HONOLULU — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said Friday it planned to inspect the Navy Red Hill fuel storage facility after it spilled petroleum that contaminated Pearl Harbor's drinking water late last year.
The EPA informed Navy Region Hawaii in a letter that it would conduct an underground storage tank inspection and a spill prevention inspection the week of Feb. 28.
Martha Guzman, the agency's regional administrator for the Pacific Southwest, said in a statement that the EPA was conducting the inspections given recent events, and because of its regulatory and oversight responsibilities.
"The focus of the inspections will be to assess compliance with regulations governing underground storage tanks, aboveground tanks, and associated fuel transfer piping," the EPA said in a statement.
The EPA conducted a Clean Water Act inspection of the Red Hill fuel storage facility in October, EPA Pacific Southwest spokesperson Mike Alpern in an email.
The agency conducted an underground storage tank site visit in 2015 and a spill prevention inspection in 2011.
The letter said the agency would continue to work with the Navy and the Hawaiʻi Department of Health to restore safe drinking water to the community, and to make sure the nearby groundwater aquifer is protected.
The Navy isn't entirely sure what caused the spill, though it has been investigating a theory that jet fuel spilled when a pipe ruptured in May and got into a fire suppression system drain line. It believes fuel then may have leaked from this drain line into a Navy drinking water well and been pumped into the Navy's water system.
The health department has probed the Navy to release findings from that investigation. Rear Admiral Charlie Brown, Navy Chief of Information, said in a statement that the report was submitted on Jan. 14, and is being reviewed.
EPA Deputy Administrator Janet McCabe recently visited Hawaiʻi to see firsthand the ongoing flushing system.
Read below the letter sent to the Navy or click here to open a new tab.
The Associated Press reporter Audrey McAvoy contributed to this report.
