Red Hill leader vows community inclusion

The military task force charged with defueling the Red Hill Fuel Storage Facility plans to begin draining the pipes to massive underground fuel storage tanks in two weeks — a first step in removing 100 million gallons of fuel.

On Monday, Rear Adm. John Wade, commander of the new Joint Task Force Red Hill, held his first news conference with local reporters as the task force prepares for its mission.

At the new task force head­quarters on Ford Island, Wade announced that after speaking to members of Hawaii’s congressional delegation, the task force is also exploring the possibility of creating an oversight board composed of local community leaders.

Though there are no firm plans, Wade told reporters, “I’m looking at that because I do feel that having that voice will help me to understand the tenor and tone, and how I can be better and more responsive to our community.” He added that “it will also allow me to hopefully better communicate and break down barriers and perhaps what’s missed in translation — where it may be clear to me but may not be clear to the public.”

A major fuel spill from the aging underground fuel tanks in November contaminated the Navy’s Oahu drinking water system for 93,000 people, including military families, businesses and civilian families that live in former military housing areas. There had been safety concerns and calls for years to drain the Red Hill tanks, which sit just 100 feet above an aquifer that provides most of Oahu’s drinking water.

“Every day that fuel is sitting there is a threat to our community and to the environment,” said Wade.

There are 91 members of JTF Red Hill, but it is expected to grow to 124.

Wade said that he takes on the job “humbly, with the understanding that the people in the land of Hawaii deserve respect. As such, I also commit to meaningful relationships, and to provide transparent dialogue with our local community.”

He said that he has had several meetings with Honolulu Board of Water Supply Chief Engineer Ernie Lau and state Health Director Libby Char, and will remain in regular contact. Stages of the defueling process will directly involve state and federal regulatory officials, including from the Environmental Protection Agency and the DOH. State health officials will need to approve the Navy’s defueling plans.

JTF Red Hill is focused entirely on defueling Red Hill’s pipes and tanks. Ongoing remediation efforts and the overall shutdown of the facility are being handled separately.

Wade freely admits he doesn’t personally have any experience with fuel storage operations and has no formal training as an engineer. But he said he feels up to the task and will work with qualified experts. The New York native graduated from the Naval Academy with a degree in economics and went on to study information systems technology and national security at military postgraduate schools.

“Throughout my career I’ve had command of numerous ships. I’ve had command of a strike group which dealt with refueling, movement of fuel at sea under dangerous conditions, dealt with project management, risk management operations,” he said. “So I do have experience in many of the areas that I think are going to be required here.”

He said Army Brig. Gen. Michelle Link, a member of the Army Corps of Engineers, will take on the engineering side of the operation when she arrives. Meanwhile, Army Brig. Gen. Lance Okamura, a Hawaii-­raised soldier who leads the military’s detainee program at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, has been selected to lead JTF Red Hill’s community engagement efforts.

The Red Hill facility has an architecture that poses unique challenges. Built underground during World War II to be impenetrable to enemy attacks, the aging facility has proved difficult and costly to maintain and operate. When asked who he was relying on to provide knowledge of the facility itself, Wade declined to name any specific experts or leaders during the news conference.

In a May news release regarding the change of command at Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command Hawaii, Navy officials announced that NAVFAC Hawaii’s outgoing commander Capt. James “Gordie” Meyer would stay on-island to play a key role in defueling operations. Meyer was among those involved in the response to the spills in May 2021 and November that led to the contamination, and his decision-making during the crisis was criticized in the Pacific Fleet’s report on the spills.

Wade said that he vividly remembers the chaotic days after news of the spill became public. Though he lives in an area that wasn’t affected and never had to move out of his home, many of his subordinates did.

“Like many of our families, I was confused,” he said. “I was looking for information. And I know that there were well- intentioned folks trying to get that information out, but it wasn’t clear.”

The Navy’s original defueling plan estimated that it would take a minimum of two years to safely remove the fuel, citing the likelihood of supply chain problems and possible unforeseen challenges as factors that could make it take even longer. But in September the Navy released a plan that revised the timeline by six months ahead of its original projection.

When asked what specifically had changed and whether the Navy is optimistic it can meet the new timeline, Wade said, “I can’t talk to those details here, and I wouldn’t want to speculate. All I can tell you is that I’m absolutely committed to removing the fuel as quickly as possible within the right safety parameters.”