Red Hill Facility Updates
The U.S. Navy’s Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility (Red Hill Facility) was constructed in the early 1940s. This underground facility is comprised of 20 steel fuel storage tanks, each with the capacity of around 12.5 million gallons of jet or marine fuel. This fuel supplies the military services in the Pacific Area of Responsibility. The Red Hill Facility is located approximately 100 feet above the Moanalua aquifer system area. (Hawaii Department of Health Docket No. 21-UST-EA-02, Hearings Officers Proposed Decision and Order, Findings of Fact, and Conclusions of Law filed 12/27/2021). The Navy generally stores fuel at the Red Hill Facility in 14 or 15 underground storage tanks with a capacity of over 187 million gallons of fuel.
On November 20, 2021, a release of approximately 14,000 gallons of fuel from the Red Hill Facility is believed to have entered a fire suppression system and subsequently introduced into the Red Hill Shaft (the Navy’s largest drinking water source). The exact cause(s) of this was not fully explained. This contaminated water was pumped into the Navy’s drinking water distribution system and made its way into the Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam (JBPHH) water system customers facilities and homes.
The Commission is continuing to monitor and participate in certain actions related to the Red Hill fuel release as part of its management and protection of water resources on the island of O‘ahu. For additional information, please visit the following agency websites.
- Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam: Safe Waters Program
https://jbphh-safewaters.org - State of Hawaii, Department of Health
https://health.hawaii.gov/about/red-hill-water-information/ - U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
https://www.epa.gov/red-hill
Information Updates
|
Date
|
Action
|
|---|---|
| Sep. 20, 2022 |
Commission meeting: Updates were provided by the Commission staff, Hawai‘i Department of Health, and the University of Hawai‘i Water Resources Research Center. View Hybrid Meeting recording on Vimeo
|
| Aug. 16, 2022 |
Commission meeting: The Navy provided an update on remediation efforts. |
| Jul. 19, 2022 |
Commission meeting: Commission staff provided an update on the Violation Letter to the Navy for overpumpage of Waiawa Shaft, Waiawa Shaft data, and status of various monitor wells. |
| Jun. 14, 2022 |
Commission meeting: The Commission took action on the Recommended Actions Proposed by the Red Hill Permitted Interaction Group |
| May 17, 2022 |
Commission meeting: An update was provided by the Red Hill Permitted Interaction Group and NAVFAC provided an update on Red Hill responses and conservation measures. |
| Apr. 19, 2022 |
Commission meeting: Updates were provided by Commission staff on the status of Red Hill groundwater monitoring well construction permits and water shortage planning for Pearl Harbor and Honolulu Aquifer Sector Areas; Department of Health on Red Hill mitigation and remediation efforts; and on recommendations by the Red Hill Permitted Interaction Group. |
| Mar. 15, 2022 |
Commission meeting: Updates were provided by NAVFAC on short-term and long-term ground water monitoring efforts and the Board of Water Supply on data and monitoring of the affected aquifer sources and water conservation and pumping strategies. |
| Feb. 15, 2022 |
Commission meeting: Updates were provided by the Red Hill Permitted Interaction Group, the State Department of Health, NAVFAC, U.S. Geological Survey, and the University of Hawaii. |
| Jan. 7, 2022 |
The Commission held a special January meeting to hear briefings from the Department of Health, Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command Hawaii, and Commission staff. |
| Dec. 21, 2021 |
Commission meeting: Originally scheduled for December 21, 2021, but was postponed to January 7, 2022. |
| Sep. 21, 2021 |
Commission meeting: The Hawai‘i Department of Health provided an update on the Red Hill Administrative Order on Consent. |
| Oct. 16, 2018 |
Commission meeting: The Hawai‘i Department of Health provided an update on Red Hill. |
| Jan. 16, 2018 |
Commission meeting: The Department of the Navy (NAVFAC) provided an update on the Red Hill Administrative Order of Consent Activities. |