KCE is providing the environmental planning, Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), and Conservation District Use permitting for the proposed Advanced Technology Solar Telescope (ATST) project. The proposed ATST is a project of the National Solar Observatory (NSO) that is being considered for construction funding by the National Science Foundation (NSF) through the National Solar Observatory, which is operated under a cooperative agreement between the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc. (AURA) and the NSF. The primary goal of the ATST is to help scientists understand the solar magnetic activities and variability that drive space weather and the hazards it creates for communications to and from satellites, for astronauts, and air travelers.
KCE has been awarded a contract to provide the environmental planning for the relocation of the television broadcast facilities near the summit of Haleakala to a site several miles away. The present site is occupied by affiliates of the major television networks, who must relocate to a coordinated broadcast facility operated by Pacific Radio Group. The project involves land-use planning for permitting the relocation site as a special use of agricultural land, as well as surveys, engineering studies, and inventories of environmental, cultural, and historic resources at the proposed relocation site on Ulupalakua Ranch.
The University of Hawai‘i Institute for Astronomy (IfA) manages Haleakala High Altitude Observatories (HO) for the purposes of astronomical science. There are multiple facilities on HO, which consists of 18.166 acres of State Conservation Land near the summit of Haleakala. In 2002, IfA undertook long-range development planning to identify environmental and cultural resources on the site, and to plan for the next decade of potential development. KCE prepared the Long-Range Development Plan (LRDP) (http://www.ifa.hawaii.edu/haleakala/LRDP/) for IfA, which included surveys, studies, inventories, and assessments of all environmental, cultural, historic, and land-use resources. The few remaining potential sites for development were studied in depth, and practices and procedures were published in the LRDP for maintaining appropriate stewardship of the property. Cultural, environmental, and construction protocols were developed to ensure that the resources at the HO site will continue to flourish, and to protect the spiritual and cultural values of the Native Hawaiian community through training, monitoring, and use of areas set aside specifically for cultural and spiritual practices.
KCE provided environmental compliance management to the Faulkes Telescope Corporation based in Leicester, United Kingdom. The Faulkes Telescope project was a joint effort between the Dill Faulkes Educational Trust and the University of Hawai‘i Institute for Astronomy. The 2-meter Faulkes Telescope at the summit of Haleakalx required on-going monitoring of activities in order to comply with the environmental terms and conditions of the permits issued by the State of Hawai‘i. KCE monitored and assured compliance for nearby historic and cultural resources and endangered species, hazardous waste management, and other sensitive environmental protocols. The Faulkes Telescope project provides students and teachers in Hawai‘i and the United Kingdom access to a research grade telescope. With its 2-meter diameter primary mirror, this telescope — along with its twin in Australia — is the largest telescope for educational use in the world.
