It’s disturbing that a chemical plume of contaminants often associated with petroleum fuel has been detected by the Board of Water Supply (BWS); the plume earlier this summer passed through a pair of Aiea drinking wells near the Navy’s Red Hill fuel storage facility.

More investigation is warranted, of course. But also disturbing is that rather than concern, the Navy Closure Task Force-Red Hill essentially dismissed BWS’ findings, saying it “does not concur with their conclusions,” based on its own sampling of area monitoring wells.

State and federal regulators are now questioning BWS about its data and methodology. The very same should be required of the Navy, which has a sordid history of covering up Red Hill fuel spills.