Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 23, Number 10, 1 October 2006 — Haleakalā telescope [ARTICLE]

Haleakalā telescope

Oct. 23 is the deadline to subnūt written puhlie conunents on a draft environmental impact statement for the 143-foot-high Advanced Technology Solar Telescope planned for the sununit of Haleakalā. The National Science Foundation and the University of Hawai'i Institute for Astronomy are collaborating on the $180-mil-lion project, with construction set to start during the fiscal year of 2009. Operations at the telescope are scheduled to begin by 2015. The draft study indicates that the project could significantly impact cultural resources and endangered species on the 10,023foot sununit. While the document also includes nūtigation measures, many Native Hawaiians and environmentalists don't believe they go far enough.