Red Hill Background Information

BACKGROUND

Visit EPA’s Red Hill Website for more information: https://www.epa.gov/red-hill

Visit U.S. Navy’s Red Hill Website for more information: https://www.cnic.navy.mil/regions/cnrh/om/red-hill-tank/red-hill-public-informational-updates.html

The Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility is an active and operational facility located near Pearl Harbor on the island of Oahu, State of Hawaii that supports military operations in the Pacific. Originally built in the 1940s, this unique facility includes 20 large field-constructed underground fuel storage tanks constructed of steel, encased in concrete and surrounded and supported by basalt bedrock. Each tank has a storage capacity of approximately 12.5 to 12.7 million gallons resulting in a total facility-wide capacity of approximately 250 million gallons of fuel. Presently, 18 tanks are actively in use and two are not.

January 2014 – During the course of refilling Tank 5 following its service life extension renovation work, the United States Department of the Navy identified an estimated fuel release of up to 27,000 gallons of JP-8 jet fuel from the tank and reported the release to the Hawaii Department of Health. U.S. Navy subsequently drained the tank and collected samples from existing monitoring wells. Results taken in and around Tank 5 indicated increases of hydrocarbons in soil vapor and groundwater.  Current drinking water monitoring results confirmed compliance with federal and state concentrations for drinking water both before and after the January 2014 release.

In response to public interest in the AOC, U.S. EPA and Hawaii Department of Health have developed a Frequently Asked Questions document to explain the Regulatory Agencies’ proposed agreement with U.S. Navy and Defense Logistics Agency. This FAQ document answers the following questions and more:

FAQ on the Administrative Order on Consent Sep 2015

May 2015
ADMINISTRATIVE ORDER ON CONSENT (AOC) – In response to releases from the facility, the U.S. Navy, Defense Logistics Agency, U.S. EPA and the Hawaii Department of Health began negotiating an enforceable agreement known as an Administrative Order on Consent (“AOC”) under Section 7003 of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act that establishes a timeframe for the U.S. Navy and Defense Logistics Agency to evaluate and remediate existing contamination to the extent practicable in the vicinity of the facility, as well as to evaluate and implement measures to prevent future releases.

June 18, 2015
Public Meeting/Opportunity for Public Comment 
Press Release June 23, 2015

September 29, 2015
EPA & DOH have signed this revised Administrative Order on Consent and the AOC became effective.

PDF Attachments

  1. Press Release June 1, 2015
  2. Notice of Public Comment period
  3. Administrative Order on Consent Final Sep 2015
  4. Red Hill Statement of Work (SOW) Final Sep 2015
  5. Administrative Record Index pdf
  6. FAQ on the AOC Sep 2015

The Administrative Record Index below contains a list of documents that served as a technical basis for the proposed AOC.  The documents described in the Administrative Record Index are available for viewing at the following two locations and online here:

Hawai’i Department of Health
Solid & Hazardous Waste Branch
2827 Waimano Home Road
Pearl City, Hawaii 96782

Contact Roxanne Kwan – (808)-586-4226   [email protected]

USEPA Region 9 – Pacific Islands Contact Office
300 Ala Moana Boulevard Room 5124
Honolulu, Hawai’i  96850

Contact: Alejandro Diaz – (808)-541-2711   [email protected]