Red Hill time bomb ticks away as community members continue to mobilize
by Wayne Tanaka, Chapter Director | Reading time: 12 minutes
The action has not stopped in the #ShutDownRedHillNow Campaign, so read on for updates and developments that have taken place over the last month - and for upcoming opportunities to demonstrate our resolve to heal our aquifer and protect it from any further harm.
IMPORTANT save the date! Fuel Tank Advisory Committee to meet on November 9
After weeks of hints and rumors, it is finally official: the next Fuel Tank Advisory Committee meeting will be held on November 9, 2022. Please mark your calendars, and be sure to sign up for Red Hill email alerts for more information about this important opportunity to directly share our questions and concerns about the Red Hill debacle with military leaders, elected officials, and government regulators.
Initial defueling of Red Hill pipelines begins - after nearly one year of delay
In other recent news, the U.S. Department of Defense’s Joint Task Force Red Hill has begun the process of “unpacking,” or removing, the approximately 1,000,000 gallons of residual fuel that have remained in the Red Hill Facility’s pipelines since November of last year. Hawai‘i residents continue to wait for updates with bated breath, particularly given the still-unexplained pressure changes that occurred during fuel “movements” last year (leading one Navy captain to warn that “multiple valves” may have been leaking); the lack of any clear expertise on the part of Navy officials planning the effort; and the continued denial of community demands for public transparency and inclusion of kānaka maoli, civilian, and third party expert membership on the Joint Task Force.
While the removal of this fuel is an important first step, over one hundred million gallons still remain in the facilityʻs dilapidated, 80-year-old fuel tanks, and the Navy refuses to commit to removing this fuel any sooner than July of 2024. “As Mauna Loa is reminding us, earthquakes are real,” Sierra Club of Hawai‘i Director Wayne Tanaka noted in a recent interview with Hawai‘i Public Radio.
(Also important to remember is the fact that it has taken nearly a year for any fuel to be removed at all - and only after Navy officials denied the existence of a crisis, fought the Department of Health’s emergency order to defuel its Red Hill Facility for months, and then failed to meet the requirements of the Health Department’s second emergency order, with a state official comparing the Navy’s initial defueling “plan” to an incomplete homework assignment.)
Without the transparency and demonstrable urgency that Hawai‘i residents deserve, it continues to remain up to us, the people of Hawai‘i, to maintain and, if necessary, escalate pressure on Navy and elected officials to do everything possible to prevent a generations-long catastrophe from occurring. Fortunately, there have been numerous community events just in October alone, to do just that.
More October updates
Kūpuna organize to protect our island and our keiki
Rev. David Nakamoto and Bree Komagome displaying petition signed by over 200 kūpuna of 15 Craigside.
On October 4, kūpuna residents of 15 Craigside banded together to gather over 200 signatures on a letter to President and Commander-in-Chief Joe Biden, imploring him to take further action to ensure the Red Hill crisis is treated as the existential emergency it truly is. One week later, dozens of kūpuna at Arcadia sent their own letter to President Biden. Both letters highlighted signatories’ deep concerns for Hawaiʻi’s keiki - as well as their hopes for a thriving future for their children and grandchildren, which remains at risk every day that over 100 million gallons of fuel continues to be stored in Kapūkakī.
Mahalo nui and congratulations to these kūpuna who - after already nurturing a generation (or two!) of Hawai‘iʻs keiki - have continued to work to take care of us all, and keep us safe. A special thank you to Rev. David Nakamoto, Irene Zane, 15 Craigside Chief Operation Operator Bree Komagome, Arcadia Programs Manager Ashley Maeshiro, and Garner Shimizu for their contributions to this letter campaign.
May we all be inspired by our kūpuna and all they have done and continue to do!
For the Love of Water: Steven Donziger, international human and indigenous rights activists reflect on the global imperative to protect water
On October 7, international human rights lawyer Steven Donziger, Amazon Watchʻs Paul Paz y Miño, Water Protector Legal Collective’s Natali Segovia, and Sierra Club of Hawai‘i Director Tanaka, along with moderator Nízhóni Begay, joined forces to hold a panel discussion reflecting on their campaigns to protect water, what they have seen corporate and military forces do to indigenous and frontline communities and to the environment in their desire for profits and oil, and what people and communities will do for the love of water and life.
Be sure to watch the “For the Love of Water” panel here, and be sure to follow @StevenDonziger, @AmazonWatch, and @WaterProtectorLegal for more updates on their incredible work defending water, human rights, and our planet.
