In November 2021, a Navy employee driving a small vehicle hauling a cart accidentally struck a drain valve on the overhead pipeline, causing the pipeline to crack.
JP-5 jet fuel flowed from the pipeline for 34 hours and contaminated the Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam water system. It caused at least 6,000 medical injuries and $2.1 billion in damages, in addition to environmental damage and risk to Oʻahu's drinking water supply.
That’s one detail released in new reports by the Department of Defense’s Office of Inspector General.
The office found that Navy officials did not effectively manage the fuel support at Pearl Harbor. They lacked accurate infrastructure records and had inoperable fuel release detection methods, among other things.
The inspector general also said the inherent risks of the facility were well known to the Navy, and they had an incident response plan — but did not follow it.
Based on its findings, the office issued 16 total recommendations to the secretaries of defense and the Navy. The Navy's responses to the recommendations and their current statuses are included in the report.
Hawaiʻis congressional delegation called for the investigation in 2021 and released a joint statement following the release of the reports.
“These independent reports make clear that for decades the Navy and the Department of Defense have failed to manage fuel and water operations at Red Hill and across Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam to a standard that protects the health and safety of the people of Hawai‘i. It’s outrageous and unacceptable," they said.
They called on the Navy to implement the recommendations, and noted that the delegation has secured more than $2 billion in federal funding towards the cleanup.
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