The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the Navy and the Defense Logistics Agency on Tuesday finalized amendments to the 2023 Red Hill Administrative Consent Order with the aim to “improve public outreach during closure and cleanup of the Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility, as well as continued efforts to safeguard drinking water at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam.”

“Transparency and direct communication with communities is paramount to our collective work to serve the public,” EPA Pacific Southwest Regional Administrator Martha Guzman said in a statement. “These amendments ensure that the Navy and DLA are working to engage the public on the difficult environmental challenges at Red Hill.”

The amendments aim to improve community engagement. The 2023 ACO set up twice-quarterly meetings among the Navy, DLA and Red Hill Community Representation Initiative members but lacked structure, resulting in ineffective discussions.

Red Hill whistleblower and CRI co-chair Shannon Bencs anticipated this outcome, saying the statement implies the community must accept the ground rules or risk losing communication with the Navy.

She also criticized the Navy for separating the Red Hill closure from broader facility issues, noting that concerns outside the agreed scope would not be addressed unless approved.

“The community has always been very concerned, because they’re still drinking the water. Some of them are still living in the base housing, and the pipelines run through Hickam underground. So the community is still feeling that, reaping the effects of what’s going on,” Bencs said.

“We remain committed to productive and transparent engagements with the community as we work together toward the permanent closure of Red Hill,” Karnig Ohannessian, deputy assistant secretary of the Navy for environment and mission readiness, said in a statement. “The Navy, in close coordination with DLA, will continue to keep the community informed as we proceed with our work to protect human health and the environment on Oahu.”

The EPA offered mediation to all groups involved in the monthly meetings to establish ground rules for more productive discussions. After the elected members of the CRI declined to participate in mediation, the EPA proceeded to renegotiate the consent order and ground rules directly with the Navy and the DLA to reestablish the engagements. In the meantime, the EPA has continued to participate in all monthly CRI meetings.

Under the amended consent order, an EPA- appointed facilitator will run the meetings, with the agenda limited to topics outlined in the ACO. The Navy and DLA will attend these meetings quarterly to address public concerns related to the 2023 consent order. All members will contribute to the agenda for these quarterly meetings.

The statement also noted that if the CRI participants fail to follow the established ground rules, the Navy and DLA will not be required to attend or fulfill their responsibilities under the agreement.

CRI member Healani Sonoda-Pale said the EPA, Navy and DLA made amendments that she views as strategic, aimed at controlling the narrative, the CRI and what comes out of the meetings.

She said the amendment to the consent order is “like putting a muzzle on the Red Hill CRI.”

“It’s been a real back-and-forth between the Red Hill CRI, the Navy and the EPA and Defense Logistics Agency,” Sonoda-Pale said. “From the beginning they wanted control of the agenda; they wanted control of where the meetings were going to be. There were times where they even wanted it on base, and this has been the concern, too.

“The concern with the whole Red Hill situation, and what led up to it, was that the Navy was not being truthful and transparent about the state and real condition of that facility, and they have a responsibility to clean it up. We, as a community, have a real stake in whatever they decide to do and what we need.”

In January the CRI told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser that the Navy expressed concerns to the EPA about facing hostility and disrespectful behavior during its interactions with the community group, which may have led to the further amendments made Thursday to comply “under the ground rules.”

Sonoda-Pale argued that the new amendments are unfair, as they fail to address the harm and trauma caused by the Navy to residents and families.

“What’s disrespectful, even criminal, is that these organizations poisoned 93,000 residents,” Sonoda- Pale said. “We need to put this in perspective. The real harm was caused by the U.S. Navy, and for them to play the victim here is disingenuous and misleading.”

Under the amended order, the Navy and DLA are also required to submit a Community Engagement Plan to the EPA for review and approval by Jan. 15 each year. They also must post any information submitted to the EPA under the 2023 consent order on the JBPHH Safe Waters Website within 14 days of providing the redacted document to the EPA.

The Safe Waters website also will include a contact email and phone number for the public to submit comments or questions, and the Navy and DLA will publish responses to frequently asked questions during the first week of each month. Additionally, the Navy is required to publish sampling data electronically, in a format approved by the EPA, within 30 days after receiving validated results related to the 2023 consent order and associated work.