On Monday morning Joint Task Force Red Hill, the military organization responsible for draining the tanks at the Navy’s underground Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility, officially began the defueling process.
The historic, permanent draining of the military’s World War II-era fuel tanks at Red Hill is set to begin this morning a perilous but vital operation that must succeed for the good, health and safety of Oahu’s people and environment.
The ceremony, led by prominent Hawaiian cultural practitioner Kumu Hinaleimoana Wong-Kalu and clergyman Kahu Kordell Kekoa, sought to show solidarity and hope that the complicated operation which is set to conclude by late January proceeds safely and smoothly.
On that day, defueling 104 million gallons of aviation and marine fuel contained inside the once secret, underground Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility is expected to commence.