It was aggravating to hear from U.S. Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro, while on Oahu this week, that his on-the-ground priorities don’t include the ongoing threat and catastrophe at the Navy’s Red Hill fuel complex.
Del Toro, in Hawaii to observe Navy Rim of the Pacific exercises, appeared just days after the state Department of Health (DOH) rejected the Navy’s flawed and incomplete plan to defuel its underground Red Hill fuel storage facility. In November, after a cascade of leaks, accidents and errors, fuel from the facility contaminated the Navy’s water system, sickening thousands and forcing the shutdown of city-operated wells threatened with fuel exposure.
Despite ongoing entreaties by state officials, Del Toro said Red Hill was not on his immediate agenda, though he did allow that he and his staff would “try to ensure that we resolve any questions” the state has, “so that eventually we can get to a fueling plan that … safely allows us to defuel Red Hill.”
This is no time to lose the top-level focus on Red Hill, either by the Navy or Hawaii. The danger posed by the fueling complex is immense, and could create longterm issues of water supply and toxic exposure if not handled properly. State officials must be relentless in pressing for Navy action, and in requiring continuous full disclosure of all information pertaining to the massive, underground fuel storage tanks and the network of piping and tunnels connecting them to the fueling operation.
So far, indications are that Hawaii cannot trust or rely on the Navy to address the issue promptly and transparently. Del Toro’s complacent statements and bland assurances on what many here consider a crisis only bolster that conclusion.
A U.S. Pacific Fleet internal investigation, commissioned in response to last year’s fuel spills and made public just last month, details a pattern of neglect at the facility. In March, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin ordered Red Hill’s permanent closure. However, the investigation revealed that the facility’s pipe system is in a dangerous state of disrepair, and extensive work is required to allow safe defueling.
The defueling plan, also released last month, sets the earliest possible date of complete defueling as Dec. 31, 2024. The DOH announced Friday that it would not accept the plan, condemning its lack of detail.
This urgent situation requires more from the Navy, and immediately. As Honolulu Board of Water Supply Manager Ernie Lau said in reaction to the defueling plan, condemning it as unacceptable, “Every moment that hundreds of millions of gallons of fuel remains in the Red Hill facility, the environment, the island’s irreplaceable sole-source aquifer, safe drinking water, and the health of the people of Oahu remain at risk.”
Navy actions so far have sown distrust, so the state must proceed accordingly. It’s appropriate that state House and Senate health committees on Tuesday hosted a briefing on the Red Hill situation, with Navy representatives called upon to update the public. The military leaders repeatedly pledged transparency and cooperation, but DOH leaders were right to emphasize that as soon as more details to the Navy’s now-deficient defueling plan are received, they’d be seeking ways to expedite the timeline.
Officials, and particularly the governor, must use all leverage available at the state level, including public pressure and negotiation for commitments at the highest rungs of Navy and U.S. military command. Hawaii also must be prepared to utilize other levers, including negotiation regarding upcoming military land lease renewals at Makua on Oahu, and at Pohakuloa on Hawaii island.
As soon as possible, under pressure of public review, the Navy must establish a timetable and benchmarks for remedial work, with inspections by independent observers. Concrete, observable and credible actions are necessary to demonstrate that the Navy is doing everything possible to protect island families from additional leaks at Red Hill, and to remedy the damage done.
