‘A ticking time bomb’: Hearings officer says order to drain Red Hill fuel tanks should stand

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) - Citing a “humanitarian and environmental disaster” and the ongoing threat to the principal source of Oahu’s drinking water, a state hearings officer says the governor’s order that the Red Hill underground fuel storage tanks be drained should be upheld.

“[The] time has come now, these tanks need to be retired, it’s useful life has been expired,” said Co-Chair Melodie Aduja of the Environmental Caucus of the Democratic Party of Hawaii.

“The decision is pretty striking in saying that the Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility is an imminent peril to human health, safety and the environment,” said State Rep. Sonny Ganaden.

“The last thing we would want is any further damage or risk to our people and environment here by moving that those 100 million gallons of fuel,” said Camille Kalama, a member of Ka’ohewai. “So, that it be done well, safely and permanently.”

The recommendation Monday afternoon came following a contested case hearing last week on the order. The state Health Department said the Navy has until Wednesday to file objections, which would be reviewed by a deputy director ― who will make a final decision.

The Navy, however, is likely to pursue its challenge to the order in the courts.

In a brief statement Monday afternoon, the Navy said it was “aware of the proposed decision” and had no further comment.

“We are hoping that the Navy instead of rebutting this, in a couple days, just agrees to close the Red Hill bulk fuel storage facility, enter into a plan to mitigate the dangers and perils to human health and the environment,” said Ganaden.

In his recommendation, hearings officer David Day wrote the Red Hill facility “poses an imminent threat to human health and safety or the environment,”

The officer also said the Navy is “not reliable” when it comes to monitoring whether leaks are occurring and determining how much fuel has been released when leaks happen.

“The weight of the evidence establishes that the Red Hill facility ... is a metaphorical ticking time bomb located 100 feet above the most important aquifer on Hawaii’s most populous island,” Day wrote, adding that the facility “inevitably threatens to do so into the future.”

“It’s a strong language, but it’s also very true,” said Executive Director, Wayne Tanaka of the Sierra Club of Hawaii. “There’s really no way to keep our drinking water our way of life safe, other than to defuel the facility.”

The governor ordered that the World War II-era tanks be emptied after fuel contaminated the Navy’s own drinking water system, which serves 93,000 military and civilian residents.

The crisis has also threatened the public water system.

The Red Hill fuel tanks sit just 100 feet above the groundwater aquifer that serves as the principal source of drinking water for Oahu. The Board of Water Supply has stopped using some wells for fear of fuel contamination in the Navy system migrating to its own.

The Health Department says the Navy’s own estimates are that chronic leaks from the Red Hill fuel tanks probably total over 5,000 gallons of fuel per year. In the hearing, state health experts testified some of the corroding 80-year-old tanks have not been inspected in 20 to 40 years.

Meanwhile, the Navy is apologizing for downplaying the seriousness of the contaminated water crisis.

Two Red Hill spills could be linked with one much larger than reported

Deputy Assistant Navy Secretary James Balocki drew heat for saying the tainted water issue at Red Hill was not a crisis.

“I would describe a crisis as a compelling threat to human life,” Balocki said.

“I’ve been in combat so I know what crisis looks like. (The contaminated water is ...) an urgent and compelling situation. Not a crisis.”

This story will be updated.

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