Conservation district use permit application: Thirty Meter Telescope project, Island of Hawaii

Author:

University of Hawaii at Hilo,

Title:

Conservation district use permit application: Thirty Meter Telescope project, Island of Hawaii

Periodical:

TMT

Year:

2010

Subject:

Conservation District Use Application (CDUA) Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT) W.M. Keck Observatory

Summary:

On behalf of the Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT) Observatory Corporation, the University of Hawaii is seeking a Conservation District Use Permit (CDUP) from the State of Hawaii Board of Land and Natural Resources (BLNR) that will allow the construction, operation, and eventual decommissioning of the TMT Observatory within an area below the summit of Mauna Kea that is known as "Area E". The TMT Observatory Corporation is a private non-profit corporation that will be responsible for constructing the TMT project and for managing its operations. The TMT project is currently a partnership among the TMT Observatory Corporation, the University of California (UC), the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) and the Association of Canadian Universities for Research in Astronomy (ACURA). The National Astronomical Observatory of Japan (NAOJ) is a collaborator and potential partner, and the National Astronomical Observatories of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (NAOC) and India's Department of Science and Technology (DST) are observers and potential partners in the TMT project. Management Action FLU-1 in the recently adopted Comprehensive Management Plan (CMP) states that future facility planning should follow the guidelines presented in the University of Hawaii Mauna Kea Science Reserve Master Plan, referred to as the 2000 Master Plan (University of Hawaii, 2000). The 2000 Master Plan limits future development to the Astronomy Precinct and identifies Areas A through F within it as preferred sites. It also lists criteria to assist in the selection of an appropriate site for a ground-based telescope with a primary mirror of 25 to 50 meters in diameter (generically referred to as a "Next Generation Large Telescope", or NGLT in the 2000 Master Plan). The 2000 Master Plan identifies Area E as the preferred location for an NGLT. Area E is located approximately 1/2-mile northwest of the nine existing optical/infrared observatories located near the summit. The TMT Observatory is proposed for a roughly 5-acre site within Area E, near the end of an existing 4-wheel drive road. Road access to the site will be provided by improving the existing four-wheel drive road from the point where it diverges from the existing Mauna Kea Loop Road. This includes one segment across the base of Puu Hauoki and another that extends through the existing Submillimeter Array (SMA) complex and Area E. Leasehold title and ongoing maintenance of the roadway will remain the responsibility of the University as part of the common areas under its jurisdiction.

URL:

http://dlnr.hawaii.gov/occl/files/2013/08/CDUA.pdf

Date:

October 2010

Collection:

EIS