Citing lack of details, Hawaii health officials plan to reject Navy’s Red Hill defueling plan

State Department of Health officials say they will reject the Navy’s plan for draining its Red Hill fuel facility because it lacks details.

The Navy released the 20-page plan June 30, in accordance with a department deadline, but noted in the document that it didn’t expect DOH would accept it and that it planned to submit supplemental information by September to help satisfy regulatory requirements.

“It’s like turning in a homework assignment you know is incomplete just to meet a deadline,” said Health Department spokesperson Katie Arita-Chang.

Under the Navy’s plan, more than 100 million gallons stored in the tanks would be drained by the end of 2024 — a timeline that has alarmed the Honolulu Board of Water Supply and environmental groups concerned that there will be more leaks at the aging facility.

The Pentagon ordered the Red Hill facility be permanently shut down earlier this year after fuel from the facility contaminated the Navy’s drinking water system, sickening residents.

The facility contains 20 underground tanks and a pipeline system leading down to fueling piers at Pearl Harbor.

While the Navy has said that it can drain a tank in a few days, a recent assessment ordered by DOH found that the facility will need to undergo extensive repairs in order for the fuel to be drained safely and to safeguard against a catastrophic release that could further pollute the groundwater, cause a major fire or potentially injure or kill workers.

The 880-page report, released in May, identified dozens of repairs that are needed throughout the facility’s pipeline distribution system before defueling begins.

The Navy’s defueling plan says that it needs to remove an unspecified amount of fuel that is in its pipelines before it begins those repairs.

The Navy then estimates that it will take up to 17 months to execute contracts and complete repairs and another three months for a contractor to complete a final inspection. Then it would take another four to eight months to defuel the tanks.

DOH has regulatory authority over the defueling operation. It wasn’t immediately clear what DOH’s rejection of the plan will entail. A formal letter is expected to be sent to the Navy next week.

The Pentagon described the defueling plan as a work in progress.

“DoD understands that it will not receive final DOH approval of this defueling plan until it provides to DOH an updated plan incorporating all relevant supplemental information and providing fidelity on its milestones and overall timelines,” the defueling plan states.

“We look forward to the dialogue, discussion and feedback with DOH as we move forward to safely and expeditiously defuel Red Hill,” a Navy spokesperson said Friday.