The Red Hill fuel-tank crisis has rightfully dominated the news. While there is some indication of progress, it is far from resolved.

The extent of the fuel spill and damage to one of our most productive aquifers are still unknown. This means the Board of Water Supply (BWS) Halawa shaft remains inactive, impacting approximately 400,000 people including residential neighborhoods, schools, business and hospitals. Shutting down the shaft, as BWS has done as a precaution, is merely a quick fix that is not sustainable.

To make up for the shortage caused by the well shutdown, water is being brought in from other parts of the island, such as West Oahu and Windward Oahu. It will only be a matter of time before all of us (the entire island) would be forced to shoulder the burden of this crisis.

What does this mean for us? The impacts of the harm will trickle down. There may be conservation mandates imposed that will limit or even eliminate our ability to use running water for purposes other than our critical needs. Jobs may be affected if construction and other work projects are halted. Streams fed by groundwater may also be impacted when these parts of the island are heavily taxed.

Water is one of our most precious commodities and it is under threat. Without safe water, we cannot survive as an island community. To ignore the harm is to ignore us. We must stand firm and remind critical decision makers that we are not expendable.

The federal government contends that these underground fuel tanks are necessary for national security. Purportedly, a large fuel supply is needed for military operations and underground storage make them less vulnerable to attack. But, placing these priorities over the health of our people is unconscionable.

We recall other instances when the government relied on national security and military necessity to justify unconscionable acts. Eighty years ago, Executive Order 9066 was signed and led to the illegal removal and mass incarceration of more than 100,000 Americans of Japanese ancestry because of a supposed threat to national security.

Locally, we as immigrants and Asian settlers in Hawaii have watched sacred lands destroyed based on claims of military necessity.

Moreover, history’s brutal lessons remind us that marginalized individuals will be more severely impacted when faced with this adversity. As the water becomes nonpotable, those without disposable income are going to be substantially burdened by this anticipated water scarcity as compared to those with financial means. When jobs are impacted, the members of our community without a safety net will be disproportionality affected. Failing to resolve this crisis could mean not only an environmental catastrophe, but a humanitarian one as well.

As the Honolulu Chapter of the Japanese American Citizens League (JACL), the nation’s oldest and largest Asian American civil rights organization, we have an obligation to draw from our history, respect this place we call home, and fight for the rights of all of its inhabitants.

Given the certainty of the damage that will be caused if the Red Hill fuel tanks remain operational, we demand the decommissioning and removal of the tanks and call on our neighbors, elected officials and government leaders to make this a priority.

———

OFF TODAY:

Washington Post columnist Ruth Marcus is off.

Minda Yamaga is first vice president of the Japanese American Citizens League-Honolulu Chapter.