Military spending act stirs new Red Hill worries

TL;DR - A provision inserted by Congress into the fiscal year 2023 national defense spending law has sparked concerns that the secretary of defense now has more control over when and if the Navy will defuel its Red Hill facility, diluting the state’s authority and making the shut down of Red Hill less assured.

The Pentagon announced last year that it was permanently closing Red Hill after a fuel leak from the facility contaminated the Navy’s drinking water system serving areas in and around Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, sickening military families. But language in the National Defense Authorization Act, signed by President Joe Biden in December, seems to give military officials a ready escape from that commitment if the Defense Department wants to change course.

March 5, 2023: Military spending act stirs new Red Hill worries, Honolulu Star-Advertiser