October 8 Lie-Aversary commemorates a year of “implausible” deniability
On October 8 of last year, Civil Beat journalist Christina Jedra reported on a whistleblower revelation that Navy officials had not disclosed the existence of an “active leak” in evidentiary hearings over their underground storage tank permit application for the Red Hill Facility. Leaked internal e-mails indicated that while the evidentiary hearings were being conducted, Navy officials expressed “significant political concerns if this were to become an ʻactive’ leak,” noting that “activist organizations” would use it to advance an “anti-Red Hill narrative,” and that it would “undermine community and regulatory confidence” in their tank and pipeline leak detection systems.
To commemorate this “Lie-Aversary,” the Sierra Club of Hawai‘i, along with co-organizers from the Honolulu Board of Water Supply, O‘ahu Water Protectors, Hawai‘i Peace and Justice, Faith Action for Community Equity, Ka Lāhui Hawaiʻi, Our Revolution Hawai‘i, 350Hawaii.Org, and the Shut Down Red Hill Coalition, joined by supporters from the Shimanchu Water Protectors, the Mauna Medics and numerous other groups, gathered at the Pearl Harbor National Memorial Park, to reflect on a past year of of misdirection, untruths, and “implausible” deniability” on the part of Navy officials in response to the Red Hill crisis.
Petitions signed by hundreds of community members demanding expedient action, transparency, and help for affected families were also unveiled by speaker. Read more about this event in the press release issued by the organizers.
Mahalo nui to Oren and ʻŌlelo TV for covering the event, which can be also be viewed here.
Living a Nightmare: Affected residents share their ongoing plight - and what they are doing to fight for their families’ health and for our island’s future
Those directly impacted by the Navy’s poisoning of our aquifer have had their lives upended for nearly a year - and yet in spite of all their own challenges, many have also dedicated their time and energy to become leading advocates for accountability and the protection of O‘ahuʻs water and people from any further harm.
On October 15, Faith Action for Community Equity convened a panel of these affected residents, including U.S. Army Major Mandy Feindt, Ariana Wyatt, Meredith Wilson, Katherine McClanahan, and Kiaʻi Wai Keoni DiFranco, to discuss their experiences dealing with contaminated water, and their efforts - including trips to Washington, D.C. - to ensure accountability, and protect Hawaiʻi and communities everywhere from the reckless disregard of both water, and human rights.
Watch this moving panel on Faith Action’s Facebook page here, and be sure to share this with your friends and networks.
Tadaima: Remembering Puʻuloa
On October 18, Japanese American Memorial Pilgrimages featured Hawaiʻi Peace and Justiceʻs Dr. Kyle Kajihiro, Oʻahu Water Protector Dani Espiritu, historian and cultural expert Kepoʻo Keliʻipaʻakaua, Mālama Puʻuloa Director Sandy Ward, and Sierra Club of Hawaiʻi Director Tanaka, in a panel discussion to reflect on the cultural significance of Puʻuloa, Moanalua, and Kapūkakī; the history and impacts of military occupation on the region; the threats now posed by the Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility; and what the community is doing to try and heal these culturally sacred spaces.
Watch and share this panel presentation here.
Faith Action, Oʻahu Water Protectors, and Shut Down Red Hill Mutual Aid provide critical relief to impacted families
Beginning on October 17, a series of water main breaks in the Navy’s water system left 93,000 residents on a week-long boil water advisory — many of whom are continuing to struggle with the impacts of petroleum poisoning due to the contamination of the very same system. After community demands for the Navy to provide greater relief to these residents fell on deaf ears, organizers with Faith Action for Community Equity immediately began a water donation drive, and teamed up with Oʻahu Water Protectors and Shut Down Red Hill Mutual Aid to deliver a record breaking 300 cases of water to impacted families.
Unlike the Navy’s minimal water distribution effort, which limited families to one gallon of water, per person, per day, this distribution allowed families to take what they needed - a huge relief for those already contending with yet another water contamination crisis, on top of the challenges of ongoing medical and mental health impacts from the November 2021 spill.
Kehlani uplifts the campaign
On October 21, during their live performance at the Waikīkī Shell, singer-songwriter superstar Kehlani broadcast a message from the Oʻahu Water Protectors amplifying the Shut Down Red Hill campaign to the thousands of audience members in attendance. You can check out the video message here.
Mahalo nui e Kehlani for helping to amplify our efforts!
Waipahu neighborhood board joins the fight
In October 27, the Waipahu Neighborhood Board passed a resolution urging the expeditious defueling and decommissioning of the Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility, joining over a dozen other neighborhood boards in a growing call for the emergency action that we need. Be sure to read to the end for upcoming opportunities to encourage the few remaining neighborhood boards to pass their own Red Hill resolutions.
