DOD officials 'did not effectively manage' fuel storage: OIG
Nov 14, 2024
HONOLULU (KHON2) -- The OIG office of the Department of Defense released their evaluation of the fuel breach that affected Oahu's drinking water systems and the environment.
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Officials were found to not have effectively managed the operations, maintenance and safety of the Navy's Red Hill fuel storage facility, including the response to the fuel incidents.
"Additionally, we determined that Navy officials did not follow the basic tenets of their oil and hazardous substance (OHS) incident response plans when responding to the fuel incidents," the report states.
After the incident, which saw 19,000 gallons of JP-5 fuel inadvertently pumped into a drainage pipeline, 90,000 people in the local community were affected. More than 6,100 cases were documented by DoD medical providers.
The OIG made a number of recommendations "build upon, but do not duplicate, the recommendations made by other agencies in prior reports."