JOINT BASE PEARL HARBOR-HICKAM, Hawaii (May 1, 2025) – Navy Closure Task Force-Red Hill (NCTF-RH) continued safe and deliberate progress in March and April toward the decommissioning of the Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility (RHBFSF).
Navy Aiea-Halawa Shaft Reactivation: NCTF-RH personnel, in close coordination with the Hawaii Department of Health (DOH), are coordinating on the reactivation of the Navy Aiea-Halawa Shaft (NAHS). DOH provided conditional approval on Feb. 10, 2025, for NCTF-RH to begin the process of reactivation.
In April, as part of this conditional approval, NCTF-RH began a pilot study of the granular activated carbon treatment system at this site to collect data that will demonstrate usage and impacts of the treatment system. Granular activated carbon or “GAC” can treat a wide range of industrial chemicals in water, such as, fuel oil and solvents. The organic contaminants sorb to the carbon medium in the filter system to eliminate them before the water leaves the GAC system. The Navy Aiea-Halawa Shaft will also have an ion-exchange treatment system which is highly effective at capturing any PFAS filtered through. The proposed GAC/ion exchange treatment system will provide the Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam drinking water system an advanced, final polishing treatment which exceeds what a typical home water filter can provide.
NCTF-RH will inform the public prior to connecting the NAHS to the Navy’s drinking water system.
Tank 3 & 4 Degassing Operations: The Navy completed ventilation of tank 3 on March 31, 2025. Tank 4 ventilation began on April 4, 2025. Throughout the ventilation process, NCTF-RH provides hourly Air Quality Monitoring (AQM) updates on the mobile app with daily and
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monthly summaries available on the NCTF-RH website at https://www.navyclosuretaskforce.navy.mil.
The Navy is ventilating and cleaning the tanks in pairs. Tanks 3 and 4 are the fifth and sixth tanks to be ventilated, out of a total of 14 tanks to be ventilated and cleaned as part of the RHBFSF closure process. Viewers may track tank cleaning progression at https://www.navyclosuretaskforce.navy.mil/Portals/101/24%20APR%202025%20revision_1.pdf
For more information on AQM, including daily data, the consolidated plan, and information on stations, please visit the following link: https://www.navyclosuretaskforce.navy.mil/Tank-Ventilation/Air-Quality-Monitoring-AQM.
Red Hill Highlights: NCTF-RH launched a newsletter to provide the public with the latest news and information on the safe and deliberate decommissioning of the RHBFSF. Each edition will cover topics impacting the facility’s closure process and will be published weekly on the NCTF-RH mobile app and website at https://www.navyclosuretaskforce.navy.mil/Document-Library/Red-Hill-Highlights/ .
NCTF-RH Environmental Summary: NCTF-RH has made significant progress in its deliberate environmental work in and around Red Hill. NCTF-RH summarized these activities in a document now available on the task force website at NCTF-RH Activities Summary
This update summarizes the environmental actions taken, including environmental monitoring and testing, environmental remediation actions, coordination efforts with regulators and public communication.
“Let’s Talk Red Hill” Podcast: NCTF-RH released the following eight episodes of the podcast series in March and April:
- Episode 26: Drinking Water Test Results Part I
- Episode 25: Community Engagement
- Episode 24 NCTF-RH Communication Plan
- Episode 23: Red Hill Water Treatment Facility Environmental Assessment
- Episode 22: Air Quality Monitoring
- Episode 21: NCTF-RH Operational Update
- Episode 20: Open House Walkthrough
- Episode 19: Tank Degassing
- Episode 18: Open Houses
The weekly series allows experts the chance to share the latest updates and insights on the Navy’s progress in closing the RHBFSF. The series can be found on the NCTF-RH website at https://www.navyclosuretaskforce.navy.mil/Media/Videos/, the NCTF-RH YouTube page at www.youtube.com/@NCTF-RH/featured, the Defense Visual Information Distribution
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Service (DVIDS) website at https://www.dvidshub.net/unit/NCTF-RH , and the NCTF-RH mobile app.
