The Hawaii Department of Health (DOH) on Friday conditionally approved the first phase proposed by the Navy in its plan to defuel the Red Hill fuel tanks that sit just 100 feet above a major aquifer at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam. The first phase pertains to the unpacking plan to remove existing fuel from three pipelines containing 162,069 gallons, 216,480 gallons, and 691,128 gallons of fuel, respectively. A series of steps must be completed before the Navy even begins that process, including allowing the DOH to attend a site visit as well as training personnel prior the unpacking process.
News of the conditional approval came a day before environmental groups and the Honolulu Board of Water Supply commemorated the one-year anniversary of a whistleblower coming forward and revealing that the Navy was aware a fuel leak was contaminating water at its Red Hill facility. The Honolulu Civil-Beat detailed the news last year, showing that a Navy official wanted to suppress the ongoing leak for fear of political implications. The water crisis worsened when, on Nov. 20, 2021, a worker ruptured a pipe containing a mixture of fuel and water.
Dubbed the Lie-Aversary, the event outside the Pearl Harbor National Memorial Visitor Center included groups like Sierra Club Hawaii and saw attendees wearing all black, including black wristbands, to commemorate the somber milestone. “This is not going to end until this is fixed, until the tanks are defueled, until Red Hill is shutdown,” Nani Peterson of the Oahu Water Protectors told Hawaii News Now. “We will stand and we will stand even stronger every single time.”
Additional events are planned to better inform the public and keep this issue at the top of the community’s mind. On Oct. 15, Faith Action, an interfaith social justice group, will hold the webinar “Living a Nightmare: Current Impacts of Navy Jet Fuel Poisoning O'ahu Water.” The panel features O’ahu Water Protectors and Affected Wahine Water Warriors along with others impacted by the Red Hill fuel spills sharing their firsthand experience.
The Navy still has a whole lot of work ahead of it to ensure the Red Hill fuel tanks are properly defueled in a timely manner. That includes seeking Hawaii Health Department approval for a repair plan and a defueling plan. Under a revised timeline unveiled last month, the Navy vowed to have the 24 Red Hill fuel tanks fully defueled by July 2024.
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