US military drains fuel from tank facility that leaked fuel into Pearl Harbor’s drinking water

By AUDREY McAVOY
Associated Press

HONOLULU (AP) — The U.S. military has finished draining more than 104 million gallons of fuel from an underground fuel tank complex in Hawaii that poisoned 6,000 people when it leaked jet fuel into Pearl Harbor’s drinking water in 2021. Joint Task Force Red Hill began defueling the tanks in October after completing months of repairs to an aging network of pipes to prevent the World War II-era facility from springing more leaks. The task force handed over responsibility for the tanks on Thursday to Navy Closure Task Force-Red Hill. This new command is charged with permanently decommissioning the tanks, cleaning up the environment and restoring the aquifer underneath.