The BLNR conditionally approved the Thirty Meter Telescope’s CDUA on Friday. However, the board also granted the TMT‘s opponents request for a contested case hearing.
This decision has imposed conflicting conditions on the TMT project. They have up to two years to start construction and 12 years to complete this telescope. Nevertheless, they can’t start work until the contested case hearing process is completed. The latter process should be completed within six months.
The opponents of the TMT will likely litigate Friday’s decision and any unfavorable rulings made by the contested case hearings officer. These court cases will tie up this project for years. So, I believe these astronomy obstructionists will successfully block the construction of this important scientific facility on Mauna Kea.
This won’t benefit the residents of this island or Mauna Kea one bit. There won’t be any new efforts to construct additional telescopes on Mauna Kea if the TMT project fails. So, we’ll see the eventual closure of all Mauna Kea astronomy facilities instead. However, I believe the obstructionists will be thrilled. They’ll get to have their children work at Target instead of the evil Thirty Meter Telescope.
