The Department of Defense submitted a new plan to defuel the Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility to Hawaii Department of Health on Wednesday. 

What You Need To Know

  • The new plan shortens the timeline for defueling Red Hill by condensing the repair timeline, conducting certain activities in parallel and reducing the duration of the final phase, according to the U.S. Navy

  • The Department of Defense will submit an additional defueling plan supplement later this month, which will incorporate new information

  • The Hawaii Department of Health said it is currently reviewing the plan

  • U.S. Senator Brian Schatz said the Secretary of Defense needs to appoint a commander for the Joint Task Force, which was announced on June 30 and is solely in charge of defueling Red Hill

The new plan shortens the timeline for defueling the Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility from the end of 2024 to July 2024. 

“A team of experts from DoD, Navy, and Defense Logistics Agency worked together over two months to refine and improve the defueling plan,” the Navy said in a news release. “The team condensed the repair timeline, determined certain activities could be conducted in parallel, and reduced the duration of the final phase of defueling from 8 months to approximately 5 months.”

The Department of Defense will submit an additional defueling plan supplement later this month, which will incorporate analysis from recent studies that are not yet completed, according to the Navy. 

The Department of Health said in a news release that it is currently reviewing the plan.

“We are focused on ensuring that defueling takes place as quickly and safely as possible,” said Deputy Director of Environmental Health Kathleen Ho in the news release. “There is a continued threat to our aquifer and residents every day that fuel remains in the Red Hill tanks. As we review this submission, it is our full expectation that it will have the requisite amount of detail to ensure defueling work can begin.”

In a statement, U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz called for Red Hill to be shut down as soon as possible. 

“Shutting down Red Hill cannot be delayed. While the updated plan to close the facility sooner is a step in the right direction, DoD must make it a priority to move fast and permanently shut down Red Hill as quickly as possible,” said Schatz. 

He also said the Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin needs to appoint a commander for the Joint Task Force, which was announced by Adm. John Aquilino, the Commander of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, on June 30 and is solely in charge of defueling Red Hill.

“We also need the Joint Task Force to become fully operational,” said Schatz. “That means the Secretary of Defense must act quickly and name its commander, a role that will serve as DoD’s on-the-ground leader responsible for working with state and local officials to safely defuel the tanks.”

Michelle Broder Van Dyke covers the Hawaiian Islands for Spectrum News Hawaii.