Write to the Secretary of Defense urging the shut down of Red Hill
On December 6, Governor Ige and the Hawaiʻi Department of Health ordered the Navy to defuel the tanks at Red Hill. While we wish it didn’t take families and pets being poisoned to get Hawaiʻi’s leaders finally on board with shutting down Red Hill, this is a strong and much needed shift in action that should have happened years ago.
While the Governor and Department of Health do, indeed, have legal authority to protect us from the Red Hill Fuel Facility, we already know that the Secretary of the Navy, Carlos Del Toro plans to treat this lawful order as a “request.” And now, they are requesting a contested case hearing to delay having to comply with the order.
This is it. We NEED YOU AND EVERYONE YOU KNOW to make sure the Navy does not defy the law while contaminating our water and poisoning thousands of people—as they have in other places time and again.
Write to the Secretary of Defense (Del Toro’s boss), demanding that the Navy comply with the emergency order and immediately shut down Red Hill to protect Oʻahu’s water and public health.
Here’s how:
The most effective (and only) way to contact the Department of Defense is through snail mail. That works out great for us because we know from years of experience that handwritten personal letters are hard for officials to ignore and are incredibly effective in advancing our cause.
Make it personal. We have included a sample letter and talking points below, but please make this letter your own. Do you live in the area impacted by the contamination? Have you had petroleum exposure symptoms? Do you live in the area from Moanalua to Maunalua whose drinking water could also be threatened by the Red Hill tanks? Let them know. You can print out this letter or write on personal stationary, a greeting card, a postcard, a plain piece of paper—whatever you have access to.
Mail your notes ASAP. We are aiming to collectively flood their mailboxes so it’s better for us to all mail our letters around the same time.
Mailing address: Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III, 1000 Defense Pentagon, Washington, D.C. 20301-1000
Let us know when you’ve mailed your letters. Email us at hawaii.chapter@sierraclub.org or text 808-439-6747 and tell us you’ve sent them. If you didn’t already, please fill out this form so we can stay in touch. We’ll follow up with you over the next couple days to make sure you have all the tools you need to send your letter and we’d like to know when you’ve sent your letters so we can keep a tab of how many letters have been mailed.
Draft letter
Aloha Mr. Lloyd J. Austin III,
My name is [Your name] and I live in [Area]. I urge you as the Secretary of Defense to see it through that the U.S. Navy complies with Governor David Ige and the Hawaiʻi Department of Health’s emergency order to suspend operations and defuel the tanks at the Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility on Oʻahu.
The Secretary of the Navy, Carlos Del Toro, has done nothing to assure the residents that rely on the contaminated water system nor the greater population of Oʻahu that the Navy has the situation under control. Mr. Del Toro’s apology became irrelevant when stated that Red Hill will not be closing and that he plans to treat the order as a “request”. Now, the Navy is requesting a contested case hearing to delay having to comply with the order.
People are being poisoned. There cannot be national security if there is no water security. No one is safe as long as their drinking water is contaminated and continues to be threatened by outdated technology.
You may respond to me at [email address or physical address].
Sincerely,
[Your name]
Talking points for letter
Governor Ige and the Health Department are acting out of serious concern for the public health and safety of Oʻahu’s residents.
The Navy has not responded with the level of urgency or transparency that this contamination event deserves and cannot be trusted to continue to operate the Red Hill facility safely
The contaminated water source supplies water to over 90,000 residents, most of them Navy families
The Red Hill tanks have leaked more than 178,434 gallons of fuel since construction
Genuine security recognizes that drinking water is a vital lifeline that must be protected
The Navy’s promises are not enough to protect Oʻahu’s water
The Navy has replaced similar tanks with aboveground tanks in other areas, the same must be done in Hawaiʻi
More Information
Stay up to date with the latest news coverage, information, ways to help and more on our Red Hill Live Updates page. You can also learn more about the history of the Red Hill tanks, their inherent danger and how we got to this point on our Red Hill page here.