5 reasons to support SB2774 to shut down Red Hill

And therefore support SB2774, which requires the Navy to relocate its fuel at the Red Hill Facility away from O‘ahu’s drinking water by 2028.

We are asking water drinkers to help save SB2774. This bill is vital because it provides a clear end date to the operation of the massive, leaky Red Hill tanks and provides the justification needed for the Navy to begin the federal funding procurement process for relocation.

The bill has not been heard in the Senate CPH Committee and will miss the legislative deadline if it is not re-referred. Please call Senate President Kouchi and ask that he remove the CPH committee referral to keep SB2774 alive. Act for Oʻahu’s water security future and call and email Sen. Kouchi at 586-6030 or senkouchi@capitol.hawaii.gov. 

You can say something like this: 

“Hi, my name is ____ and I am a resident of ____. I’m calling to request President Kouchi’s help on SB2774, a bill that is so important to protecting O‘ahu’s drinking water. I strongly support SB2774 to send a signal to the Navy that more urgent action needs to be taken at Red Hill. SB2774 needs a re-referral to meet crossover deadline and I am asking Senate President to remove the CPH committee referral to keep SB2774 alive and continue this important discussion.”

#1 The Red Hill tanks have a history of leaking and they are corroding.

Navy documents have revealed that there have been more than thirty leaks from the Red Hill facility, the largest leak of 27,000 gallons occurring in 2014 after routine maintenance. Soil samples taken from beneath 19 of 20 of the tanks show petroleum-based staining and petroleum-based chemicals have been repeatedly detected in nearby groundwater monitoring wells. Every sample of steel liner tested during the 2018 Destructive Analysis Testing showed some presence of corrosion, with one sample measuring only 49% of its  original ¼ inch width. 

#2 The Red Hill tanks continue to threaten our water.

The Navy’s risk assessment shows the tanks currently have a 27.6% chance of leaking up to 30,000 gallons each year and the facility will chronically leak 5,803 gallons every year. Meanwhile, the tanks are located only 100 feet above an aquifer that provides drinking water from Hālawa to Hawai‘i Kai. This level of risk to our water is unacceptable, as none of the leaked fuel can be cleaned up before reaching our aquifer.

#3 The Navy has selected the least protective, least costly upgrade option for the Red Hill tanks while asking for 25 more years to come up with a solution.

Under the Administrative Order on Consent, the Navy evaluated six tank upgrade options and selected the option of maintaining status quo at Red Hill, while committing to ”double wall secondary-containment equivalency” or relocation “around 2045”. The Navy has already considered many different tank upgrade technologies such as patch plates, epoxy and urethane coating, aluminum and ceramic spray coating, fiberglass, rubber and a plastic “bladder” liner, carbon fiber sheets, weld overlay, concrete, ceramic tile, carbon steel, and stainless steel. There is no current technology that can feasibly double-wall the tanks.

#4 The State Department of Health has primary jurisdiction to regulate the Red Hill tanks.

The Department of Health is constitutionally and legally obligated to protect our drinking water from contamination. In 1989 the legislature codified HRS§342L, the underground storage tank law, to give DOH the tools it needed to protect our water supply. In 2002, the U.S. EPA delegated authority to the state to regulate all underground storage tanks, even the tanks at federal facilities. Furthermore, the Administrative Order on Consent specifically reserved the state's right to amend state laws and regulations to ensure that future drinking water sources are well protected. 

#5 Relocation away from drinking water is the only long term solution to protect O‘ahu’s water.

Due to the location of these tanks 100 feet above our water, we should not allow these massive, leaky tanks to continue operating after 2045–even with upgrades. It is time to start planning now for the relocation of the Navy’s fuel. The funding that is currently used to maintain the existing Red Hill Facility should be reallocated towards building a new storage tank system that does not jeopardize our drinking water. SB2774 provides a clear end date to the operation of these massive, leaky tanks and provides the justification needed for the Navy to begin the federal funding procurement process for relocation. 

Support SB2774 SD1: Red Hill Relocation Bill

UPDATE- BILL WAS DELETED FROM THURSDAY’S AGENDA. PLEASE STANDBY.

SUPPORT SB2774 SD1, which shuts down the Red Hill facility and relocates the fuel away from Oʻahu’s drinking water.

This Red Hill bill is scheduled for decision-making on Thursday, February 20 at 10:00am in the Senate Committee on Commerce, Consumer Protection, and Health and we urge you to submit testimony in support of a clean water future. Only written testimony will be accepted for this hearing.

The Navy’s massive, 75+ year old tanks currently store 225 million gallons of fuel, 100 feet directly above Oʻahu’s primary drinking water resource. The tanks, built for WWII, should have never been built here and are the largest risk to Oʻahu’s water security future. The tanks have been leaking since construction and most recently leaked 27,000 gallons of fuel into the surrounding environment in 2014. Since this leak, the Navy, EPA, and DOH have been “working” on a 20-year plan to fix the tanks to “better guard” Oʻahu’s water. After six years into the agency agreement, the Navy wants even more time to figure out their solid protection plan. Oʻahu should not have to wait 25 years to know that their water is safe.

There is no tank upgrade that can guarantee that the Red Hill tanks will never leak again. The only sure-fire option for water protection is relocation away from water resources. A recent Navy study revealed that the tanks, as they are now, have a 27.6% chance of leaking 30,000 gallons of fuel every year. Knowing this risk, it is unacceptable that the agencies are allowing the tanks to remain in operation.

SB2774 SD1 prohibits underground storage tanks larger than 100,000 gallons to be operated above the underground injection control line —a boundary set by the Health Department that determines where our groundwater aquifer ends and drinking water aquifer begins. This would mean that the Red Hill tanks would be relocated away from O‘ahu’s drinking water and ideally be rebuilt above ground.

