The Navy has confirmed that, days before the defense contractor Dawson secured a contract for the Red Hill Underground Fuel Storage Facility, federal authorities executed a search warrant on the company's downtown offices.
A spokesperson with Joint Task Force-Red Hill said that they remain on schedule to begin defueling operations in October.
Federal investigators searched Dawson's downtown offices on June 27, according to Steven Li, a spokesperson for Hawaiian Native Corp., Dawson's parent company.
One June 30, the Navy awarded Dawson with the new fire protection systems maintenance and repair services as a sole-source contract.
In the past, the Navy had a contract with company Kinetix to maintain the Red Hill fire suppression system. That contract ended on June 30.
Dawson had been approached before the expiration of the contract with Kinetix.
The news of the Dawson contract surprised Kathleen Ho, deputy director for Environmental Health.
She said she wants to know the scope of the award, including whether it involves the aqueous film forming foam that was discharged at Red Hill.
Kinetix had been responsible for the fire suppression system when some 1,300 gallons of fire suppressant concentrate spilled at Red Hill.
State Representative Sonny Ganaden has been an outspoken critic of the way the Red Hill leak has been handled.
"It's my concern that, after we get done with all of these various issues regarding defueling, that we actually start to remediate the ground and the ocean, which is going to be a long process," Ganaden said.
He and other lawmakers are set to tour the Red Hill facility later this month to follow up on repairs.
Wayne Tanaka, director of the Sierra Club of Hawaiʻi, has expressed similar concerns about what impact, if any, the federal probe might have on the defueling process.
"This just raises, I think, a number of important questions. You know, to what extent does this federal investigation involve any Dawson staff or operations that may relate to Red Hill?" Tanaka asked.
Li said Dawson's offices have reopened since the search at Pioneer Plaza.
He said the probe should not affect the company's ability to fulfill its contracts with the military.
This interview aired on The Conversation on July 11, 2023. The Conversation airs weekdays at 11 a.m. on HPR-1. This interview was adapted for the web by Emily Tom.
