Red Hill

 The Red Hill fuel leak is an environmental crisis that has affected Hawaii since 2014. The navy is in charge of watching over Red Hill and is 100 feet over Hawaii’s aquifer. This aquifer holds the water for the whole island. So when our main water storage is in danger, everyone is in danger. Inside Red Hill, 20 steel-lined underground storage tanks are encased in concrete. These tanks hold up to 250 million gallons of fuel. Each tank holds 12.5 million gallons, and measures to 100 feet in diameter and 250 feet in height.  

On January 13, 2014, about 27,000 gallons of jet fuel were spilled in 2014 at the Red Hill facility, endangering the ecosystem and aquifer in the area.  Then, on January 20, 2021, the first leak of that year occurred. For several months the Navy denied they knew about the leak. January 23, 2021, the defuel pipeline failed a second time. In May, 2021, the Department of Health learned about the two leaks from January. Civil Beat obtained documents and emails from the navy suggesting they did not want the fuel spill to be connected while the health department was taking evidence on the safety of the facility. 

Ke Alii had an amazing opportunity to interview Sen. Brandon Elefante about the issue. Senator Elefante is the Senate for the 16th district (Aiea, Pearl City, Waipahu) and is vice chair of the Water and Land committee. Prior to his legislative work, he was a former teacher and coach at Damien Memorial. 

Senator Elefante first learned about the issue back in 2014. When asked why the 2014 leak doesn’t get as much notice as the 2021 leak he says, “The 2021 leak affected more of our military families which is probably why it got more attention." Sen. Elefante revealed that the EPA is in charge of the cleanup. 

The EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) is the lead federal response agency for oil spills in inland waters. They created a spill prevention program which includes SPCC (Spill Prevention, Control, and Countermeasure) facilities to prevent a discharge of oil into navigable waters or adjoining shorelines, and FRP (Facility Response Plan) which requires certain facilities to submit a response plan and respond to a worst case oil discharge or threat.

When asked about if the Navy should be held accountable for their actions Sen. Elefante replied; “They have to be. It is a system. The challenge is that they somehow have to defuel all this. Since then we had to shut down all our main sources, such as Halawa which has basically supplied the island with fresh water resources. Once you impact a certain aquifer, that water is gone for years. If not a lifetime and generations to come. So that’s what’s concerning is we don't know how this catastrophic event of several years ago has impacted. The navy has committed to our congressional delegation to basically shut down and follow up with that.” Mr. Elefante also  mentioned there was a press conference at 4:00 at the capitol with different agencies standing in solidarity to basically send another message to the department of fence and the Navy on the closure of Red Hill.

The US military has had history with the Hawaii islands for generations. One of the first being the dethronement of Queen Liliokalani in 1893. Then came the annexation of Hawaii in 1998. Within a few months, Hawaii was put into temporary duty to prepare mechanics for naval purposes. 

Ke Alii also asked if the Navy is serious about protecting the aquifer. Mr. Elefante replied, “I don’t think so,” and wished to leave his comment there.

“How can we as citizens help to prevent more environmental catastrophes like this?”

“I say get involved.”