Mauna Kea: $1 Observatory Leases on Sacred Land

Mauna Kea: Violations, Waste, and the Math of Injustice

1) Documented Violations Timeline

Year Facility / Location Substance / Issue Quantity Response / Notes Source
1979 CFHT (indoors) Hydraulic fluid ~0.5 gal Spilled onto optical tube, cleaned CMP Table 6-2
1982 Summit staging area Diesel stain 194 sq ft Generator removed, stained soil noted CMP Table 6-2
1989 NASA IRTF (indoors) Mercury ~20 lbs Spilled from mirror ring, cleaned CMP Table 6-2
1990 CFHT (indoors) Mercury ~0.41 lbs Mirror bladder pinched, facility evacuated CMP Table 6-2
1995 Keck (indoors) Mercury 3 incidents: tsp to ~100 ml Cleaned, procedures revised CMP Table 6-2
1995 Access Rd (VLBA) Diesel, oils ~60 gal Truck overturned, soil excavated CMP Table 6-2
1996 Subaru Ethylene glycol 2×55 gal drums ruptured Recovered liquid, soil excavated CMP Table 6-2
1998 Subaru Sewage overflow ~2 gal Frozen septic, corrected CMP Table 6-2
1998–2004 CSO Sewage 5 events, several gal each Overflows documented CMP Table 6-2
2003 Hale Pōhaku Oil leaks <1 qt–several gal Soil removed CMP Table 6-2
2004 SMA Diesel <4 qt Absorbed, disposed CMP Table 6-2
2004 Keck Propylene glycol 20–30 gal Cinder removed CMP Table 6-2
2008 Hale Pōhaku Sewage ~500–1,000 gal Overflow, cinder absorbed CMP Table 6-2
2023 UH 88-inch telescope Ethylene glycol 2 leaks, closed loop ~480 gal Contained indoors, reported UH news
2023 Subaru Ethylene glycol ~6 liters O-ring leak, contained indoors Subaru / UH reports
1968 UH 2.2m & Air Force bldg Built with no permit
Allowed to remain UH Stewardship site
2007 Keck Outriggers Permit revoked
Court: plan not comprehensive 3rd Circuit ruling
2015 TMT permit Vacated
Supreme Court: due process violation HSC ruling

Lesson: Mercury, diesel, glycol, sewage all spilled on sacred conservation land. Courts revoked permits, yet the State and UH still shrugged.

2) The Rent Math  $1 vs. Real Market Value

Example Observatory Footprint World-Class Rent Benchmark* Annual Rent Value Actual Lease Loss per Year
10,000 sq ft Fifth Avenue, NYC (~$2,000/sf/yr) $20,000,000 $1/year $19,999,999
10,000 sq ft Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong (~$1,500/sf/yr) $15,000,000 $1/year $14,999,999
10,000 sq ft Via Montenapoleone, Milan (~$2,047/sf/yr) $20,470,000 $1/year $20,469,999
30,000 sq ft (3 sites) Fifth Avenue rate $60,000,000 $3/year $59,999,997

*Sources: Cushman & Wakefield, Main Streets Across the World (2024).

Reality Check: UH’s Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT) sublease is $1.08M/year proving the land has cash value. But other sites still pay $1. The State has given away tens of millions every year, and over decades, billions.

3) Why This Is Ignorance and Betrayal

  • The State of Hawaiʻi and UH School of Business: The very institution that trains accountants and economists squandered billions by charging $1 for world-class land.

  • Fiduciary duty ignored: As trustee of ceded lands, the State owes Native Hawaiians a duty of care and benefit. Courts (e.g., Pōhakuloa) already ruled the State failed. Mauna Kea is another glaring breach.

  • Opportunity cost: That lost revenue could have funded Hawaiian housing, education, healthcare, and ʻāina restoration. Instead, international corporations and universities got a free ride.

4) Why KS Matters  The Math Doesn’t Lie

Princess Pauahi gave her lands to educate Hawaiians forever. Kamehameha Schools teaches math.

  • Students learn to add, subtract, and calculate  and when they do the math on Mauna Kea, they see the theft:

    • $1 vs. $20 million.

    • $60 million vs. $3.

    • Generations of lost opportunities.

  • KS exists to make sure Hawaiian keiki can see through lies and token rents, and to fight for a future where the numbers work for them, not against them.

Sources

  • Civil Beat (2015): “Mauna Kea Observatories Paying $1 a Year in Rent”

  • UH IfA Stewardship: unpermitted 1968 builds

  • Hawaiʻi Supreme Court (2015): Mauna Kea Anaina Hou v. BLNR (TMT permit vacated)

  • CMP (2009): Hazardous Material & Sewage Spill Table

  • Cushman & Wakefield (2024): Main Streets Across the World rent data

  • Hawaiʻi Supreme Court (2019): Ching v. Case (Pōhakuloa trust duty ruling)