On Thursday, the Navy took over responsibility of the Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility, after the Joint Task Force Red Hill drained 104 millions of gallons of fuel from the tanks. 

A transition ceremony took place Thursday aboard the Battleship Missouri Memorial at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, according to a news release. 

The Navy Closure Task Force will now complete the closure process. This will include four phases: removing 28,000 gallons of sludge from the tanks, cleaning 16 storage tanks and four surge tanks, removing more than 10 miles of pipeline that runs between the Red Hill facility and Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, and completing environmental remediation around the facility. 

The NCTF is developing plans to close the facility in coordination with the Environmental Protection Agency and the Hawaii Department of Health. 

“Closure operations are expected to take three to four years while the environmental remediation efforts will be an enduring mission whose timeline will be largely defined by an environmental assessment that will be conducted later this year,” the news release said.

Michelle Broder Van Dyke covers the Hawaiian Islands for Spectrum News Hawaii. Email her at michelle.brodervandyke@charter.com.