Military to begin emergency drills in preparation for Red Hill defueling

TL;DR - Drills kick off this week as part of an emergency response plan in the event of a leak or fire during the defueling of the Navy Red Hill fuel storage facility.

The U.S. military has proposed an October start date to drain 104 million gallons of fuel from the World War II-era fuel tank facility that poisoned people on the Navy water system after it leaked jet fuel in November 2021.

Starting Thursday, the military will begin drills to go over the process of refilling the pipes with fuel in the lower half of the facility, something the Navy calls “repacking." Next month it will conduct an exercise that will repack the upper half of the pipe system.

June 7, 2023: Military to begin emergency drills in preparation for Red Hill defueling, Hawaiʻi Public Radio