HONOLULU — The Hawaii Supreme Court has ruled that the state land board was correct in approving a construction permit to build a giant telescope on a mountain Hawaiians consider sacred.
The ruling issued Tuesday is a victory for the Thirty Meter Telescope planned for Mauna Kea on the Big Island.
Telescope opponents appealed after a hearings officer recommended granting the permit and the land board approved it. Opponents complained about various due process issues, including that the hearings officer had a conflict of interest because she was a member of a Big Island astronomy center.
The project has been one of Hawaii’s most divisive issues.
The court invalidated the project’s first permit in 2015, ruling that the approval process was flawed and ordering the parties to go through the steps again.
