Plaintiffs challenging the state Board of Land and Natural Resources’ decision to grant a permit for the Thirty Meter Telescope announced Saturday they have filed their opening brief in Third Circuit Court.
Plaintiffs challenging the state Board of Land and Natural Resources’ decision to grant a permit for the Thirty Meter Telescope announced Saturday they have filed their opening brief in Third Circuit Court.
The plaintiffs — Mauna Kea Anaina Hou, KAHEA: the Hawaiian-Environmental Alliance, Deborah J. Ward, E. Kalani-Flores, B. Pualani Case, Clarence Kukauakahi Ching and Paul Neves — say they are seeking to force BLNR to uphold its responsibility to protect natural and cultural resources.
“The summit of Mauna Kea is wao akua, a place of Gods,” said KAHEA president, Jonathan Osorio, in a written statement.
“It is a sacred place because of the sensitivity of that environment and its influence over all of the environments below it: forests, uplands, streams — everything,” he said.
Oral arguments are scheduled to be heard Dec. 13.