US military drops appeal of Hawaii order to drain fuel tanks

Source: Associated Press

US military drops appeal of Hawaii order to drain fuel tanks

By AUDREY McAVOY
April 23, 2022

HONOLULU (AP) — The U.S. government on Friday dropped its appeals of a Hawaii order requiring it to remove fuel from a massive military fuel storage facility that leaked petroleum into the Navy’s water system at Pearl Harbor last year.

Attorneys for the U.S. Department of Defense notified the state and federal courts of its decision. The move comes more than a month after Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said the military would permanently shut down the tanks and drain all of their fuel.

The Hawaii Department of Health, which issued the order, said the decision regarding the Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility was a “step forward.”

“While today’s announcement is good news, the work continues,” the department said in a statement. It said it would “continue to act expeditiously and proactively to oversee the safe defueling and decommissioning of Red Hill and restoration of the aquifer.”

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Read more: https://apnews.com/article/business-environment-hawaii-lloyd-austin-us-department-of-defense-6a0bf4b710a406b6b0e3dd2babc24e99


FILE - In this Dec. 23, 2021, photo provided by the U.S. Navy, Rear Adm. John Korka, Commander, Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command (NAVFAC), and Chief of Civil Engineers, leads Navy and civilian water quality recovery experts through the tunnels of the Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility, near Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. The U.S. government on Friday, April 22, 2022 dropped its appeals of a Hawaii order requiring it to remove fuel from a massive military fuel storage facility that leaked petroleum into the Navy's water system at Pearl Harbor last year. (Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Luke McCall/U.S. Navy via AP, File)