(BIVN) – There has been another change to the date in which the University of Hawaiʻi Board of Regents will take up the proposed administrative rules for Mauna Kea.

According to the University of Hawaiʻi:

The University of Hawaiʻi Board of Regents (BOR) will take up the latest draft of the proposed administrative rules on August 30. The administrative rules were previously scheduled to be heard at a BOR meeting on July 18 and was rescheduled to August 22. The August 22 meeting is now rescheduled in an effort to accommodate increased public interest on the proposed rules, which govern public and commercial activities on UH-managed lands on Maunakea [Chapter 20-26, Hawaiʻi Administrative Rules].

The latest draft of the rules will be publicly posted at least six days prior to the August 30 meeting, and members of the public will have the opportunity to provide written and oral in-person testimony. The meeting agenda will also be posted at that time, which will include the time and location of the meeting.

The regents could approve the proposed rules provided there are no substantial changes, request a third round of formal public hearings on new draft rules that are substantially different from the current draft, or defer decision-making. If approved by the regents, the rules will proceed through the remainder of the administrative rules process to Gov. David Ige for final review and approval.

This is the latest step in the development of the Maunakea administrative rules. Following initial public outreach and consultations, a first round of four public hearings was held in September 2018 on Hawaiʻi Island, Maui, and Oʻahu. A revised draft was prepared based on the comments and concerns received during those public hearings. That revised draft was then shared with stakeholder groups and the public during a three-month, informal outreach process that started in January 2019.

During a second round of four public hearings was held in June 2019, testifiers in Hilo slammed the proposed rules. Similar input was heard in Waikoloa, Maui, and Oʻahu. The latest draft will include revisions based on comments received during the second round of hearings, UH says.