![]() “NSF understands that the possible construction of this telescope … is a sensitive issue that requires extensive engagement and understanding of various viewpoints,” the project’s website says.ĭescribed in a notice of intent published Tuesday in the Federal Register, the effort calls for the preparation of an environmental impact statement that complies with the National Environmental Policy Act and a formal consultation with Native Hawaiians as called for in Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act. The foundation said it plans to go above and beyond what the law requires to ensure that it hears differing viewpoints and operates with a high level of transparency. ![]() The NSF said it learned that any environmental review process related to TMT and Mauna Kea must offer “additional, meaningful, and easily accessible opportunities” for varying viewpoints to be heard. During that time, the agency conducted over 90 virtual talk-story sessions with more than 150 people and received about 120 written comments. In its documents, the NSF said it decided to launch the environmental review process after gaining “invaluable insights” about Mauna Kea during an informal outreach effort that began in August 2020 and concluded in November 2021. Pisciotta said opponents have been talking about the overdevelopment of Mauna Kea for 25 years. “It’s supporting the intent to build something against the wishes of the thousands of Hawaiians who stood their ground on the mountain to say no to further development,” she said. However, Kealoha Pisciotta, leader of the Mauna Kea Hui, the group that has crossed swords with TMT in court, said the effort is being conducted in bad faith. “We encourage all community members to participate in this opportunity to provide input,” he said. Kirshner, executive director of TMT International Observatory LLC, called the foundation’s effort “an important environmental review process to engage the public regarding the effects of a potential federal investment in TMT.” astronomy community’s decadal survey concluded that the TMT and its sister proposal, the Giant Magellan Telescope, are critical priorities for American ground-based astronomy and recommended that the National Science Foundation invest in at least one and ideally both of the two extremely large telescope projects.įor the TMT, this could lead to an influx of $800 million or more. ![]() While the effort appears to be good news for the proposed $2.65 billion TMT, the NSF said it has not yet decided whether to invest in the project and could cut off U.S. The nation’s leading funder of science research has created a website (/tmt) describing the process and has scheduled a series of scoping meetings Aug. The National Science Foundation said Tuesday that it is launching a full environmental review of the stalled Thirty Meter Telescope project, a two-year process that could land hundreds of millions of dollars in funding for the TMT.
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