[CPEO-MEF] FUEL: "U.S. Navy Favors Lowest-Cost Fix for Red Hill Fuel Tanks" (HI)

[Lenny Siegel <lsiegel@cpeo.org>]

U.S. Navy Favors Lowest-Cost Fix for Red Hill Fuel Tanks

Maritime Executive
September 11, 2018

After an extended review process, the U.S. Navy has decided to promote the use of the least-cost option for upgrading the underground tanks at the Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility near Pearl Harbor. The aging tank farm released 27,000 gallons of jet fuel in 2014, raising concerns about groundwater contamination. 

Red Hill was built during World War II to provide fuel reserves for Hawaii-based forces. It has 20 giant steel-lined concrete tanks buried deep within Red Hill, each containing up to 12 million gallons of fuel. These tanks connect to gravity-fed pipelines that run underground to piers at Pearl Harbor. The gravity discharge lines from the tank farm to the waterfront provide the Navy with a reliable, high-speed method of bunkering its warships.  

After the 2014 fuel release, the Navy reached an agreement with the EPA and the state of Hawaii to make improvements to the facility. It considered six remediation options, and in August, it proposed pursuing "the most affordable option that achieves the safety and protection" of Oahu's drinking water aquifers - the option with "minimal changes to the status quo." This plan includes applying corrosion-resistant coatings to the tanks and investing in a leak detection system. 

…

For the entire article, see
https://www.maritime-executive.com/article/u-s-navy-opts-out-of-double-wall-retrofit-for-red-hill-tank-farm

--

Lenny Siegel
Executive Director
Center for Public Environmental Oversight
a project of the Pacific Studies Center
P.O. Box 998, Mountain View, CA 94042
Voice/Fax: 650/961-8918 
<lsiegel@cpeo.org>
http://www.cpeo.org

_______________________________________________
Military mailing list
Military@lists.cpeo.org
http://lists.cpeo.org/listinfo.cgi/military-cpeo.org