Honolulu City Council Unanimously Approves Bill 48
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 23, 2022
Honolulu City Council acts to protect O‘ahu drinking water
Unanimously approves Bill 48
HONOLULU, HAWAI‘I — By unanimous vote, the Honolulu City Council today approved a measure to protect O‘ahu’s irreplaceable drinking water aquifers.
Bill 48, which now goes to the mayor for signature, requires a State of Hawai‘i Department of Health permit to store any regulated substance in any underground storage tank with a capacity of 100,000 gallons or more. Each of the 20 Red Hill tanks can store 12.5 million gallons of fuel, for a total capacity of 250 million gallons. They are located 100 feet above O‘ahu’s sole source aquifer.
“The Council has long asserted its authority over this issue, because this body has no greater kuleana than to protect the health and well-being of the people of this island,” said Honolulu City Council Chair and Presiding Officer Tommy Waters. “Ola i ka wai, water is life. It is a basic truth of Hawaiian culture and for all people of the world. Without clean water, life cannot be sustained. The Navy’s contamination of its own drinking water, which could have been foreseen, is especially harmful and must be made right, which is why we have taken action.”
Councilmember and bill co-author Radiant Cordero represents a district that includes many of the impacted military and civilian families and business owners. “The most recent water crisis once again highlighted the fragility of our natural resources and the necessity that we act out of an abundance of caution to protect our wai,” said Councilmember Cordero. “Our island home is not a commodity for the U.S. Military or any other entity that would jeopardize the ability for local families to live and thrive, nor uproot communities because of pollution as was witnessed with our service members and their families. The Honolulu City Council will always strive to protect our precious resources and uphold our commitment to protect and do right by the people of O‘ahu.”
After many years, during which the Honolulu City Council stood steadfast with Honolulu Board of Water Supply and Sierra Club Hawaii in seeking to relocate fuel from the underground Red Hill Storage facility tanks, Councilmember Carol Fukunaga applauded the passage of Bill 48. "It is gratifying to see all levels of government — city, state and federal lawmakers — joining forces to protect Oahu's water supply."
The Honolulu Board of Water Supply and its leadership has been at the forefront of the ongoing crisis. "As a fellow public servant, I thank the City Council for taking this action to protect our wai from further contamination," said Ernest Lau, manager and chief engineer of the Honolulu Board of Water Supply. "For years, we have stood side-by-side, working to protect O'ahu's sole-source aquifer and this should be yet another signal to the Navy that it should accept the reality that the Red Hill storage tank facility has reached the end of its useful life. The fuel must be removed and relocated to ensure the purity of our life-sustaining drinking water."
The bill requires that a permit application be received within 60 days of the effective date of the ordinance. Any permit, limited to five years in duration, shall not be granted unless the applicant can demonstrate that the underground storage tank or tank system will not leak stored, regulated substances into the environment during its operating life.
If a permit application is denied and the applicant requests a contested case hearing, the underground storage tank or tank system shall cease to operate, unless and until the denial is reversed.
On Dec. 9, 2021, the Council adopted Resolution 21-276, urging the immediate defueling, permanent removal and relocation of the U.S. Navy’s Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility underground storage tanks. Council Chair Waters and Vice Chair Esther Kia'āina sent a letter to President Joe Biden in January (attached), urging him to direct the Navy to permanently remove the aging and deteriorating Red Hill Facility as a way to start to repair the broken trust between the community and the military service.