Defueling Plan and Closure of the Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility

Dec 19, 2023

(Public notices will appear here when available)

Following the November 2021 contamination of Joint Base Pearl Harbor Hickam's drinking water system, the Hawai'i State Department of Health (DOH) issued an emergency order to the U.S. Navy that required the Navy to cease all operations at the facility and defuel the 18 operational underground fuel storage tanks. The Hawai'i State Emergency Order was issued on December 6, 2021 and then was reissued on May 6, 2022.

On March 7, 2022, U.S. Secretary of Defense, Lloyd J. Austin III, directed the Department of Defense to defuel and permanently shut down the Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility. View Secretary Austin's memorandum.

Under the Hawai'i DOH May 6, 2022 Emergency Order, the US. Navy was ordered to submit to DOH a report developed by an independent third-party contractor that evaluated deficiencies in infrastructure and operations at the Red Hill facility. Also under the Hawai'i DOH Emergency Order, the U. S. Navy was ordered to submit to DOH a phased plan for defueling the Red Hill facility no later than June 30, 2022.

On June 30, 2022, the Secretary of the Navy in coordination with the Defense Logistics Agency issued a defueling plan on behalf of the Department of Defense. The plan provides interim milestones to be achieved throughout the defueling process and shares an initial timeline for defueling the Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage facility. This plan was submitted to the Hawai'i Department of Health (DOH) on June 30, 2022, to fulfill the requirements in Directive 4 of the DOH May 6, 2022 superseding Emergency Order (EO).

On September 7 and 28, 2022, The Navy submitted Defueling Plan Supplemental 1A and Supplemental 1B respectively to respond to EPA and DOH comments and provide additional information.

To view the defueling plan and supplemental documents, please visit the Department of Defense Defueling Plan, Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility page.

The Hawai’i Department of Health (DOH) Emergency Order ordered the Navy to contract a qualified independent third party to assess the operations and system integrity of the Red Hill facility to safely defuel the Bulk Fuel Storage Tanks. Navy contracted the firm Simpson Gumpertz & Herger Inc. and their subcontractor RiskTec to conduct the required facility assessment. Below are key documents resulting from the assessment:

On July 22, 2022, the Hawai'i Department of Health disapproved the U.S. Department of Defense's (DOD) Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility defueling plan, citing a lack of detail. DOH set a September 7, 2022 deadline for the Navy to resubmit its detailed defueling plan.

Listed below are comments EPA has sent to the Navy regarding defueling.

The Navy will drain, or "unpack," almost three miles of fuel facility pipelines linking the Red Hill facility fuel tanks to Pearl Harbor over several days starting October 25, 2022. Fuel will only be removed from the piping; no fuel will be moved from any of the 20 underground Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Tanks. Unpacking the fuel lines is a required action before the Navy can implement repairs needed to safely defuel all fuel from the Red Hill facility.

The Navy submitted its unpacking plan to EPA and DOH within the Navy's September 7, 2022 Defuel Plan Supplemental 1A. EPA and DOH submitted comments on the Navy's unpacking plan to request additional information.

In preparation for unpacking the fuel lines, the Navy conducted an oil spill response exercise on September 22, 2022. EPA, DOH, and the US Coast Guard reviewed the Navy's Unpacking Spill Exercise Plan (PDF) and observed Navy's performance in conducting an effective spill response exercise. EPA concluded that the Navy met all the requirements of the exercise in a timely manner and provided feedback during and after the event

The U.S. Navy submitted the Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility Closure Plan to EPA and DOH on November 1, 2022. The plan documents can be accessed on the Joint Task Force Red-Hill webpage.

For updates on Department of Defense (DOD) efforts to defuel Red Hill, visit their Joint Task Force-Red Hill site.