Tone Deaf Navy Lawsuit Attacks Hawaii's State Lawsuit Over Leaking Fuel Tanks

Tone-Deaf Navy Lawsuit Calls State of Hawai'i Shut Down of Leaking Jet Fuel Tanks as "Erroneous; Arbitrary, Capricious, and an Abuse of Discretion; Clearly Unwarranted" as no "Imminent Peril" Tell That to Its Own Military Families-- No Trust in US Navy

Photo by Ann Wright on February 2, 2022 at protest over military's filing two lawsuits challenging Hawaii's emergency order to shut down the Red Hill jet fuel tanks

Two lawsuits filed on February 2, 2022 by the U.S. Department of Justice on behalf of the Department of Defense and the Department of Navy challenge the State of Hawaii's emergency order to shut down and defuel the leaking 80-year-old jet fuel tanks. These lawsuits have created another public relations nightmare for the U.S. Navy and the Department of Defense as residents of O'ahu have expressed their dismay and outrage to the continuing threat of jet fuel to their drinking water aquifer. In November 2021, the Red Hill tank system leaked jet fuel into the drinking water of 93,000 residents in military housing around Pearl Harbor Navy Base and Hickam Air Force base.

DOD lawsuits call Hawaii's Emergency Order "Erroneous, Arbitrary, Capricious, and an Abuse of Discretion; Clearly Unwarranted""and Receive Angry Responses From Hawai'i Congressional Delegation and Civic Groups

Calling the State of Hawaii's emergency order that came about after hundreds of military families ended up in emergency rooms with toxic reactions to the water they were drinking as "clearly erroneous; arbitrary, capricious, and an abuse of discretion; clearly unwarranted," the U.S. Department of Justice is as tone-deaf to the anger of residents of Hawai'i as was the Navy's initial response to their families' appeals for acknowledgement of their illnesses and help to get safe drinking water.

The outrage to the filing of lawsuits in both Hawai'i State court and Federal District Court includes Hawaii's Congressional delegation and O'ahu environmental groups such as Sierra Club-Hawai'i, Earthjustice and O'ahu Water Protectors, but also the Hawai'i Congressional delegation. U.S. Senator Mazie Hirono said, " "This (shut down of tanks system and draining of the tanks) must happen expeditiously and without any unnecessary delays. Let me be clear: the safety and well-being of the people of Hawaii must be the top priority. I will oppose any appeal by DoD that challenges the State's authority to regulate Red Hill operations. In a press release after Hick's statement, Senator Brian Schatz said, " The DOD made a grave and unforced error that undermines public trust. Fortunately, we have civilian oversight of the military, and this inexplicable and maddening resistance to the defuel order will not succeed. They will lose in court, and they will lose in Congress."

Wayne Tanaka, Sierra Club of Hawai'i Chapter Director said in a press statement on January 31, 2022 after Hick's announcement, "All their words about building trust and prioritizing our safety just went out the window. This decision is clearly a move to ignore our demands that they fix this mess, and keep us in jeopardy for as long as possible. The people of Hawai'i are not stupid, and we are not expendable."

David Henkin, the Earthjustice attorney who represented the Sierra Club of Hawai'i in the contested case hearing over the emergency order said, "If the Navy's contamination of its own water system last November taught us anything, it's that we cannot leave it up to the military to decide what is needed to protect O'ahu's irreplaceable drinking water supply. Thousands of families have already been displaced from their homes for months, unable to drink the water coming out of their taps, and we are all looking at water rationing this summer. We will vigorously defend the emergency order against the Navy's foot-dragging. The Red Hill tanks need to be drained now to prevent an even greater catastrophe that poisons our entire water supply."

Late in the afternoon on February 2, following the filing of the two lawsuits, Hawai'i State Department of Health issued a statement on the lawsuits: "This appeal demonstrates that the Navy is unwilling to do what's right to protect the people of Hawaii and its own service members. Despite the Navy claiming time and again that it would comply with the DOH emergency order, its actions consistently prove otherwise. We look forward to taking our fight to court to protect HawaiÊ »i residents and our environment."

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