HONOLULU (KHON2) — The Department of Defense announced Monday it will move forward with the permanent shutdown of the Red Hill fuel tanks. The process will take about a year to be completed but the announcement is a win for concerned residents.
Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said the assessment team at Red Hill will pivot to create a plan for defueling and permanently shutting down the facility.
The plan is expected to be completed by the end of April.
“Once we have prepared the site for defueling and we know we could do that safely,” Assistant to the Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs John F. Kirby said. “We estimate that it will probably take somewhere within 12 months or so to fully defuel and close it.”
The Pentagon said the fuel will be relocated to a more dispersed fueling system in the Indo-Pacific.
The Department of Health Director Dr. Libby Char said the Navy will be complying with the department’s emergency order.
“I got a call from Admiral Paparo, and he told me that the Navy will comply with all five action items and the Department of Health Emergency Order, and that includes safely defueling Red Hill,” Dr. Char said. “He also told me that the Department of Defense will permanently shut down the red hill facility.”
The Board of Water Supply Manager and Chief Engineer Ernest Lau said he will not get a good night’s sleep until the millions of gallons of fuel are safely removed from the tanks. The process does come with risks, the DOH will be reviewing the Navy’s plan to ensure petroleum does not enter the aquifer while defueling.
“This is a marathon,” Lau said. “This is a journey and steps at a time. This is a good first step. Please don’t get me wrong, but it’s something that we need. We and the community need to stay on top of.”
The Hawaii congressional delegation applauded the secretary of defense’s decision. Congressman Ed Case said this is a step towards rebuilding trust between the state and the military.
“The Red Hill crisis is about a lot more than the contamination of our safe drinking water as if that wasn’t a severe enough crisis,” Case said. “This is in a broader sense, a crisis of confidence in our military in Hawaii.”
The DoD’s decision does bring a glimmer of hope for the thousands affected by the contaminated water.
Frances Paulino remains living at a hotel as her home at AMR is still not given the full green light that their water is safer to drink. But she said this was needed positive news.
Paulino said, “Obviously would make somebody who’s gone through trauma, feel a sense of relief, because you know, that, hey, we’re in a position where this won’t happen again.”
What’s going on around the globe. Find out in International News
Meanwhile, Senator Brian Schatz said he will continue to work to secure more federal funding for the defueling process of the facility.