In 2015, the Navy entered into a legal agreement with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the state Department of Health that required it to evaluate the need for structural improvements and upgrade options at its aging underground Red Hill Bulk Fuel Facility, which can store up to 250 million gallons of petroleum for ships and jets.
With good reason, the Honolulu Board of Water Supply, which manages municipal drinking water resources, and environmentalist want the Navy to install a secondary containment system in the facility’s tanks to provide extra protection against leaks — or relocate them entirely.
Oahu’s primary drinking water aquifer — serving more than 400,000 residents, from Moanalua to Hawaii Kai — is situated just 100 feet below the World War II-era tanks. The aquifer is the only one of its kind here. Should a catastrophic tank release occur, caused by an earthquake, for example, this freshwater source cannot be relocated.
Last month, Navy officials said that they intend to find a way to install a secondary containment system — and if they can’t, they will remove the fuel around the year 2045.
Meanwhile, the Navy is asking the EPA and the DOH to sign off on what’s likely the least-protective site improvement option under consideration: sticking with the facility’s single-walled steel tank liners while permanently adopting an improved program for cleaning, inspecting and repairing its 18 active tanks.
This recommendation, which needs approval from state and federal regulators, should be rejected, as the aquifer deserves better protection. Further, after five years of study and foot-dragging, a possible delay of 25 more years for a fix that’s in line with reasonable public sentiment is unacceptable.
Constructed from late 1940 through 1943, Red Hill’s tanks — each 100 feet in diameter and 250 feet in height — are lodged in mined vertical cavities in a ridge east of Pearl Harbor. Longtime worries about the threat of petrochemicals leaking and tainting our high-quality groundwater spiked in 2014, when 27,000 gallons of fuel leaked from one tank.
The seepage — caused by contractor error and poor Navy oversight, not crumbling structure — rightly touched off community demand for a plan to significantly reduce the risk of future releases. According to recent studies, there is a 34% chance that within the next 100 years, there will be a major fuel leak. The risk of small, chronic leaks is greater.
A recent round of overwhelmingly negative testimony before regulators — at a Nov. 19 public meeting attended by 350 people crowded into Moanalua Middle School’s cafeteria — should serve as notice that the Navy’s recommended fix is likely widely viewed among residents as inadequate.
Among those weighing in was Kalihi resident Kevin O’Leary, who correctly pointed out that the military’s overall cleanup record in Hawaii is spotty. “The U.S. military … does not have a stellar record when it comes to a wise environment — from Kahoolawe to Pohakuloa to Waikane Valley to Makua to offshore Waianae — they have left our aina polluted with emissions and toxic waste.”
The Navy has defended its recommended plan for Red Hill, stressing that other evaluated tank upgrade options provide “minimal reduction to risk while requiring significant additional cost to taxpayers.”
While that cost-benefit seems sensible from the Navy’s perspective, it’s a gamble for Oahu, as cleanup in the aftermath of a large-scale leak at Red Hill could take decades or itself be deemed cost-prohibitive.
The EPA and DOH are accepting written comments on the Navy’s plan through Dec. 9. Send comments to DOHrhcomments@HawaiiOIMT.onmicrosoft.com; or address postal delivery to Attn: Red Hill, 2827 Waimano Home Road, #100, Pearl City, Hawaii, 96782.
