Pentagon speeds up timeline for defueling Red Hill by several months

TL;DR - The U.S. Department of Defense says it has sped up its timeline for draining the Navy’s underground Red Hill fuel tanks by about five months and now expects that the work can be completed by July 2024.

The projection is part of the military’s supplemental defueling plan submitted to the Hawaii Department of Health today. The DOD had essentially missed its original June 30 deadline set by DOH, submitting a 20-page document that military officials acknowledged at the time was inadequate.

DOH rejected that plan due to its lack of details, saying that it was “like turning in a homework assignment you know is incomplete just to meet a deadline.”

The new 39-page supplemental plan is also lacking. The Pentagon said that another supplement will be submitted to DOH later this month that will include analysis from additional studies that it didn’t receive in time to incorporate.

September 7, 2022: Pentagon speeds up timeline for defueling Red Hill by several months, Honolulu Star Advertiser

September 7, 2022: Quicker Defueling Plan Would Drain Red Hill By July 2024, Honolulu Civil Beat

September 7, 2022: Navy submits accelerated Red Hill defueling plan to Hawaii DOH, KITV