Navy Closure Task Force-Red Hill Operational Update - August 2024

JOINT BASE PEARL HARBOR-HICKAM, Hawaii – Navy Closure Task Force-Red Hill (NCTF-RH) continued to complete closure efforts this month at the Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility (RHBFSF) with advances in tank cleaning, environmental assessment, and remediation activities.

“The task force remains focused on successfully fulfilling our mission to assess and remediate the environment in and around Red Hill and decommission the underground fuel storage tanks at the facility," said Rear Adm. Steve Barnett, NCTF-RH commander.

“We continue to work with the Environmental Protection Agency and Hawaii Department of Health on our actions to meet all regulatory requirements and keep our commitment to the people of Hawaii. We are dedicated to working with our stakeholders to collectively understand the island’s groundwater conditions in the interest of protecting Oahu’s precious aquifer.”

The Navy is working to accelerate our remediation efforts at Red Hill. Below are several highlights.

Red Hill Site Assessment of Fuel Contamination. This summer, the Navy developed an environmental site assessment plan as part of the remediation effort and submitted this plan to regulators for comment. The plan lays the foundation for all future remediation at Red Hill.

Red Hill PFAS Remedial Investigation. Recently, the Navy agreed to expedite the schedule and expand its sampling efforts associated with perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS. The Navy submitted a work plan to Hawaii Department of Health (DOH) in June 2024, which includes a commitment to begin sampling as soon as September 2024 at a series of monitoring wells located around Red Hill.

Groundwater (GW) Monitoring Wells. NCTF-RH currently has more than 40 groundwater monitoring wells in and around Red Hill. Since 2021, the Navy has installed 21 new wells and anticipates completing a 22nd well by the end of August. All new well locations were extensively coordinated with regulators and numerous stakeholders, including the state Commission on Water Resource Management, Honolulu Board of Water Supply, and University of Hawaii. This comprehensive well network provides a better understanding of groundwater conditions in and around Red Hill. The Navy conducts bi-weekly groundwater sampling of those groundwater monitoring wells in accordance with the Revised Consolidated Groundwater Monitoring Sampling Plan, which was approved by Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and DOH.

Groundwater Flow Model. The Navy submitted its draft Groundwater Flow Model to DOH, EPA and University of Hawaii researchers in July 2024 and remains on plan to submit the final plan in September 2024. The Groundwater Flow Model includes a contaminant fate and transport model that helps understand how contaminants move, change, and interact with the environment over time.

Spill Drill: NCTF-RH staff completed a joint spill drill exercise July 22. The exercise tested the Navy’s and its contractors’ emergency response capabilities and ability to work with multiple agencies to respond to a simulated release of a mixture of water and cleaning solution during pressure washing operations. Experts from the Navy, commercial sector, EPA, DOH, Hawaii Emergency Management Agency, and Honolulu Department of Emergency Management participated in the drill.

“Completing the spill drill with our response partners is key in moving forward with pressure washing operations,” said Rear Adm. Marc Williams, NCTF-RH deputy commander. “The team has done an exceptional job getting through the initial tasks and laying the groundwork in the cleaning process with tanks 7 and 8, enabling us to efficiently and safely replicate the process with tanks 5 and 6.”

Layers of Protection: On Aug. 15, twenty-five (25) gallons of a water-sludge mixture entered a primary containment area at a sump in the RHBFSF. There was no release to the environment. The cause of the backup was related to valve misalignment in the fuel-oil recovery line, which has been resolved. The system operated as designed by capturing all the mixture in the primary containment area, preventing the need for further response actions. The mixture was pumped from the sump and clean-up materials were sealed in barrels and disposed of properly. EPA and DOH visited the sump the following day and validated NCTF-RH’s response.

Tank 7 and 8 Cleaning Efforts: After sludge removal operations concluded in early July, the interior infrastructure in both tanks were inspected. During the inspections, personnel identified structural repairs that must be completed before pressure washing equipment can be installed. These repairs are currently in progress.

Air quality monitoring (AQM) continues at the facility. Volatile organic compound levels remain well below the regulatory standard limit of 38 parts per million by volume. For questions or concerns, the public can contact the Navy Call Center at 808-210-6968. During venting operations, AQM data is updated daily on the NCTF-RH mobile app and website.

Tank 5 and 6 Cleaning Efforts: NCTF-RH began preparatory work on tanks 5 and 6 for upcoming ventilation operations. Workers removed the tank 6 spool and valves to hook up a forced air ventilation system. NCTF-RH anticipates the initial venting, or degassing, phase will commence within the next month after making required notifications to the regulator and public.

Community and Stakeholder Engagement: NCTF-RH continues to engage with the community through different venues and forums to keep the public informed. Most recently in July, NCTF-RH leaders and staff hosted visits from congressional staff members, met with the Red Hill Remediation Roundtable, and attended community meetings including the Waianae Moku Kupuna Council. This month, NCTF-RH updated Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi and the Governor’s Water Committee on the progress being made at Red Hill.

NCTF-RH will host the next Open House at the Moanalua Terrace Community Center on Aug. 21, from 5-7 p.m. The event will feature information booths and displays about the tank cleaning process, progress and timeline. Attendees can view samples of sludge removed from tanks 7 and 8, Red Hill historical artifacts, images from inside the facility and receive a demonstration of an online dashboard prototype depicting the progress of cleaning and closing the tanks. Members of the NCTF-RH staff will be onsite to answer questions, and there will be a keiki activity table for children.
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NCTF-RH is committed to working with all government agencies and community stakeholders to safely and deliberately close the Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility underground storage tanks and associated piping system, conduct long-term environmental remediation, and ensure continued access to safe drinking water in compliance with all Federal, State, and local laws, policies and regulations.

For more information about NCTF-RH, visit https://www.navyclosuretaskforce.navy.mil/or download our free mobile app by searching for “NCTF-Red Hill” in the Apple App store or Google Play store. For imagery, video and other digital media please visit our DVIDS site here: https://www.dvidshub.net/unit/NCTF-RH.