Red Hill 2023 Consent Order & Other Updates
News Release from EPA, June 2, 2023
We have a number of major updates to share with you today. Below you’ll find more details on the following topics:
Red Hill 2023 Consent Order between the EPA, Navy, and DLA
The 2023 Administrative Consent Order between EPA, the Navy, and the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) has been finalized. The Consent Order creates a detailed roadmap for the work the Navy and DLA must complete to safely defuel and close the Red Hill facility and ensure protection of drinking water. As you may remember, the EPA hosted public meetings earlier this year to discuss the proposed order and asked for public comments on how the proposed order could be improved. Over 1,700 comments were submitted, and EPA has changed the order to incorporate public input. Some of the main changes to the order that were made after the public comment period are:
- Requirements to meet the defueling deadlines and milestones in Defueling Plan Supplement 2.
- Enhanced public involvement in decisions relating to defueling and closure of the Red Hill Tanks and impacts to drinking water, including the formation of the Community Representation Initiative.
- A commitment to seek additional input from subject matter experts including the Honolulu Board of Water Supply.
- Acknowledgment of the cultural significance of water to Native Hawaiians and Hawaiʻi residents and a commitment to seek local input into the decision-making process.
- Additional spill reporting requirements to ensure Navy and DLA report any spill that may present an immediate threat to human health or the environment to the Community Representation Initiative and the public via posting on the Navy’s website within 24 hours.
The 2023 Consent Order is now in effect and the full order along with the EPA’s Response to Comments can be viewed on the EPA webpage here: Red Hill: 2023 Consent Order | US EPA.
The 2023 Consent Order does not replace the 2015 Administrative Order on Consent (AOC) between EPA, the Hawaiʻi Department of Health (DOH), Navy and DLA which requires the investigation and cleanup of releases. To view information on the active 2015 AOC, please visit Red Hill 2015 Administrative Order on Consent.
Register for the next Red Hill in Focus webinar taking place Tuesday, June 13 on the 2023 Consent Order
EPA and DOH are presenting our next webinar in the Red Hill in Focus webinar series on Tuesday, June 13, from 5 – 6:30 p.m. HT. The topic of the upcoming webinar is the 2023 Consent Order.
The webinar will provide an overview of the requirements included in the 2023 Consent Order and what revisions were made in response to public input. The webinar will include a Q&A session to allow the public to gain additional information about the Consent Order and how it will impact defueling and closure of the Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility and safeguard drinking water.
For more information on this webinar, please visit June 13: Red Hill in Focus Webinar Series: 2023 Administrative Consent Order | US EPA and see the attached flyer. A direct link to register for the webinar is available here Webinar Registration - Zoom.
EPA Red Hill Groundwater Results Mapping Application available now
The EPA released a mapping tool that provides a simple and interactive way to view up to date information about groundwater quality around the Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility in Hawaiʻi. The application combines multiple data sets that the Navy has made available online all in one place in a way that is user-friendly and easier to navigate.
The application also lets you filter the sampling results by a variety of features, including analytes sampled, dates of the sampling events, well names, and screening levels. EPA pulls laboratory results directly from the Navy’s Electronic Data Management System into the application on a weekly basis, so users can view the latest validated Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility sampling data and compare current groundwater sample results to results collected during previous groundwater sampling events. To view the new Groundwater Results Application visit Groundwater Results Application | US EPA.
DOH Open House and FTAC next week June 5 & June 6
Hawaiʻi Department of Health (DOH) is hosting two public events next week that EPA will attending.
Open House on Monday, June 5, from 3 – 7 p.m. HT in the cafeteria at Moanalua High School, located at 2825 Ala Ilima Street, Honolulu, HI 96818. There will be topic-specific tables where the public can come and directly interact with subject matter experts for defueling, closure, environmental remediation, and drinking water protection.
Fuel Tank Advisory Committee (FTAC) meeting on Tuesday, June 6, from 1 – 5 p.m. HT at the Moanalua High School Performing Arts Center and on Zoom. The agenda includes a discussion with FTAC committee members and a public question and comment session. For more information, please visit the DOH’s FTAC webpage: Underground Storage Tanks Program | Red Hill Task Force and Fuel Tank Advisory Committee (FTAC) Meetings (hawaii.gov)
Visit EPA's Red Hill Public Events Calendar for more upcoming events.
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