HILO, Hawaii (AP) - No sublease payments will be made for a proposed giant telescope on Mauna Kea while the agreement goes to a contested case hearing.
The Hawaii Tribune-Herald reports (https://bit.ly/2l941C8) the Thirty Meter Telescope International Observatory and University of Hawaii at Hilo agreed to defer payments under a $1.1 million sublease for the land.
Spokesman Scott Ishikawa said the two sides agreed to defer payments after a judge decided in December that the Board of Land and Natural Resources should have granted a request for a contested case hearing.
Hilo resident Kalani Flores had asked for a hearing in 2014 before the board gave its consent to the sublease.
Hawaii Attorney General Doug Chin said the state will appeal the judge’s decision.
Another contested case hearing deals with permitting for the telescope project estimated at a total cost of $1.4 billion.
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Information from: Hawaii Tribune-Herald, https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/
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