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By AUDREY McAVOY, Associated Press
HONOLULU (AP) – Honolulu City Council unanimously passed a resolution on Wednesday calling on the Navy to immediately shut down a fuel dump that has been blamed for contaminating tap water in military homes and threatening an aquifer dying both Military as well as being used by the civilian population of Honolulu.
The resolution called for “the immediate defuelling, permanent removal and relocation of the underground storage tanks of the Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility of the US Navy”.
The Navy did not immediately respond to an email asking for comment.
The Red Hill warehouse is home to 20 giant fuel tanks built near Pearl Harbor in the early 1940s. It supplies fuel to all branches of the Hawaiian military and has been the site of a number of leaks in recent years. The tanks are located 30 meters above an aquifer that typically supplies a quarter of Honolulu‘s urban water.
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The resolution comes after the Navy said last week it discovered petroleum in its Red Hill well, which draws from this aquifer and supplies water to military shelters, offices and elementary schools. The Navy received about 1,000 complaints from people who said their water smelled of fuel or chemicals, or experienced nausea, vomiting, or other physical ailments.
On Friday, the Navy said officials believed a single spill of kerosene on November 20 contaminated the well and tap water. The leak occurred in an access tunnel that contained fire extinguishing and supply lines in the fuel storage facility. Officials said they don’t believe a leak from WWII-era fuel tanks contaminated the water.
Hawaii Governor David Ige ordered the Navy to empty the tanks earlier this month, but the Navy said it would challenge the order.
The Honolulu water company has shut down a well drawn from the same aquifer as the Navy’s Red Hill well to ensure it is not supplying petroleum-contaminated water to its customers.
The council will send the resolution to President Joe Biden, the Navy secretary, the chief environmental officer, and other officials.
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