Engagements: In March and April, NCTF-RH participated in, or attended, the following engagement events:
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Military Affairs Council meeting
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Fuel Tank Advisory Committee
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Red Hill Water Alliance Initiative (WAI) meeting
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Red Hill Remediation Roundtable
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Aiea Community Association meeting
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Local, state, and congressional leadership briefs and site visits
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Onizuka Day of Exploration
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Community Representation Initiative meeting
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Neighborhood boards
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Drinking water information booths
Additionally, NCTF-RH Commander Rear Adm. Stephen Barnett hosted Lee Zeldin, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator, and Josh Cook, EPA Region 9 Administrator, for a Red Hill site visit. They discussed specifics of the tank cleaning process, emergency response preparations, environmental protection and remediation efforts, and the Navy's commitment to safely and deliberately close the RHBFSF. Photos from the visit can be found on DVIDS at https://www.dvidshub.net/image/8930090/nctf-rh-hosts-administrator-environmental-protection-agency or on the NCTF-RH website at https://www.navyclosuretaskforce.navy.mil/.
Open House: The Navy hosted its quarterly open house at the Alfred Los Banos Hall at Ke`ehi Lagoon Memorial on March 12. The open house featured information about NCTF-RH activities over the past year and those planned for the remainder of 2025. The next open house is scheduled for May 21 at the Hokulani Community Center located at 298 Main St, Honolulu, HI 96818 from 5 – 7 p.m. Updated photos and video from the March open house can be found on the NCTF-RH website at https://www.navyclosuretaskforce.navy.mil/ or on DVIDS at https://www.dvidshub.net/image/8924683/nctf-rh-hosts-open-house).
NCTF-RH is committed to working with all government agencies and community stakeholders to safely and deliberately close the RHBFSF underground storage tanks and associated piping system, conduct long-term environmental remediation, and ensure continued access to safe drinking water in compliance with all federal, state, and local laws and regulations.
For more information about NCTF-RH, visit https://www.navyclosuretaskforce.navy.mil/ or download our free mobile app by searching for "NCTF-Red Hill" in the Apple App store or Google Play store. For imagery, video and other digital media please visit our DVIDS site here: https://www.dvidshub.net/unit/NCTF-RH.
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Please find related video and photos here:
B-roll:
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NCTF-RH Open House: https://www.dvidshub.net/video/958384/nctf-rh-open-house
Photos (oldest to newest):
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NCTF-RH Hosts Open House: https://www.dvidshub.net/image/8924684/nctf-rh-hosts-open-house
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NCTF-RH Replaces GAC Filtration Media: https://www.dvidshub.net/image/8958688/nctf-rh-replaces-gac-filtration-media
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NCTF-RH Hosts Administrator of Environmental Protection Agency: https://www.dvidshub.net/image/8930103/nctf-rh-hosts-administrator-environmental-protection-agency
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NCTF-RH Conducts Water Quality Testing: https://www.dvidshub.net/image/8961165/nctf-rh-conducts-water-quality-testing
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NCTF-RH Presents at Onizuka Day: https://www.dvidshub.net/image/8988291/nctf-rh-presents-onizuka-day
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NCTF-RH Hosts EPA for Facility Response Plan Review: https://www.dvidshub.net/image/9006259/nctf-rh-hosts-epa-facility-response-plan-review
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NCTF-RH Speaks at Fuel Tank Advisory Committee: https://www.dvidshub.net/image/8985730/nctf-rh-speaks-fuel-tank-advisory-committee
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NCTF-RH Tests Water from Navy Aiea-Halawa Shaft: https://www.dvidshub.net/image/9000627/nctf-rh-tests-water-navy-aiea-halawa-shaft
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NCTF-RH Welcomes DLNR Chang for Site Visit: https://www.dvidshub.net/image/9008212/nctf-rh-welcomes-dlnr-chang-site-visit
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NCTF-RH Briefs Rep. Case on Closure Progress: https://www.dvidshub.net/image/9008249/nctf-rh-briefs-rep-case-closure-progress
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NCTF-RH Participates in Community Representation Initiative: https://www.dvidshub.net/image/9008219/nctf-rh-participates-community-representation-initiative-meeting
Podcasts:
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https://www.youtube.com/@NCTF-RH/podcasts
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https://www.dvidshub.net/search/?filter%5Bunit%5D=NCTF-RH&filter%5Btype%5D=video&sort=date
Media Archive (videos, photos & articles):
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https://www.navyclosuretaskforce.navy.mil/Media/
| Date Taken: | 05.01.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 05.02.2025 22:11 |
| Story ID: | 496911 |
| Location: | HAWAII, US |
| Web Views: | 20 |
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