The Honolulu Board of Water Supply (BWS) filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Navy after it allegedly caused a fuel leak that affected Hawaii residents.
In 2021, 20,000 gallons of fuel leaked from the Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility after a pipe burst and released hazardous chemicals into the water supply.
“The Navy itself has acknowledged responsibility for the massive environmental and human health crisis caused by the November 2021 fuel release, but it has refused to accept responsibility for the costs that the BWS has and will incur to respond to the Navy’s contaminant releases,” the BWS said in a news release.
“This is not an issue that will be solved quickly or cheaply,” BWS Manager and Chief Engineer Ernest Lau said in a statement. “Every action must be taken to protect the purity of Oʻahu’s water, and it is only right that the Navy assume financial responsibility for its actions that put water purity and safety of everyone on Oʻahu at risk and caused harm to the BWS.”
BWS Board Chair, Nāʻālehu Anthony, said litigation was the “last resort and comes after months of futile negotiation with the Navy, an attempt to recover costs administratively under the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA) and the Navy’s refusal to pay for any of the costs incurred by BWS, even while the Navy has publicly acknowledged its responsibility for this disaster and subsequent contaminant releases.”
“Our steadfast commitment to the protection of the purity of Oʻahu’s water resources, and our obligation to our ratepayers for responsible fiscal management compelled us to take this action,” Anthony said.
Restoration, remediation, and mitigation efforts are estimated to total $1.2 billion.
