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Red Hill Water Crisis

Fuel from the Red Hill fuel facility leaked into the Red Hill water well, contaminating the Navy’s Oahu water system. Get the latest updates about cleanup.

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JAMM AQUINO/JAQUINO@STARADVERTISER.COM
                                A hydrant pumps ground water into four large filtration tanks on Monday, Dec. 20, 2021, in Pearl City.
Hawaii report details health effects of Red Hill leak

A new report released by the state Department of Health provides an assessment of the health effects people may have faced after being exposed to jet fuel, the cleaning product Simple Green, high levels of chlorine and an anti-icing agent in their drinking water after a pipeline burst at the Navy’s Red Hill fuel facility on Nov. 20 2021. Read more

CINDY ELLEN RUSSELL / CRUSSELL@STARADVERTISER.COM
                                People gathered in front of the Prince Jonah Kuhio Kalanianaole Federal Building and United States Courthouse on Wednesday before a hearing in the Red Hill civil lawsuit over the contamination of drinking water.
Judge to decide whether top Navy officer can be deposed

A federal judge is expected to decide soon whether Adm. Samuel Paparo, commander of the Navy’s Pacific Fleet, will have to sit for a deposition in a civil lawsuit brought by military and civilian families whose drinking water was contaminated with jet fuel from the Navy’s Red Hill fuel facility in November 2021. Read more

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CRAIG T. KOJIMA / CKOJIMA@STARADVERTISER.COM
                                Navy, EPA and state health officials met Tuesday at Moanalua High School Performing Arts Center for a biannual meeting of the Red Hill Fuel Tank Advisory Committee. Pictured speaking on the screen is Vice Adm. John Wade, commander of Joint Task Force-Red Hill.
Environmental risks will persist after Red Hill tanks are drained

Ever since thousands of gallons of jet fuel spewed from a pipeline at Red Hill in November 2021 and made its way into the Navy’s drinking water system, sickening military families, environmentalists and water officials have had their sights set on ensuring that the fuel in the facility’s massive underground tanks that sit just 100 feet above an aquifer is permanently removed. Read more

CINDY ELLEN RUSSELL / 2022
                                The Navy prepared in late January 2022 to filter water from the Red Hill shaft and dump it into Halawa Stream.
EPA finalizes order for defueling and closing Red Hill site

The EPA said that it also has amended the agreement, called an administrative order of consent, to address public concerns that it contained weak defueling deadlines and not enough opportunities for public participation. Read more

CINDY ELLEN RUSSELL / CRUSSELL@STARADVERTISER.COM
                                The U.S. Navy led a media tour of the Red Hill Shaft in Halawa on Jan. 28, 2022.
Editorial: Progress at Red Hill

Good news came Tuesday, when Joint Task Force-Red Hill (JTF-RH) announced that the anxiously awaited defueling of its massive tanks would start much sooner than expected, and at a brisk pace that could have the tanks 99.85% emptied by Jan. 19. Read more

CINDY ELLEN RUSSELL / CRUSSELL@STARADVERTISER.COM 
                                Gov. Josh Green, above, stood Tuesday at the state Capitol with state and city leaders to discuss the signing of a “unified statement” that calls for an overarching policy governing the Red Hill area cleanup.
Hawaii leaders unite over long-term Red Hill cleanup

The show of solidarity was meant to signal the ongoing commitment through all levels of Hawaii government toward ensuring the military follows through on cleaning up the environment after it finishes draining the fuel tanks, which is expected in 2024. Read more

U.S. ARMY PHOTO BY SPC. MATTHEW MACKINTOSH
                                A Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command (NAVFAC) Fleet Logistics Center (FLC) Pearl Harbor employee uses a pickaxe to loosen soil as part of NAVFAC Public Works Department and Joint Task Force-Red Hill’s (JTF-RH) hazard material spill recovery operation at the Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility (RHBFSF) in Halawa, Hawaii, Dec. 1, 2022.
Editorial: Pattern of toxic spills, secrecy must end

The aging, dysfunctional — and extremely hazardous — Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility has been the subject of intense scrutiny since November 2021, when fuel spilled inside the massive facility escaped to contaminate the Navy’s drinking water system for Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, sickening military families. Read more

U.S. NAVY PHOTO BY MASS COMMUNICATION SPECIALIST 3RD CLASS CHRISTOPHER THOMAS
                                Photo of the temporary staging area for aqueous film-forming foam recovery at the Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility.
Criminal inquiry into Red Hill fuel spills ongoing

The Navy captain who was in charge of the Fleet Logistics Center Pearl Harbor during the May 2021 Red Hill jet fuel spill is not a target of the U.S. Department of Justice’s ongoing criminal investigation into the environmental disaster that affected about 93,000 people, his attorney told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser. Read more

COURTESY U.S. ARMY / DEC. 1
                                An estimated 1,300 gallons of concentrated aqueous film-forming foam spilled in November from a pipe at Red Hill, prompting a major environmental cleanup. Above, Navy employees put contaminated soil into a wheelbarrow as part of the spill recovery operation at the Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility in Halawa.
Military has yet to reveal causes of Red Hill fire suppressant spills

Five months after hundreds of gallons of toxic fire suppressant spilled at the Navy’s Red Hill fuel facility, sparking outrage from state health officials and environmentalists, military officials have yet to release their investigation or video of the spill. Read more

MASS COMMUNICATION SPECIALIST 1ST CLASS LUKE MCCALL/U.S. NAVY VIA AP, FILE
                                John Korka, Commander, Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command (NAVFAC), and Chief of Civil Engineers, leads Navy and civilian water quality recovery experts through the tunnels of the Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility, near Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.
Service members file legal claims over toxic Red Hill water

Three active-duty service members filed legal claims against the U.S government this week seeking compensation for health impacts and other damages they say they suffered when jet fuel from the Navy’s Red Hill facility contaminated their drinking water in 2021. Read more


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