The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has finalized a work plan for the defueling and closure of the Red Hill fuel storage facility.
EPA Region 9 Director Amy Miller said more than 1,700 people weighed in on the work order expressing concerns over the November 2021 fuel spill and the November 2022 toxic firefighting foam spill.
"We received a lot of comments concerning putting in a defueling deadline. So we changed our order to include a deadline and what that is, is that we're requiring the Navy and DLA — Defense Logistics Agency — to put within their Defueling Plan 2.0 a specific deadline for defueling. And that plan needs to be approved by EPA," Miller said.
The U.S. military has proposed an October start date to drain the World War II-era fuel tank facility that poisoned people on the Navy water system after it leaked jet fuel.
“We heard loud and clear from the community that they wanted more of a voice in the decision-making of the actions as we move forward. And so as part of this order, we are developing what we call a community representation initiative," Miller said. "The community will elect 10 members to be part of this group, and this group will meet monthly with the Navy, Defense Logistics Agency, Joint Task Force and EPA.”
Joining EPA, state Health Department and military officials at a public meeting Monday were some of the Navy’s biggest critics: the Sierra Club of Hawaiʻi and Oʻahu Water Protectors.
The groups began making a 250-foot ti leaf lei, a symbol of their fight to protect Hawaiʻi's water. It will be displayed at Thomas Square later this year on a holiday marking Sovereignty Restoration Day in Hawaiʻi.
Retired Army Col. Ann Wright has been a vocal critic of holding the military accountable for its actions. She is encouraged that the military's Joint Task Force - Red Hill is taking steps to do what she believes is right.
Wright said she was surprised to learn that only about 170 people have sought help with the health clinic finally set up by the military to address concerns by civilian families whose drinking water was contaminated by the fuel because they are hooked up to the military’s water system.
Wright said she hopes families take advantage of the health resource even though she acknowledges that trust may be a concern.
"After the experience that people have had, a lot of people are still buying their own water," Wright said.
As for defueling Red Hill, Wright said the community is counting on the military to be better prepared than they ever have been before.
"Even though they've done millions of dollars in repairs to it, the potential for something catastrophic to happen is there," she said. "The leaks that we've had before didn't happen because of earthquakes or anything like that. It happened because of human error."
Next week’s EPA webinar will be at 5 p.m. on June 13. Click here for more event information.
This interview aired on The Conversation on June 6, 2023. The Conversation airs weekdays at 11 a.m. on HPR-1. This segment was adapted for the web by Sophia McCullough.
