DOD Promise to Defuel and Close Red Hill Received with Cautious Optimism

TL;DR - After months of protests by kiaʻi wai (water protectors) representing dozens of organizations and stonewalling by the U.S. Navy, the Department of Defense’s (DOD) announcement in early March that the Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage facility at Kapūkakī would be permanently shut down came as a welcome surprise to the community.

“The decision is a testament to the work of all those in our community who came together over many years to address the threat the facility poses to our wai, our freshwater supply, and all the life that depends on it,” said Camille Kalama, a Native Hawaiian rights attorney and a core leader of Kaʻohewai, a Native Hawaiian coalition formed to protect the aquifer at Kapūkakī.

April 1, 2022: DOD Promise to Defuel and Close Red Hill Received with Cautious Optimism, Ka Wai Ola