The Department continues its efforts to work closely with the Hawaii Department of Health, the Environmental Protection Agency, and Hawaii state officials to ensure the Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility is defueled and the conditions for closure are set.
In support of that goal, the Department of Defense published a new supplement to the DoD Red Hill Defueling Plan today. This supplement demonstrates our intent to complete defueling the Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility and transition responsibility from Joint Task Force-Red Hill to a new Navy-led organization, the Navy Closure Task Force-Red Hill (NCTF-RH).
As directed by the Secretary of Defense, the Commander, Pacific Fleet (CPF) will establish NCTF-RH. The Commander, Navy Region Hawaii (CNRH) will be dual-hatted as Commander Navy Region Hawaii and Commander, NCTF-RH. Dual hatting the Commander enables operational and reputational synergy for the execution of closure and remediation actions, while also leveraging the Commander's position in the community to continue rebuilding trust with the State of Hawaii and the local community of Oahu. Two deputy commanders will report to NCTF-RH: a Deputy Commander for Closure and Demolition, and a Deputy Commander for Remediation and Environment.
The responsible transition from the Joint Task Force to the Navy demonstrates the continued commitment of the Department to safeguard the environment and protect the health of the people in Hawaii and to deliver on Secretary Austin's commitment to safely defuel and permanently close the Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility.
A copy of the supplement is available here.
