The United States Navy filed a complaint on Wednesday opposing the Hawaii Department of Health’s order to suspend operations at the Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility in Oahu after a leak this past November led to contaminated drinking water in the surrounding community.
The Navy recovered approximately 14,000 gallons of a fuel-and-water mixture that had been released from a fire suppression drain line located about a quarter of a mile downhill of the Red Hill fuel tanks on November 20, 2021. The leak contaminated Red Hill Shaft, one of the wells that service the Navy’s water distribution service, and residents had to be provided with bottled water and alternative facilities for bathing and laundry.
In response, the DOH issued an emergency order under Section 342L-9 of the Hawaii Revised Statutes directing the Navy to suspend operations at Red Hill and defuel its underground storage tanks, as well as install a drinking water treatment system at Red Hill Shaft. By effectively requiring Red Hill to shut down, the Navy claims the DOH is overstepping the emergency powers granted to it under HRS § 342L-9.
“Rather than direct action that may be necessary to remediate the November 2021 release, the Final Order goes further, effectively seeking to shut down the Red Hill facility itself. HRS § 342L-9 was not written to address long-term issues, which are the subject of other Hawaii statutes,” the complaint states.
Red Hill, which was built by the United States during World War II, stores jet propellant, aviation turbine and marine diesel fuel in bulk underground storage tanks. Of the 20 storage tanks, 14 currently contain fuel, each of which have a storage capacity of 12.5 million gallons. The facility has a history of fuel leaks: in 2014, approximately 27,000 gallons of fuel leaked from a tank that had been improperly repaired by a contractor. The Navy entered into an administrative order-on-consent with the DOH, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Defense Logistics Agency in 2015, requiring it to take steps to protect groundwater in the Red Hill vicinity. However, in May 2021, another leak occurred from a ruptured pipe, spilling approximately 1,600 gallons of fuel. The leak that prompted this lawsuit occurred only six months later.
The Navy is seeking preliminary injunctive relief, including staying part or all of the emergency order.