Submit your testimony in support of SB2774 SD1 by the afternoon of Wednesday, February 19. Click here to submit your testimony, sample testimony provided below.

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Sample testimony:

Aloha Chair Baker, Vice Chair Chang, and members of the committee, 

I am writing today in strong support of SB2774 SD1, prohibiting the operation of underground storage systems with a capacity of 100,000 gallons or more, mauka of the underground injection control line, after 1/1/2028.

As a water drinker, I am incredibly concerned that the underground storage tanks at the U.S. Navy’s Red Hill storage facility remain in operation directly above a major water source. The Red Hill tanks are over 75 years old and have a long history of leaking fuel into the surrounding environment. This facility alone has leaked over 200,000 gallons since construction, most recently releasing 27,000 gallons of fuel in 2014—none of which was ever located or cleaned up. More upsetting is that the Navy’s own recent study shows that the tanks at Red Hill have a 27.6% chance of leaking 30,000 gallons of fuel every year and that they expect chronic fuel leaks of 5,800 gallons every year. I cannot stand idly by while there is such a massive threat to Oʻahu’s drinking water security and I invite you to join me by passing this much needed bill.

There is no tank upgrade option that provides as much security as the relocation of the Navy’s fuel away from drinking water resources. 

Thank you for the opportunity to testify on this important matter.

Sincerely,
[your name]

Star-Advertiser poll: 73% agree with SB2774 to relocate Red Hill fuel by 2028

Yesterday, the Star-Advertiser’s Big Q Poll had a question on SB2774- a bill we STRONGLY SUPPORT that would shut down the Red Hill fuel tanks and require the relocation of the Navy’s fuel away from drinking water resources by 2028.

454 of 621 responses, or 73% of those polled, either agreed or strongly agreed with this bill:

Although this is not a scientific poll (view the results here), it reinforces the widespread support for relocating the Navy’s fuel. This support was also evident during the November 2019 public meeting in Moanalua, in which hundreds of residents filled the Moanalua Middle School cafeteria and around 50 people public testified in opposition to the Navy’s current plan for Red Hill.

SB2774 has already received over 100 pages in testimony in its first hearing and now heads to the Senate CPH committee. Notably, our State Department of Health supports the bill, agreeing that in the long term, the Navy’s fuel should not remain in WWII era tanks that sit 100 feet above O‘ahu’s primary drinking water aquifer.

Support SB2774 to shut down Red Hill and relocate the fuel

SUPPORT SB2774, which shuts down the Red Hill facility and relocates the fuel away from Oʻahu’s drinking water.

This Red Hill bill is scheduled for its first hearing on Monday, February 10 at 2:15pm in the Senate Committee on Agriculture and Environment, room 224 and we urge you to submit testimony in support of a clean water future.

The Navy’s massive, 75+ year old tanks currently store 225 million gallons of fuel, 100 feet directly above Oʻahu’s primary drinking water resource. The tanks, built for WWII, should have never been built here and are the largest risk to Oʻahu’s water security future. The tanks have been leaking since construction and most recently leaked 27,000 gallons of fuel into the surrounding environment in 2014. Since this leak, the Navy, EPA, and DOH have been “working” on a 20-year plan to fix the tanks to “better guard” Oʻahu’s water. After six years into the agency agreement, the Navy wants even more time to figure out their solid protection plan. Oʻahu should not have to wait much longer to know that their water is safe in the long run.

There is no tank upgrade that can guarantee that the Red Hill tanks will never leak again. The only sure-fire option for water protection is relocation away from water resources. A recent Navy study revealed that the tanks, as they are now, have a 27.6% chance of leaking 30,000 gallons of fuel every year. Knowing this risk, it is unacceptable that the agencies are allowing the tanks to remain in operation.

SB2774 prohibits underground storage tanks larger than 100,000 gallons to be operated above the underground injection control line —a boundary set by the Health Department that determines where our groundwater aquifer ends and drinking water aquifer begins. This would mean that the Red Hill tanks would be relocated away from O‘ahu’s drinking water and ideally be rebuilt above ground.

Take action today:

• Submit your testimony in support of SB2774 by Sunday, February 9, 2:15pm. Click here to submit your testimony, sample testimony provided below.

• Turn out on Monday, February 10 at 2:15pm to the AEN hearing, room 224 and testify in support.

• Invite your networks to submit testimony and join you on Monday!

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Sample testimony:

Aloha Chair Gabbard, Vice chair Ruderman, and members of the committee, 

I am writing today in strong support of SB2774, prohibiting the operation of underground storage systems with a capacity of 100,000 gallons or more, mauka of the underground injection control line, after 1/1/2028.

As a water drinker, I am incredibly concerned that the underground storage tanks at the U.S. Navy’s Red Hill storage facility remain in operation directly above a major water source. The Red Hill tanks are over 75 years old and have a long history of leaking fuel into the surrounding environment. This facility alone has leaked over 200,000 gallons since construction, most recently releasing 27,000 gallons of fuel in 2014—none of which was ever located or cleaned up. More upsetting is that the Navy’s own recent study shows that the tanks at Red Hill have a 27.6% chance of leaking 30,000 gallons of fuel every year and that they expect chronic fuel leaks of 5,800 gallons every year. I cannot stand idly by while there is such a massive threat to Oʻahu’s drinking water security and I invite you to join me by passing this much needed bill.

There is no tank upgrade option that provides as much security as the relocation of the Navy’s fuel away from drinking water resources. 

Thank you for the opportunity to testify on this important matter.

Sincerely,
[your name]