Contractors working for Navy Closure Task Force-Red Hill move a disassembled section of diesel fuel pipe outside of an entrance to the Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility, Hawaii, March 27, 2024. (Glenn Slaughter/U.S. Navy)
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has fined the Navy and Defense Logistics Agency $5,000 for failing to attend a community meeting last month regarding the Red Hill fuel spill crisis as required by a consent order.
Under the order, representatives from the two entities were required to attend the Dec. 12 meeting of the Red Hill Community Representation Initiative group.
The group consists of 10 members from the Hawaiian community who work directly with the Navy, Defense Logistics Agency and the EPA on matters related to the Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility, including its defueling, permanent closure and drinking water safety.
The EPA said it was “disappointed” in the Navy’s absence in a Dec. 18 letter to Rear Adm. Marc Williams, deputy commander of the Navy Closure Task Force-Red Hill, and David Kless, deputy commander of the Defense Logistics Agency.
“[Navy Closure Task Force-Red Hill] is aware of the $5,000 stipulated penalty for not attending the CRI meeting December 12, 2024, and we are working through the Consent Order’s dispute resolution provisions to resolve the matter,” the task force responded in a Jan. 2 email.
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin in March 2022 ordered the World War II-era facility closed after a jet fuel spill contaminated drinking water used by more than 90,000 people living in military communities on or near Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam.
Thousands of residents were temporarily relocated to area hotels as the Navy flushed the system.
Many residents believed that the Navy’s response to the contamination was slow and half-hearted.
The Navy’s own investigation into the causes of the spill disclosed a stunning lack of management, training and maintenance for personnel and contractors in the years prior to the fuel spill in November 2021.
The establishment of the CRI was added to the 2023 Red Hill Administrative Consent Order in response to public comments lobbying for more community input in the facility closure and the cleanup of contaminated soil, rock and water beneath it.
The relationship between some CRI members and the Navy has been contentious. Navy officials have complained that CRI members were rude and brought up questions and items outside the scope of the meeting agenda.
As a result, the Navy skipped meetings throughout 2024, which prompted an unsuccessful attempt by the EPA last spring to attempt to bring in a mediator to resolve differences.
In November, the EPA amended the consent order to place a mediator chosen by that agency in charge of meeting agendas and discussions.
CRI members balked at that and other changes and requested the EPA solicit public comment on the amendments before finalizing them.
Nevertheless, CRI members agreed to follow the newly instituted ground rules for the Dec. 12 meeting.
The EPA notified the Navy of the CRI’s intent to do so, according to the Dec. 18 letter written by Amy Miller-Bowen, director of the EPA Enforcement and Compliance Assurance Division.
The Navy Closure Task Force signed off on the agenda for the Dec. 12 meeting, according to the letter.
Hours before the meeting, the EPA issued a written denial to CRI’s request for public comment.
That same day, the Navy Closure Task Force issued a news release saying it would not attend until the EPA had resolved CRI’s request.
“If the CRI members agree to participate in the January CRI Meeting pursuant to the Ground Rules and Navy and DLA do not attend the January CRI meeting, EPA may assess an additional stipulated penalty,” Miller-Bowen wrote.
olson.wyatt@stripes.com @WyattWOlson
