HONOLULU — The Honolulu Board of Supply released a scathing statement on Monday saying that it cannot support the proposed Red Hill closure agreement between the Environmental Protection Agency, the Navy and the Defense Logistics Agency. The statement also said the EPA should not approve the closure agreement and should instead work with the Hawaii Department of Health to implement its order.

What You Need To Know

  • BWS said the EPA's Red Hill closure agreement should be rejected

  • BWS criticized the closure agreement for lacking "clear timelines, strict penalties, meaningful opportunities for stakeholder participation, and public transparency"

  • It also said the agreement does nothing to ensure the Navy remediates previous damage

  • Instead, BWS said the EPA should work with the DOH to implement its order

In December, the Environmental Protection Agency released its closure agreement, known as a consent order, with the Navy and the Defense Logistics Agency, which outlines steps to defuel and close the Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility. The facility is being closed after it leaked fuel, which entered Oahu’s groundwater and affected 93,000 people who use the Navy’s water system. 

BWS’s statement comes on the last day that the public may submit comments for the EPA’s proposed consent order, which is not yet completed and may still be changed.

BWS said the consent order fails to establish the regulatory framework to prevent the release of fuel and other hazardous substances and to protect the drinking water. 

Additionally, BWS said it was “extremely disheartened” that the proposed consent order “does nothing to ensure the Navy remediates the considerable damage it has done to Oahu’s irreplaceable sole-source groundwater aquifer or address the serious public health impacts that are the direct result of the Navy’s history of numerous, voluminous releases at the Red Hill facility.”

BWS continues by saying the consent order lacks “clear timelines, strict penalties, meaningful opportunities for stakeholder participation, and public transparency.”

The Department of Health ordered the Navy to defuel and close Red Hill on May 6, 2022. The EPA’s proposed consent order is meant to work alongside DOH’s order. 

In the BWS statement, the agency said the EPA’s proposed consent order should be rejected and instead the EPA should work to implement the DOH’s order. 

In December, after the EPA released the proposed order, BWS sent out a harsh rebuke, saying it “does not go far enough.” In that statement, BWS said the most egregious omission was that the consent order did not mention that the Navy spilled aqueous film forming foam, also known as AFFF, which contains PFAS.

At the time, Earthjustice and Sierra Club of Hawaii also criticized the EPA for putting forward the proposed order without consulting the Board of Water Supply or community members. 

Also on Monday, Sen. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, submitted a comment to the EPA calling on the agency to allow more public input in the Red Hill closure agreement process.

The EPA's order can be read in full here. 

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

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