The Joint Task Force-Red Hill, established by the Pentagon to remove the fuel and permanently close the underground Bulk Fuel Storage Facility, began draining the 104 million gallons of aviation and marine fuel on Monday of this week.

The work to remove more than 99% of the fuel is expected to finish by late January of 2024.

“After months of effort, the removal of more than 100 million gallons of fuel has finally begun,” Green said. “We’re committed to completing this work as quickly and safely as possible.”

State, federal, and military authorities will work together after de-fueling is complete to shut down the facility for good.

“After defueling will come permanent closure of the tanks, then finally, the remediation of our aquifer," Department of Health Director Kathy Ho said. "There has been regular testing of the water, and thus far there has been no hints of petroleum in the water.”

“We’re going to do a lot of additional sampling to make sure Oahu’s aquifer is safe,” Green said. “We can’t take any risks with the health and safety of our people, or our precious environmental resources like water.”

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We will continue to keep you updated in the coming weeks and months.

Mahalo,

Team Green