Honolulu City Council unanimously votes in favor of defueling Red Hill

The Honolulu City Council voted unanimously Wednesday in favor of two measures in response to the Red Hill water contamination.

Notably missing from the special full meeting were representatives from the U.S. Navy, the federal Environmental Protection Agency and state Department of Health.

Only Board of Water Supply’s Manager and Chief Engineer Ernie Lau came to testify.

“I have to point out to those watching at home that you basically are standing alone here today,” said Council Chairman Tommy Waters.

“That is very, very discouraging, because it would have been great to have these folks listening to the many, many, many people who’ve testified, who are very, very concerned about our drinking water. And you alone have been standing with your staff, and your department for years, calling out for the protection of our drinking water. And here you are, again, by yourself with your office.”

Council member Radiant Cordero and Waters introduced Bill 48, which would require a city permit to operate an underground storage tank that holds more than 100,000 gallons. The permit also would not be granted unless the operator could demonstrate that the tank would not leak during its operating life.

Emotions ran high during the discussion. Both Lau and Cordero teared up while talking about the contamination of the Red Hill water system due to a leak in the Navy’s underground fuel storage system.

“We don’t want to speculate that this could happen to our groundwater sources, our sole water source,” Cordero said.

“I think moving forward, as these bills move forward, we need to come up with a plan as a body so that we aren’t as negligent as the Navy has been to our neighbors.”

The Board of Water Supply was in support of the measure although Lau noted that he was not sure how it would be implemented, or the resources that would be needed.

“That’s the unknown for us,” he said.

“We understand what you’re doing. And I believe it’s maybe born out of frustration that action is not being taken at other levels of government that should have been taken many years ago to address this situation at Red Hill.”

The measure still will need to go through committee, two more full Council readings and requires the signature of Mayor Rick Blangiardi.

The Council also passed Resolution 21-276, which calls for the immediate defueling and removal of the Navy’s massive underground fuel storage tanks, which can hold up to a total 250 million gallons of fuel. It was amended to include transmission to President Joe Biden and Commission on Water Resource Management Chairwoman Suzanne Case in addition to other officials such as the Hawaii Congressional Delegation, the Secretary of the Navy and Gov. David Ige.

Council member Esther Kia‘aina, who introduced the measure, expressed her distrust of the Navy.

“I have no confidence that the U.S. Navy will do the right thing,” she said.

“Their handling of the current crisis is wanting. Their record of other issues is also wanting.”

Lau, the Council members and Marti Townsend, former director of the Hawaii Sierra Club who also testified as an individual at the meeting, were all in agreement that Hawaii would need to show a united front on defueling and removing the Navy’s underground fuel tanks.

“When (we) looked at how other states have handled somewhat similar situations where things really made a difference, it was the environmental entity responsible for protection of the environment that was actually very aggressive and was very proactive in in their requirements,” Lau said.

“They didn’t really let the Navy or the military get away with it. They just held them accountable.”

DOH is the regulatory body for the Red Hill water system.

The Board of Water Supply also passed a resolution on Red Hill Tuesday that called for the immediate defueling from the Red Hill underground tanks and to revisit other long-term solutions to protect Oahu’s water.

“Navy, please just wake up,” Lau said.

“Water security is as important as fuel security. You have a resource that really really cannot be replaced. It’s one of its kind, it’s pure. You can’t build another aquifer someplace else on this island.”