Navy one step closer to shutting down Red Hill fuel tanks

HONOLULU (KHON2) — Joint Task Force-Red Hill announced on Wednesday, April 19, it’s done with the dewatering process; and there were no issues.

Officials said they removed 1,084 gallons of water from 14 of the 20 tanks that required dewatering.

It’s now stored in above ground tanks at the facility, before being transferred to a reclamation facility where the water and fuel will be separated.

Defueling is expected to take until June 2024, and the navy said it will completely close the tanks by 2027.

The Joint Task Force-Red Hill Public Affairs Office said regulators from the Hawaii Department of Health and Environmental Protection Agency remained on site throughout the dewatering process.

They said there were not complications or incidents during the dewatering process.

“The completion of dewatering marks a major milestone on our path toward the safe and expeditious defueling of the Red Hill facility,” said Brig. Gen. Michelle Link, JTF-RH Deputy Commander. “The successful completion of dewatering confirms that our procedures are appropriately validated, and that when we train and rehearse, we can conduct operations safely.”

They indicated that water removed from tanks is stored in an above ground holding tank at the RHBFSF.

Vacuum trucks will drain and transfer the removed liquids to a fuel oil reclamation facility (FORFAC) once the holding tank is full.

Once the fuel and water are separated and appropriately processed, the fuel will be be sold commercially.

“Completion of dewatering represents another step forward in the defueling process.
JTF-Red Hill is committed to working with regulators and government stakeholders to
ensure Red Hill is defueled safely, expeditiously, and in compliance with all applicable
laws and regulations,” said Joint Task Force-Red Hill Public Affairs Office.