A lawyer representing families that are suing the military over fuel-contaminated water from Red Hill said her clients oppose the recommendation of Adm. Samuel Paparo, the current commander of the Navy's Pacific Fleet, as the next chief of naval operations.
Paparo was recommended by Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, although President Joe Biden has not yet formally signed off on it, officials said Monday. His selection comes as a bit of a surprise, since he had long been expected to move up to take over U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, The Associated Press reported.
Kristina Baehr, one of the attorneys on the Red Hill case, wants to depose the admiral over his response to the November 2021 fuel spill at Red Hill.
"This case is about accountability and compensation, sure, but it's also about truth. And so it's critical to my clients that they know what happened and when. And it was the admiral who was making those decisions," said Baehr, who works with Texas-based Just Well Law.
"The Navy didn't tell people to stop using the water, even once the Navy knew it was contaminated. And that happened on his watch. He is personally responsible for the Navy's failure to warn 93,000 people that their water was toxic," she said.
Baehr said the court is set to hold a hearing next Wednesday on the government's motion to prevent Paparo from being deposed.
A Navy investigation released in 2022 showed a cascading series of errors, complacency and a lack of professionalism led to the fuel spill. Nearly 6,000 sought medical attention for nausea, headaches and rashes. Some continue to complain of health problems.
The U.S. military has proposed an October start date to drain 104 million gallons of fuel from the World War II-era fuel tank facility.
This interview aired on The Conversation on June 13, 2023. The Conversation airs weekdays at 11 a.m. on HPR-1.
