(BIVN) – The latest chapter in the ongoing audit review of the management of Mauna Kea arrived in the form of a new report this month.

The Follow-Up on Recommendations from Report No. 14-07, Follow Up Audit of the Management of Mauna Kea and the Mauna Kea Science Reserve, was put together by the state Office of the Auditor. It presents a review of eight recommendations made to the University of Hawai‘i and the Department of Land and Natural Resources in August 2014.

In 2014, the auditor found that UH “did not expect to adopt administrative rules until 2017, due in part to delays in the rulemaking process.”

In the new follow-up report, the auditot “found that UH and DLNR have partially implemented four of the recommendations. Three recommendations remain open, and one is inapplicable at this time.” One of those open recommendations, dealing with allegedly unauthorized fees collected from commercial tour operators, is the subject of disagreement.

From the follow-up report:

RECOMMENDATION 1
UH should adopt administrative rules governing public and commercial activities as soon as possible, but no later than 2017.

Partially Implemented

Comments
UH completed the drafting of administrative rules and was prepared to begin the necessary public hearing process. However, at the request of the governor, who must authorize the initiation of public hearings for the draft rules, UH has temporarily halted the process of finalizing such rules.

Target Date
Per UH, the estimated date of completion cannot be determined at this time.

RECOMMENDATION 2
UH should obtain the UH Board of Regents’ approval for the conditions and fee schedule included in commercial tour use permits issued by UH–Hilo via a Board of Regents open public meeting pursuant to Chapter 92, HRS.

Not Implemented

Comments
UH anticipates that a proposed schedule will be prepared and approved concurrently with the approval of the final administrative rules. A draft schedule has not been prepared yet as UH wants to take into consideration feedback received during the administrative rules process.

Target Date
Per UH, the estimated date of completion cannot be determined at this time.

RECOMMENDATION 3
UH should determine whether unauthorized fees collected since FY2007 should be returned to commercial tour operators.

Not Implemented – Disagree

Comments
UH continues to assert that the issuance of commercial tour permits was authorized by the Board of Land and Natural Resources and allows enforcement of permit conditions and the ability to set and assess fines for permit violations and non-compliance.

RECOMMENDATIONS 4
UH should complete Comprehensive Management Plan (CMP) management actions, the implementation of which under the CMP implementation plan is scheduled as “immediate,” as soon as possible, but no later than the end of 2016.

Partially Implemented

Comments
UH has implemented 20 of the 25 total CMP management actions. (See appendix on pages 10-11 for the list of actions.)

Target Date
Per UH, the estimated date of completion is December 2017. Feasibility of that date could not be determined based on the scope of our review.

RECOMMENDATION 5
UH should further its efforts to renew general leases for UH-managed lands on Mauna Kea by continuing to work with DLNR and proceeding with the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) process under Chapter 343, HRS.

Partially Implemented

Comments
UH and DLNR assert that securing a new master lease would require an EIS. Such efforts were restarted at the request of the governor following protests against the TMT project, and work is ongoing.

Target Date
Per UH, the estimated date of completion cannot be determined at this time

RECOMMENDATION 6
UH should renegotiate with existing sublessees to amend subleases to include provisions that address stewardship issues, as modeled by the provisions in the 2014 TMT sublease, following execution of the new general leases for UH-managed lands on Mauna Kea.

Not Implemented

Comments
UH asserts that a new general lease needs to be established before sublease agreements can be renegotiated.

Target Date
Per UH, the estimated date of completion cannot be determined at this time.

RECOMMENDATION 7
DLNR should continue working with UH to renew the general leases for the UH-managed lands on Mauna Kea and ensure the leases are substantially in the form DLNR’s Land Division recommended for approval by the Board of Land and Natural Resources.

Partially Implemented

Comments
UH and DLNR assert that the preparation for seeking a new master lease includes preparation of an EIS. Such efforts were restarted at the request of the governor following protests against the TMT project, and work is ongoing.

Target Date
Per DLNR, the estimated date of completion cannot be determined at this time.

RECOMMENDATION 8
DLNR should use additional stewardship-related conditions contained within the TMT observatory permit as a template in all new observatory permits issued for the summit of Mauna Kea.

Not Implemented – N/A

Comments
The TMT observatory permit has been voided. As a result, this recommendation cannot be addressed until the ongoing contested TMT case is fully resolved.

The government agency explained why the office conducted the 2014 audit in the report:

In the past, the Legislature expressed concerns about the State of Hawai‘i’s management of Mauna Kea and the Mauna Kea Science Reserve. Individuals as well as community and Hawaiian organizations also voiced concerns regarding transparency, accountability, and equity by the University of Hawai‘i (UH) and the Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR). In 1998 and again in 2005, the Legislature requested that this office conduct an audit of the management of Mauna Kea and the Mauna Kea Science Reserve. In response to those requests, we issued a 1998 Audit of the Management of Mauna Kea and the Mauna Kea Science Reserve (Report No. 98-6) and a 2005 Follow-up Audit of the Management of Mauna Kea and the Mauna Kea Science Reserve (Report No. 05-13). In 2014, this office initiated another follow-up audit to assess UH’s and DLNR’s efforts to address our previous findings and recommendations during FY2006 to FY2014. That audit was conducted pursuant to Section 23-4, Hawai‘i Revised Statutes, which requires the Auditor to conduct postaudits of the transactions, accounts, programs, and performance of all departments, offices, and agencies of the State and its political subdivisions.