Navy continues to disappoint
Unfortunately, while community members continue to rally to defend our home and our future, recent developments show that the Navy and its sister branches simply cannot demonstrate any capacity to be good guests of the ʻāina and communities that have hosted them for generations.
On October 3, the Surfrider Foundation released a report showing elevated lead levels 17 times the safety standard for industrial areas, just makai of a Marine Corps firing range and adjacent to a community park and beach where local families - and children - swim, surf, fish, and play. According to Civil Beat, the Marine Corps’ sadly predictable response was to “express doubt” about these findings, and to assert that their own past surveys conveniently demonstrated no evidence of a risk to human health or the environment.
Then, on October 19, the Navy asserted that it is immune from paying the record $8.7 million dollar fine levied by the Hawaiʻi Department of Health, for nearly 1,000 Clean Water Act violations associated with its chronically dysfunctional Pearl Harbor Wastewater Treatment Plant. With the ability to hide ongoing violations behind claims of “national security,” FOIA exemptions, and a public relations office dedicated to downplaying concerns and even misleading the public, the Navyʻs position that it cannot be held accountable for violations after-the-fact would allow it to neglect even federal environmental laws, with nearly absolute impunity.
Meanwhile, despite refusing to acknowledge the threat to O‘ahu’s water supply as an “emergency,” the Navy did ask for — and received — an “emergency” connection to Board of Water Supply water lines, after multiple water main breaks compromised their own drinking water system and left 93,000 residents, along with businesses and schools, on a week-long boil water advisory. Navy officials stated that back flow preventers will keep contaminated Navy water out of the municipal water supply, but that there are “no guarantees.” Whether the Navy will reflect on and recognize its blatant hypocrisy remains to be seen…
Stay informed and join the fight!
Clearly, our work to save our water and our island is far from over. Please mark your calendar and spread the word on these upcoming events that will help keep the public informed and engaged in the #ShutDownRedHillNow Campaign:
November 3, 2022, Kailua Neighborhood Board Resolution: The Kailua Neighborhood Board will be considering the adoption of a resolution urging the immediate draining and closure of the Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility. Public testimony will be accepted at its 7 p.m. meeting, so please consider testifying virtually or in person to support this resolution, and add the Kailua Neighborhood Board to the growing list of neighborhood boards urging the Navy to protect us from disaster. For meeting details and information on how to testify, see the November 3 agenda here.
November 9, 2022, Fuel Tank Advisory Committee: The Fuel Tank Advisory Committee will be convening for the second time this year, to receive updates on the Red Hill crisis as well as questions and concerns from the public. It is critically important that Hawaiʻi residents let the elected officials, government regulators, and Navy leaders on the Committee know that we expect far more urgent, transparent, and accountable action, and true leadership, in the removal of the Navy’s ongoing existential threat to our sole source groundwater aquifer. Meeting details are pending and will be posted here; be sure to sign up for Red Hill email alerts for more information, concerns, and talking points for this important meeting.
November 18, 2022, Water Protectors Rising Panel #3: The Sierra Club of Hawai‘i will be joining with the Hawaiʻi Alliance for Progressive Action and Water Protector Legal Collective to present a third panel in our Water Protectors Rising series, featuring local and international water activists reflecting on common causes underlying water contamination crises, successful strategies used in water protection campaigns, and the potential for coordinated actions to confront water polluters and stop the patterns of destruction that have threatened and impacted our most precious resource for far too long. Sign up for Red Hill email alerts or check out bit.ly/waterprotectorsrising for updates on this event as they become available.
November 18, 2022, Behavioral Health and Wellness Convention: Also on November 18, from 1-2:30 p.m., a panel of mental health and medical professionals, social workers, affected residents, and Sierra Club of Hawaiʻi Director Wayne Tanaka will be speaking to attendees at the Behavioral Health and Wellness Convention regarding the traumas and medical conditions that may arise from water contamination crises, including best practices and advice to practitioners relating to screening, documenting, and treating those affected. To watch the panel, register for the annual convention convened by the Hawaiʻi Psychological Association, the National Association of Social Workers - Hawaiʻi Chapter, and the Hawaiian Islands Association for Marriage and Family Therapy here.
The U.S. Navy’s Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility threatens our island, our people, and the future of not just ourselves but of future generations to come. It will take all of us to protect our island’s source of life for ourselves, our children and grandchildren - so please keep spreading the word, participating in events and community actions, and reaching out for other ways that you can help join the #ShutDownRedHIllNow campaign.