HONOLULU, Hawaii – The Navy hosted a meeting with members of its Swarm Team and the Honolulu Board of Water Supply (BWS) and its consultants at the Military and Family Support Center in Honolulu, Hawaii, Dec. 10. The meeting provided participants a deeper insight into the report, allowed for productive dialogue among all parties and allowed for future engagements and discussions with stakeholders and the community.

Representatives from the Navy, Army, Hawaii Department of Health, Environmental Protection Agency, University of Hawaii and BWS and its consultants attended the technical discussion regarding the Swarm Team’s technical memo released in April 2024. The meeting provided a forum for all parties to have an in-depth, technical discussion about the Navy’s findings and the scientific rigor underpinning the Navy’s drinking water sampling programs.

“Today offered us a unique opportunity to move forward together, to leverage our collective experience and expertise, ask critical questions, and explore diverse perspectives,” said Navy Closure Task Force-Red Hill Deputy Commander Rear Adm. Marc Williams. “I hope we can come together sooner to address issues as we work to protect the environment and ensure safe drinking water for future generations.”

The Navy delivered on its commitment made at the Oct. 9, 2024, Fuel Tank Advisory Committee meeting to meet with the BWS and its consultants and directly address BWS’s critiques of the Navy’s Drinking Water Long-Term Monitoring (LTM) and Extended Drinking Water Monitoring (EDWM) plans. This detailed, technical discussion, led by Navy subject matter experts, afforded the opportunity to the Navy to engage with BWS and its consultants to correct misrepresentations and conclusions in BWS’s expert reports that were based on misunderstandings or the misapprehension of facts.

The Swarm Team technical memo detailed findings of drinking water samples collected as part of LTM that was implemented following the November 2021 Red Hill fuel spill. The memo also serves to further validate the test results of more than 8,000 drinking water samples collected from March 2022 to March 2024.

A full recording of the meeting will be available on the Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam Safe Waters website (www.jbphh-safewaters.org) and the NCTF-RH website (www.navyclosuretaskforce.navy.mil).

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.

SAFE. DELIBERATE. ENGAGED. COMMITTED.

– NCTF – RH –