

Title:

Draft supplemental environmental impact statement for construction camp housing at Hale Pohaku, Hamakua, Hawaii

Periodical:

Mauna Kea Plans

Year:

1985

Subject:

Hale Pohaku Employees' buildings and facilities environmental aspects Mauna Kea Environmental impact analysis

Summary:

In 1968, the Board of Land and Natural Resources (BLNR) approved a 65-year lease with the University of Hawaii (UH) for all lands above the 12,000-foot elevation on Mauna Kea. The lease refers to these lands as the Mauna Kea Science Reserve. Since then, UH has been actively advancing mankind's understanding of the physical universe through operation of an astronomical training and research facility in the summit area of the Science Reserve. As a result, in 1983 a Mauna Kea Science Reserve Complex Development Plan (SRCDP), which was approved by the UH Board of Regents, projected that a total of 13 telescopes would be in operation on Mauna Kea by the year 2000. Since the summit of Mauna Kea is 13,796 feet high, it is inefficient and physically hazardous for scientists and support staff to go directly from sea-level to work at the summit without acclimatizing themselves for a period of time at an intermediate elevation. For this reason, from the time UH began construction of its first telescope in 1968, Hale Pohaku has been used as a support facility to house people working on the summit because its altitude of approximately 9,000 feet has been shown to be ideal for acclimatization purposes. At the time that the SRCDP was prepared, it was recognized that construction workers building future telescopes would also require housing at Hale Pohaku during the time that they were working at the summit but it was not anticipated that this type of housing would be required for more than one telescope construction crew at a time. However, based on the SRCDP and on interest shown by potential telescope projects at the time, there was a strong probability that there would be parallel or overlapping construction of a number of major telescopes on Mauna Kea. Therefore, UH determined that a construction camp, that could be expanded to accommodate a relatively large number of construction workers over a long term, would be needed at Hale Pohaku that would provide cooking, dining, and lounge facilities as well as bedspaces. A 4-acre site, located between the 9130-and 9185-foot elevations on Mauna Kea was selected for the camp. A Conservation District Use Application (CDUA) for the construction camp was filed with the BLNR on June 28, 1985. It was anticipated that UH would obtain use of the property by means of a revocable permit or license from the Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR). In addition to the construction camp site, UH also applied for use of an open area of approximately 1.0 acre as a staging area for equipment and supplies to be used when constructing telescopes on the mountain. This use would be intermittent and occasional. The Hale Pohaku Complex Development Plan and Revised Environmental Impact Statement for the Plan set forth various criteria for the development of the Mid-Level Facilities. These criteria, and measures to mitigate adverse environmental effects, were incorporated into this EIS by reference. A CDUA for the construction camp was filed with the BLNR on June 28, 1985. It was anticipated that the Board would impose conditions on the construction camp permit to insure mitigation of adverse effects. In addition, Hale Pohaku is located within the boundaries of the critical habitat of the rare and endangered Palila (Loxioides bailleui), a bird which is found nowhere else in the world. This meant that development within a federally recognized critical habitat of an endangered species was subject to the rules and regulations of Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (U.S.C. 1536) and 1978 amendments to the Act, if a federal presence was involved in the project. A letter from the U.S. Department of the Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service, stating that the project would not be expected to have any significant impacts on the bird or its habitat, is appended to this EIS.

Date:

August 1985

Collection:

EIS