Photo By Chief Petty Officer Katarzyna Kobiljak | 151117-N-YW024-149 PEARL HARBOR (Nov. 17, 2015) Assistant Secretary of the Navy...... read more read more
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PEARL HARBOR, Hawaii - Assistant Secretary of the Navy - Energy, Installations and Environment Dennis McGinn visited the Red Hill Bulk Fuel Facility near Pearl Harbor Nov. 17.
Red Hill is an active and operational facility and a national strategic asset that includes 20 large field-constructed underground fuel storage tanks constructed of steel, encased in concrete and surrounded and supported by basalt bedrock. Red Hill supports military operations in the Pacific.
“My purpose is to visit installations in Hawaii,” said McGinn. “I am here to see how our installations are working, to check on their infrastructure and utilities, and also to talk about how we are going to meet our critical mission of being good stewards of the environment here in Hawaii.”
Throughout his tour, McGinn asked questions and listened to briefs by both military and civilian Red Hill employees.
“I have a tremendous amount of confidence, primarily in the people we have on the teams who are working on installations,” McGinn said after the tour.
McGinn stressed the importance of continuing efforts to raise a margin of environmental safety at the Red Hill Facility by continuing testing of water to ensure it is safe to drink.
“We are good neighbors,” said McGinn. “We value our communities and at the same time we fulfill our national security mission. On top of that we are taking good care of the environment.”
McGinn talked about the significance of using latest environmental technology, renewable energy and energy efficiency. He said we are looking for good, strong partners across the government, United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and private companies in the private sector within our communities.
“The environmental progress that we continue to make is really tremendous,” said McGinn.
Rear Adm. John Fuller hosted the visit to the Red Hill fuel facility. Fuller is commander, Navy Region Hawaii and Naval Surface Group Middle Pacific.
Fuller noted that since a fuel loss nearly two years ago, “We increased our vigilance and response capabilities.”
He added, “My environmental professionals continue their long-term effort to monitor groundwater and drinking water sources and to provide the results to regulatory agencies for evaluation and assessment. The results indicate that the drinking water remains safe for all users.”
Fuller was joined on the tour several subject matter experts and by Capt. Dean Tufts, commanding officer of Naval Facilities Engineering Command Hawaii, and Capt. Ken Epps, commanding officer of the Naval Supply Fleet Logistic Center Pearl Harbor.
“Assistant Secretary of the Navy McGinn is the leading advocate in the department of the Navy for all things environmental and he is a very powerful voice in D.C.,” Epps said. “We want to ensure he has the latest up-to-date information about Red Hill so he can educate and advocate on our behalf.”
Epps explained the reason behind latest tours and engagements with community leaders and media.
“We want to be as transparent as possible with the community and to those who care about the Red Hill facility, said Epps.
“We educate as many people as possible about safety and operations at Red Hill,” said Epps. “We keep the public informed on how efficient Red Hill is and all the environmental protections that we have in place to make sure that we can prevent, to the greatest extent possible, any future incidents associated with Red Hill.”
For more information about the Red Hill please visit: www.cnic.navy.mil/redhill
| Date Taken: | 11.17.2015 |
| Date Posted: | 11.24.2015 19:33 |
| Story ID: | 182688 |
| Location: | PEARL HARBOR, HI, US |
| Web Views: | 162 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
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