TMT project headed back to court: 4 appeal denial of contested case hearing request for sublease

Four Big Island residents denied a contested case hearing for the Thirty Meter Telescope’s sublease are taking the issue to court.

Kealoha Pisciotta said she and three other appellants, Clarence Ching, Paul Neves and E. Kalani Flores, made the deadline Monday to appeal the sublease and the denial of the contested case hearing requests.

The appellants say the $1.3 billion project on Mauna Kea will negatively impact Native Hawaiian cultural practices.

TMT spokeswoman Sandra Dawson said a groundbreaking and blessing is scheduled Oct. 7. She doesn’t expect the appeal to affect that plan or construction. Major construction is expected to begin in spring 2015.

Pisciotta said the appellants are filing separately in 3rd Circuit Court in Hilo. They are representing themselves.

The appellants previously participated in a contested case hearing in 2011 about the project’s conservation use permit and the subsequent appeal, also heard in 3rd Circuit Court.

A judge upheld the decision to grant a conservation use permit in May. That decision is being appealed to the state Intermediate Court of Appeals.

The state Board of Land and Natural Resources denied the new contested case hearing requests in part because it found no statute or rule that requires one for a sublease.

While similar issues were raised during the initial contested case hearing and appeal, Pisciotta said another hearings process should be held to help the state make an informed decision.

“The agency process is an opportunity to inform the decision makers on how our rights and resources will be impacted,” she said.

Email Tom Callis at tcallis@hawaiitribune-herald.com.