What started out as a necessary and encouraging collaboration — albeit a fragile one — has now devolved into a wholly dysfunctional situation. So much so, that the Red Hill Community Representation Initiative (CRI) mandated by a federal consent order is now in danger of being dissolved by the very agency that enabled its creation, the Environmental Protection Agency.

That cannot be allowed to happen.

Disbanding the CRI would not be in the best interests of Oahu’s people, struggling with water-safety concerns since the Navy’s 2021 Red Hill fuel leak contaminated the water in the Pearl Harbor-Hickam area. That led U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin to order, rightly, shutdown of the Red Hill underground fuel tanks, which sit 100 feet above a major Oahu aquifer.

The tanks have since been mostly drained. But now, as work begins on the facility’s permanent closure and environmental remediation, tensions between CRI members and the military — the Navy and the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) — have erupted. To the point where even the “ground rules” for twice-quarterly meetings between all have yet to be set, nine months after CRI’s formation. The power struggle stems from CRI’s justifiable worry that the Navy is angling to take command of proceedings, while the Navy objects to perceived disrespect and out-of-bounds questioning by CRI members.

Then came last week’s stunning announcement — and conflicting statements — by EPA Region 9 Director Amy Miller. “Because we cannot reach a consensus on ground rules,” she told CRI members in an online meeting, “all the parties agree that we need to amend the consent order.”

Unfortunately, “all the parties” refer to the EPA, Navy and DLA — excluding the CRI, which had refused to participate in the mediated discussion, claiming overcontrol by the military. The agencies’ draft ground rules were posted last Thursday at www.epa.gov/red-hill/cri, and amending of the 2023 Administrative Consent Order that created CRI is underway.

Stunned by Miller’s announcement, one CRI member asked where Hawaii’s congressional delegates stood on the CRI disbanding.

“The conversations I had, they were not in support of the Community Representation Initiative,” Miller replied.

But the very next day, a sharp rejoinder came from U.S. Sens. Brian Schatz and Mazie Hirono, and U.S. Reps. Ed Case and Jill Tokuda: “Any suggestion that the delegation supports disbanding the CRI is baseless and completely inaccurate. The Red Hill fuel leak was a breach of public trust. The federal government has a long way to go to regain it — and that can only happen with strong community engagement and oversight.

“The EPA and Department of Defense must work directly with the community to clean up Red Hill and keep people safe.”

Good. And Hawaii’s congressional delegation must step up further — to give full-throated support for the CRI to continue to work on behalf of Oahu’s people and the precious water resource. Real concerns remain about Navy credibility and transparency, given its entrenched predilection to serve its own interests, sometimes at the expense of local ones.

As for the CRI: Its 10 members bring much passion and back-story knowledge to the Red Hill process. But care must be taken to not allow acrimony to impede progress and overtake its moral authority.

For tonight, the CRI plans to stick to its scheduled meeting in Waianae — but the military won’t be there, again. That’s unacceptable. In years past, the military could be confident in calling the shots — but today, the 2029 expiration of valuable state land leases for training looms large, giving Hawaii’s citizens unprecedented leverage and voice.

Let’s not lose sight of the goal here, people: to ensure the safe, expeditious and permanent closure of the Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility, plus environmental remediation. It is a major mission — one that demands pointed but respectful questions from community members as well as honest answers from the Navy and DLA.

A lot of discussion lies ahead, and for residents, retaining community representation at the table is an imperative.