Knowledge Center
Red Hill is a very complex problem with thousands of pages of information to sort through. This Knowledge Center is a 'Work-in-Progress' that we are curating to help provide you with as much technical and detailed information as possible in the most digestible way we can. We will also provide as many links to other resources to help you dive in as deep as you wish and also gain other perspectives on the crisis that we currently face.
The Navy's own studies determined that the Red Hill fuel tanks have a:
27.6% chance of leaking 1,000 - 30,000 gallons of fuel in the next year!
80.1% chance of leaking 1,000 - 30,000 gallons of fuel in the next 5 years!
96.0% chance of leaking 1,000 - 30,000 gallons of fuel in the next 10 years!
99.8% chance of leaking 1,000 - 30,000 gallons of fuel in the next 20 years!
The Navy has stated that it intends to 'invent' some kind of secondary containment solution in 10+ years for its tanks or they will decommission them by 2045 – years past the deadlines handed down by state and federal regulators! We can't afford to wait that long and become the next Flint Michigan.
The Wai Ola Alliance wants and is pressing for a faster response. We seek to “immediately address the continuous imminent threat of a catastrophic failure” with the installation of tank liners, replacement of pipes, and installation of a fuel leak detection system while longer-term solutions are negotiated between the US Navy, the United States Environmental Protection Agency ("EPA"), and the Hawai'i Department of Health ("HDOH").
“Red Hill has released fuel into the environment in the past, did so just months ago, and will continue to do so in the future,” WOA's Notice to Sue states. “The Navy has been aware of and on notice for decades that the Facility’s tanks (and associated infrastructure, e.g., pipelines) are antiquated, corroding, leaking, improperly operated and maintained, and at risk of catastrophic failure. Immediate action is required.”