HONOLULU (KHON2) — Joint Task Force-Red Hill has completed gravity-based defueling of the tank mains at the Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility as of Nov. 17.
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The Navy began defueling Oct. 16, which caused a mix of emotions for the community it impacted so much.
However, as of Friday, it seems the force safely removed approximately 103,458,180 gallons of fuel or 99.5% of the fuel previously stored at Red Hill.
During the defueling of the “tank mains,” each of the storage tanks at RHBFSF were drained to the seven-foot level.
The next stage in defueling is removing the remaining useable fuel in the “flowable tank bottoms,” which refers to the liquid fuel in the last seven feet of the tanks.
Pending regulatory approval, draining the flowable tank bottoms is expected to begin Dec. 4.
JTF-RH is slightly ahead of schedule and has initiated discussions with the Environmental Protection Agency and the Hawaii Department of Health to possibly accelerate the gravity defueling timeline.
They said they will keep the community updated accordingly.
JTF-Red Hill said they are 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.
To watch a video of the defueling of the flowable tank bottoms, click here.
