The Board of Land and Natural Resources on Friday approved a land use application for the decommissioning of a Maunakea observatory.
The Board of Land and Natural Resources on Friday approved a land use application for the decommissioning of a Maunakea observatory.
The California Institute of Technology applied for a Conservation District Use Application for the removal of its Caltech Submillimeter Observatory from the summit. The removal scheduled to be completed by winter.
The observatory is the first of three summit observatories scheduled for decommissioning in exchange for the planned construction of the Thirty Meter Telescope. CSO ceased operations in 2015.
According to a preliminary schedule within the CDUA, Caltech intends to begin deconstruction of the observatory this summer, which will include all above-ground facilities, the filling in of its foundation, and the restoration of the environment to its preconstruction condition “to fullest extent possible.”
Caltech will continue to monitor the site until 2025 to ensure environmental restoration is successful.
The project’s estimated cost is $4.03 million. When the project is complete, Caltech will surrender its sublease of the site to the University of Hawaii’s Center for Maunakea Stewardship.
