Department of Defense appeals Emergency Order
By Anna Chua | Reading time: 4 minutes
The first week of February has been a rollercoaster ride, to say the least – after saying it “is complying” with the emergency order the Department of Defense (DOD) announced that it was appealing the Health Department’s emergency order to defuel the Red Hill fuel tanks and admitted that there would be no work plan for corrective action submitted by the February 2 deadline set forth by the emergency order.
What do these things mean exactly? Here’s a quick breakdown:
Department of Defense (DOD) appeals order in court
The DOD is appealing the emergency order in both federal and state court. On the federal level, the attorneys for the Department of Justice are arguing that the Health Department overstepped its authority in issuing the order. The DOH asserts that the order was issued under its authority to invoke emergency powers should an underground storage tank facility present “an imminent peril to human health and safety or the environment” due to a release, any action taken in response to a release, or its continued operation.
Department of Justice officials are arguing that: 1) the Navy is responding to the emergency adequately and 2) the Health Department’s emergency powers “was not written to address long-term issues” and that the contested case hearing was “inadequate to evaluate the entire Red Hill facility.” Rather, long-term decisions about Red Hill are the subject of other regulatory proceedings, such as the Administrative Order on Consent (which, after almost eight years, has not managed to keep us safe) and the Navy’s pending application for a five-year permit to continue operating the Red Hill facility.
In the state court, the Department of Justice argues that the lawsuit was filed out of “an abundance of caution” to satisfy the 30-day deadline but that the Navy hopes to resolve any difference with state officials through negotiation. The Deputy Director of Environmental Health, Kathleen Ho, responded by stating that the appeal “demonstrates that the Navy is unwilling to do what’s right to protect the people of Hawaiʻi and its own service members.” We agree, and the DOD’s appeal is a stark reminder that the Navy has never intended to drain the tanks despite attesting that it will comply with the “lawful order” to not just the public, but also congressional representatives. The Navy is dragging its feet and we will not just stand idly by.
Navy’s “plan for a plan”
The Department of Defense may have chosen to keep putting our lives at risk, but the emergency order still remains in effect. Instead of submitting a work plan and implementation schedule for corrective actions to safely defuel the tanks, the Navy contracted a third party firm to assess facility operations and system integrity by April 30. The DOD has also indicated that it may also consider the possibility of continued operation of the facility– rather than defueling.
The DOD also claims that there are discussions being held about the distribution of fuel reserves for operations at Red Hill in the “Pacific theater,” and that the analysis will be completed within sixty days to enable the Secretary of Defense to make a decision on the role of Red Hill.
So, where do we go from here? We know that we cannot leave it up to the military to decide how to best protect Oʻahu’s precious aquifer. The people of Hawaiʻi know best, and we want those tanks drained immediately and the facility shut down once and for all.
As we keep up the pressure on all fronts, here are some steps you can take from wherever you are:
Talk to your friends! Make sure they know how important it is that we all take action to protect our water.
Write to President Biden here.
Reach out to us to get #ShutDownRedHill posters to adorn the windows/walls of your favorite local businesses (we canvassed Kaimukī and Mōʻiliʻili on Jan 29 & 30 with our friends at Oʻahu Water Protectors!).
Ask your neighborhood board members to pass a resolution in support of permanently shutting down Red Hill.
Follow other community organizations and coalitions fighting on the frontlines: Oʻahu Water Protectors, Kaʻohewai, and Kanaeokana.
Stay up to date on the Red Hill bills at the legislature here.
Last but not least, THANK YOU to:
Our friends at Patagonia Honolulu set up a letter-writing table this past weekend. Together with Oʻahu Water Protectors volunteers, we collected almost 200 letters that will be sent to President Biden telling him to shut down Red Hill!
Candle Collective Hawaiʻi for supporting our work on Red Hill, by donating a substantial portion of their proceeds from one of their specialty rainwater-scented candles!
Mother Bake Shop for raising funds in support of shutting down Red Hill through their raffle!