Hawaii’s members of Congress expressed deep skepticism Tuesday about the Defense Department’s motivations in contesting in court their state’s order that the Navy empty fuel from tanks on Oahu that have repeatedly leaked and sickened residents.
Fuel from the Navy’s Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility near Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam leaked most recently in November, forcing thousands of residents out of their homes for the holidays and leaving many ill with nausea, vomiting and diarrhea.
The state health department, in response, proposed an order in December that the tanks be emptied, at least temporarily. The Navy filed an objection to the order that month in which a service attorney wrote that the harm was not imminent and the state was exceeding its authority, according to Honolulu Civil Beat, a news site. Then, at a January hearing of a House Armed Services panel, a top Navy admiral said the service was complying with the order to defuel after all.
