Honolulu: The Navy will stop the operation in the fuel storage tank above the Hawaiian aquifers to the completion of his own investigation of how petroleum comes into tap water.
In Memo dated Tuesday, Naval Secretary Carlos Del Toro said “corrective action must be done as soon as possible.” The navy earlier said it suspended the use of a large fuel storage complex near Pearl Harbor after complaint days that used the smell such as fuel and had made some sick people.
But the Navy also told Hawaiian officials, it was a task that demanded that the suspension remained valid until the independent evaluator could ensure that the right actions were taken to protect drinking water.
State officials want the navy to treat contaminated drinking water and eliminate fuel from 20 large underground storage tanks in the complex called Red Hill bulk fuel storage facilities.
Responding to the memo, Deputy Director of Environmental Health Hawaii said state officials appreciated the suspension of naval operations but that independent analysis of the situation was still needed.
State orders “provide clear parameters to pause operations, treat contaminated drinking water and safely relieve Red Hill underground storage tanks,” said Deputy Director, Kathleen Ho.
This also “ensures that this framework still occurs until independent assessment can ensure that the right actions are taken to protect human health and the environment,” Ho said in a statement.
The Navy will consult with a third party that is independent to assess the operation and integrity of the system from the tank facility and develop the necessary repair plan, the memo said, which was used as a public Wednesday.
“The recent incident was in the base with Pearl Harbor-Hickam, where military housing units and other facilities received tap water containing petroleum products were not acceptable,” said the memo.
The naval water system serves around 93,000 people in and near Pearl Harbor and almost 1,000 military households complaining about their tap water.
Some say they suffer from diseases such as cramps and vomiting after drinking them recently.
Testing last week showed the existence of petroleum in water originating from wells near the underground fuel tank complex which had been the source of several fuel leaks over the years.
The Navy stopped the Hawaiian fuel tank operation during the investigation
