HONOLULU – As part of its responsibility to protect public health and the environment, the Hawaiʻi Department of Health (DOH) provides biweekly status reports on matters concerning the defueling, monitoring, and remediation of the U.S. Navy’s Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage facility.
The Department of the Navy has withdrawn its pending permit application for the Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility, which is consistent with the directive issued last month by the Secretary of Defense to defuel and decommission Red Hill. Media are also invited to attend a U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention virtual presentation tomorrow on the Assessment of Chemical Exposure Health Survey conducted in January and February 2022.
Issue
Update
Legal Issues
The Department of the Navy has withdrawn its pending permit application for the Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility. The application was originally submitted on March 13, 2019, and more recently has been the subject of Contested Case Hearing No. 19-UST-EA-01.
The Navy reaffirmed its intention to defuel and close the 20 underground storage tanks at Red Hill, along with the four surge tanks, and related pipelines. Hawaii Administrative Rules provide DOH with regulatory authority over the closure of underground storage tank facilities.
Assessment of Chemical Exposure Health Survey
DOH and the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) continue to analyze the data from the Assessment of Chemical Exposure Health Survey conducted in January and February 2022. A written report will be published this summer.
ATSDR representatives will present a short summary of the survey tomorrow, May 5, at 10:05 AM HST at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Epidemic Intelligence Service Conference.
Media interested in watching the virtual presentation can click here to register. Media can ask questions via the platform’s chat function during the Q&A portion following the presentation.
Long-Term Monitoring of Navy Drinking Water System
DOH continues to oversee the Navy’s long-term drinking water monitoring plan, which requires two years of monitoring of homes, schools, childcare facilities, and other buildings on the Navy water system.
The Navy completed the first month of long-term monitoring on April 7, 2022. The Navy will post reports detailing results at jbphh-safewaters.org/ once data has been validated.
Aquifer Monitoring and Recovery
DOH continues to direct the Navy to conduct intensive sampling across the Red Hill facility to track the presence and movement of fuel in the groundwater.
Careful, ongoing review of incoming sampling results from Red Hill wells show clear fuel impacts across the Red Hill well field from both the May 5, 2021 release and the November 20, 2021 release.
The data shows highest detections and most wells affected in November and December 2021. Concentrations fell steadily from February through April 2022. DOH and EPA will continue to carefully monitor for changes that suggest risk to drinking water purveyors.
