Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 36, Number 1, 1 January 2019 — OHA SUES STATE FOR MAUNA KEA MISMANAGEMENT [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

OHA SUES STATE FOR MAUNA KEA MISMANAGEMENT

'ĀINA LAN D

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OHA filed a lawsuit Nov. 7 in First Circuit Court against the State of Hawai'i and the University of Hawai'i (UH), requesting the court to order the state to fulfill its trust obligations relating to Mauna Kea, and to terminate UH's general lease for the mountain for breach of the lease's terms. Over the past 20 years, multiple state audits have documented and criticized the state and UH's mismanagement of Mauna Kea. The initial 1998 , audit concluded that "little was done" to protect the natural resources on Mauna Kea since the first telescope was constructed in 1968. Over several decades, OHA has continuously advocated for improved management with the Legislature, UH Board of Regents, UH's Office of Mauna Kea Management, and the Board of Land and Natural Resources, including a 2002 lawsuit and

a mediated process with the state and UH in 2015. Issues identified by OHA include a range of failings, from failure to budget and properly manage Mauna Kea, failure to adequately implement the 2009 Comprehensive Management Plan, and failure to manage access and activities, whieh has led to vehicular accidents, personal injuries and deaths, and hazardous material spills. "The state and UH have failed to properly mālama Mauna Kea and have demonstrated their inability to ensure that the environmental and cultural significance of the mountain is recognized and protected," said OHATrustee Dan Ahuna, chair of OHA's Ad Hoe Committee on Mauna Kea. "This is not about any one telescope. This lawsuit is about addressing the state's failure to manage the entire mountain for nearly half a century."