The Hawaii Department of Health has rejected the Navy’s plan to defuel its Red Hill fuel facility, laying out a list of shortcomings in a letter to Rear Adm. Stephen Barnett, commander of Navy Region Hawaii.

The rejection was expected and the Navy says that it plans to provide supplementary information to satisfy regulatory requirements by Aug. 31.

“The DOD’s submission lacks the requisite detail and specificity necessary for the DOH to fully evaluated how the Navy will execute safe and expeditious defueling,” DOH’s deputy director for environmental health, Kathleen Ho, wrote in a letter to Barnett.

DOH’s letter, dated July 22, lays DOH’s specific concerns with the Navy’s defueling plan. State regulators questioned the Navy’s 2-1/2-year time frame for defueling, said that information needs to be provided about repairs and design of the facility’s fire suppression system and there needs to be more detail about removing fuel from the facility’s pipes, among a litany of other concerns.

You can read the letter here:

Hawaii Department of Health Response to Navy Defueling Plan by Honolulu Star-Advertiser on Scribd