Water protectors rise up as the Navy, again and again, lets us down
by Wayne Tanaka | Reading time: 7 minutes
The Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility continues to pose a daily threat of utter devastation to life as we know it on Oʻahu, and throughout Hawaiʻi - yet the Navy is pursuing what may be the slowest, most expensive option to get us out of harm’s way. Sadly, the Navy’s recent actions and inactions have only demonstrated that it simply does not care about our water, or the jeopardy it has placed us in - and it remains up to us, the people of Hawai‘i, to do what it takes to end this nightmare once and for all.
What emergency?
In July, the Navy’s 2.5-year defueling plan for the Red Hill Facility was officially rejected by the Department of Health, with department spokesperson Katie Arita-Chang likening it to an incomplete homework assignment. The Health Department’s Environmental Health deputy director Kathy Ho has since repeatedly urged the Navy feel the same sense of urgency that the people of Oʻahu feel, with our entire way of life under constant, existential threat. The Board of Water Supply and state legislators have also expressed similar frustrations with the Navy’s failure to come up with a plan of action that recognizes the Red Hill crisis as an emergency, and that acknowledges the daily danger posed by the over 100 million gallons of fuel that remain in Kapūkakī.
Protecting who?
Meanwhile, those directly impacted by the Red Hill Facility continue to struggle with the health effects of petroleum exposure, as well as ongoing contamination concerns with their tapwater - as highlighted in a recent, heartbreaking Faith Action panel featuring those whose lives were upended by the contamination of the Navy’s water system. Navy leaders have failed to meaningfully acknowledge, much less address, these concerns, notwithstanding copious reports of ongoing health issues on social media, photos and videos of clearly visible tapwater contamination, and numerous calls to military water contamination hotlines.
While Navy leaders appear uninterested in protecting the families who have been poisoned by jet fuel, their actions suggest that there are individuals who they may truly be trying to protect: themselves. This includes reports that those most responsible for this crisis have remained unscathed by disciplinary action, with one Navy official even awarded a legion of merit before being transferred to another station, and another commended for his “outstanding record of achievement.” The possibility of “accountability actions” in connection to the Red Hill crisis has been raised on one recent occasion - not for Navy leaders, but for a civilian contractor who leaked shocking video footage of the November spill, after the Navy had denied its existence for months.
No plan for timely recovery…
As we already knew would be the case, there appears to be little hope for cleaning up the existing contamination of our sole-source groundwater aquifer, much less within a meaningful timeline. The 4,000-5,000 gallons of fuel estimated to be in our aquifer may take 20-40 years to “naturally” “attenuate”, the primary means by which the Navy has envisioned the “remediation” of our island’s source of life. With still little to no information on where this contamination has and will continue to spread, dozens of monitoring wells may be needed before we can safely reactivate our shutdown Board of Water Supply wells, or develop new wells as necessary.
Is water precious?
To top it all off, the Navy has continued to disregard the preciousness of our island’s wai. It has now wasted close to a billion gallons of water that have been pumped from its Red Hill shaft, to try to keep the contamination plume from spreading further in our aquifer. The Navy still has no plan to find a more beneficial use of this precious resource, in spite of the fact that 4.5-5 million gallons of water per day will need to continue to be pumped, indefinitely. The Navy also continues to overpump its one remaining drinking water well - in violation of its state water use permit and in defiance of the state water commission’s warnings - and is using its illegally pumped water to irrigate golf courses, among other nonessential uses.
Water protectors rise up
None of this is even remotely acceptable. But even as Navy leaders treat our environment, our communities, and even their own service members and their families as expendable, people throughout Hawai‘i and even from abroad have risen and will continue to rise up in defense of our islands and our home. In recent weeks alone:
The Hawaiʻi Alliance for Progressive Action partnered with the Sierra Club of Hawai‘i to host the second panel in our Water Protectors Rising webinar series, with an incredibly powerful and moving discussion between moderator Dr. Tina Grandinetti and panelists Aunty Myrna Pagán (Puerto Rico), Maria Hernandez (Guåhan), and Dr. Kalehua Krug (Hawaiʻi). Panelists offered hope, inspiration, and reminders of the power we wield when we come together to protect what we love from a common threat. A third “hana hou” panel was also announced, with details forthcoming.
A hui of mental health professionals issued an open letter to USINDOPACOM Admiral Aquilino, expressing deep concern over the mental and physical traumas that continue to be inflicted upon the affected families now forced to live with water that is not safe, and demanding that these families be given access to safe water and housing as well as the immediate defueling of the Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility.
Not waiting for Navy leaders to act, the Shut Down Red Hill Mutual Aid Collective has also continued to support affected families with bottled water and other supplies, including a most recent water and aid package distribution this past weekend.
The Ka‘ohewai Coalition hosted an ʻAnahulu of activism at the koʻa in front of Pacific Base Command Headquarters, with ten days of ceremony, sharing, poetry, and music demonstrating a growing awareness of and commitment to ending the toxic legacy of the military’s occupation of Hawaiʻi.
The Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement, in its first Native Hawaiian convention since the pandemic started, offered its hundreds of attendees a plenary panel on the Red Hill crisis, featuring Board of Water Supply Chief Engineer Ernie Lau (who received a well-deserved standing ovation), Department of Health Environmental Health Deputy Director Kathy Ho, newly stationed Navy Region Commander Rear Admiral Stephen Barnett, and Sierra Club of Hawaiʻi Executive Director Wayne Tanaka. The conventionʻs day-long ʻAha ʻŌpio: Ulu Koa program also gave student participants a crash course in civic engagement and community organizing, where students had the opportunity to hear from the Sierra Club and to reflect on their own powers and potential to make a difference in the fight for our aquifer.
Affected residents and Faith Action for Community Equity partnered to present their own aforementioned panel on the impacts of the water crisis on their daily lives.
In addition to the ‘Anahulu, the Kaʻohewai Coalition also hosted a talk on Kapūkakī and the Red Hill crisis featuring Native Hawaiian scholars and activists at the Lā Hoʻihoʻi Ea event at Thomas Square on July 31.
That same day, the Hawaiʻi Youth Climate Coalition held a climate rally where they unveiled their Red Hill signature scroll, with thousands of signatures and messages from youth across Hawaiʻi demanding that our water - and their future - be made safe.
And finally, members of the O‘ahu Water Protectors have continued their ongoing, relentless work, canvassing neighborhoods, tabling at other events during the Lā Hoʻihoʻi Ea weekend, and partnering with Ka Lāhui Hawaiʻi to invite and host Slow Factory and The Red Nation on a weeklong huakaʻi to learn about the Red Hill crisis, and the environmental, cultural, and social impacts of militarization on our islands and communities.
Red Hill is #notpauyet. And clearly, neither are we. Please consider supporting the Sierra Club’s work, following groups like those mentioned above, spreading the word to your friends and coworkers, and learning about and taking action to support water protection campaigns across Oceania and beyond. And please, do not hesitate to reach out to us at hawaii.chapter@sierraclub.org to brainstorm ways in to bring your skills and networks to the fight of our generation.