Hawaii Congressional Delegation Calls On Navy To Improve Accountability To Public On Hawaii Fuel Operations, Plans To Ensure Health And Safety Of Oahu Residents

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Mazie Hirono (D-HI) and Brian Schatz (D-HI) and U.S. Representatives Ed Case (D-HI) and Kaiali‘i Kahele (D-HI) today called on the Navy to provide more information on the March 2020 fuel leak near Hotel Pier at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam. In a letter to Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro, the delegation also requested more details on the Navy’s response to discovering the leak, including its compliance with reporting requirements and any potential information that may have been withheld from the public as part of an oversight effort to improve the Navy’s accountability to the public on its broader fuel operations in Hawaii.

“We are particularly troubled about reports of a fuel leak near Hotel Pier at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam (JBPHH) that occurred in March 2020 and allegations that the Navy was not appropriately forthcoming about the source and scale of the fuel leak with state regulators, federal officials, and the public—including our offices,” the delegation wrote. “These recent incidents, including the manner in which the Navy has responded to them and its lack of transparency with the public, raise questions about the seriousness with which the Navy takes its responsibility to communicate clearly with the public about matters concerning health and safety. The people of Hawaii deserve better from the Navy.”