EPA Amends 2023 Red Hill Order with the Navy, Defense Logistics Agency to Improve Community Engagement

EPA Amends 2023 Red Hill Order with the Navy, Defense Logistics Agency to Improve Community Engagement

Changes improve participation and productivity at Community Representation Initiative meetings

November 21, 2024

HONOLULU - Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the U.S. Navy, and the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) have finalized amendments to the 2023 Red Hill Administrative Consent Order (ACO) that implement steps to improve public outreach during closure and cleanup of the Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility, as well as continued efforts to safeguard drinking water at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam.

"Transparency and direct communication with communities is paramount to our collective work to serve the public," said EPA Pacific Southwest Regional Administrator Martha Guzman. "These amendments ensure that the Navy and DLA are working to engage the public on the difficult environmental challenges at Red Hill."

"We remain committed to productive and transparent engagements with the community as we work together toward the permanent closure of Red Hill," said Karnig Ohannessian, Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Environment and Mission Readiness. "The Navy, in close coordination with DLA, will continue to keep the community informed as we proceed with our work to protect human health and the environment on Oahu."

The amendments will provide for improved community engagement. The 2023 ACO established twice-quarterly meetings among Navy, DLA and the elected members of the Community Representation Initiative (CRI) but did not include structure or guidance to support productive community engagement, which resulted in ineffective and unfocused meetings.

EPA offered mediation to all groups participating in the monthly meetings in order to establish ground rules to have more productive meetings. After the Community Representation Initiative elected members declined to participate in mediation, EPA moved forward with renegotiating the Consent Order and ground rules directly with the Navy and DLA in order to re-establish these engagements. In the interim, EPA has continued to participate in all monthly CRI meetings.

As part of the amended Order, an EPA-provided facilitator must run the meetings, and the agenda must be limited to topics covered by the ACO. Under these conditions, Navy and DLA will participate in the meetings on a quarterly basis to provide answers to the public related to work under the 2023 Consent Order.

All members will provide input for quarterly meeting agendas. If the CRI participants do not follow the ground rules, the Navy and DLA shall not be required to attend the quarterly CRI meeting or perform their roles or responsibilities under the ground rules.

Under the amended Order the Navy and DLA will also:

• Submit an annual Community Engagement Plan to EPA by January 15 each year for review and approval.
• Post information submitted to EPA under the 2023 Consent Order on the Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam Safe Waters Website within fourteen days of providing the redacted document to EPA.
• Include on the Safe Waters website an email address and phone number where the public may provide comments or questions to the Navy and DLA for consideration; on the first week of each month, the Navy and DLA will publish responses to frequently asked public comments or questions on the Safe Waters Website.
• Publish sampling data in an electronic form approved by EPA no later than thirty (30) days after Navy receives validated results generated pursuant to this 2023 Consent Order and this Statement of Work.

Read the amended 2023 Consent Order and Statement of Work on EPA's website.

Read about EPA's work at the Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facilityin Hawai'i.

Learn more about EPA's Pacific Southwest Region. Connect with us on Instagram, Facebookand X.

###

Public link

Please use the above public link if you want to share this noodl on another website.