HILO — Gov. David Ige announced today that the deadline to begin construction on the Thirty Meter Telescope has been extended by two years and that he is rescinding an emergency proclamation regarding the protests that was issued two weeks ago.
At a press conference in Honolulu, Ige announced that, at the request of the University of Hawaii, DLNR would extend its conservation district use permit for the TMT site, moving the deadline to start construction to Sept. 26, 2021.
Suzanne Case, chair of the board of Land and Natural Resources, said she believes UH has made good faith efforts to facilitate the start of construction, but TMT has been blocked by demonstrators occupying Maunakea Access Road.
Ige also announced that he has rescinded the emergency proclamation issued two weeks ago, saying there are no plans to move construction equipment up the mountain in the near future, because of the two approaching hurricanes. However, he said he is considering issuing new emergency proclamations for Hurricanes Erick and Flossie, depending on weather forecasts.