Focus On—Hawai'i: TMT EIS Process
  Sandra Dawson

The TMT project has been very busy in Hawai'i during the past several months, and the hectic pace will continue through next summer.

To build TMT in either of the two considered sites, Mauna Kea in Hawai'i or Cerro Armazones in Chile, environmental impacts of the construction and operation of the telescope must be assessed and these assessments are done with input from the public and regulatory agencies. We are currently doing an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) in Hawai'i. This EIS will consider all potentially significant impacts, both positive and negative, of constructing and operating TMT on Mauna Kea. The EIS will also look at impacts at Cerro Armazones.

An environmental study of Cerro Armazones has already been completed in Chile. This final report in English is here. The final report in Spanish is here.

The EIS process began in Hawai'i with the publication of the EIS Preparation Notice, and continued with a series of seven scoping meetings, six on Hawai'i Island and one in Honolulu, and was be completed Oct. 16. The EIS scoping period ended Oct. 23. At this point, the EIS contractor, PB Americas, along with TMT staff and the University of Hawai'i are reviewing the comments and incorporating the issues and the proposed potential mitigations into the Draft EIS. We will also continue to meet with state agencies and relevant groups as part of developing a State Historic Preservation plan.

The meetings have resulted in good interchanges, and comments received to date have contained numerous essential suggestions and constructive ideas, which will be very helpful as we continue the planning process.

At the conclusion of the EIS process, if the decision is to site TMT in Hawai'i, it would be necessary to get a Conservation District Use Permit. The process for this permit is managed by the Office of Mauna Kea Management (OMKM). Because TMT is seeking the earliest broad input on the design and siting of the telescope, we have begun this process early. The first meeting of the TMT Design Review Committee, organized to facilitate the requirements of the OMKM process, was held in August, and a second meeting was just completed in late October. Additional information on the Hawai'i EIS process can be found here.

Anneila Sargent (right), Caltech, answering questions at the first scoping meeting in Hawi.

Strong community participation at the scoping meeting in Waimea.