The state Department of Health on Friday conditionally approved the Joint Task Force-Red Hill defueling plan in a move that sets the framework for draining 104 million gallons of fuel from the Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility.
Ever since thousands of gallons of jet fuel spewed from a pipeline at Red Hill in November 2021 and made its way into the Navy’s drinking water system, sickening military families, environmentalists and water officials have had their sights set on ensuring that the fuel in the facility’s massive underground tanks that sit just 100 feet above an aquifer is permanently removed.
When 104 million gallons of fuel start coursing through military pipelines this fall in a massive three-month defueling operation, anything could happen.
The EPA said that it also has amended the agreement, called an administrative order of consent, to address public concerns that it contained weak defueling deadlines and not enough opportunities for public participation.