President signs bill into law that includes $100M for emptying Red Hill fuel tanks

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) - President Joe Biden signed a bill into law Friday that includes $100 million to empty the Navy’s Red Hill fuel tanks.

The measure was authored by Sen. Brian Schatz and also directs the Department of Defense to comply with the state’s emergency public health order.

The legislation includes $400 million for the Red Hill water contamination crisis with $100 million of that to be specifically allotted to removing the fuel tanks.

This comes as many military families on Oahu are still displaced after the Navy’s water system was contaminated with fuel back in November. Furthermore, the Navy’s underground storage tanks hold 180 million gallons of fuel just 100 feet above a main aquifer.

Schatz said the funding is included in a critical spending bill and represents just the first round of possible funding to defuel the underground fuel storage facility. He said he is working with the White House and congressional leaders to secure additional funding.

“We now have the funding to defuel, and Congress has made its position clear: It’s time for the DoD to drain the tanks and follow the state’s order,” said Schatz, a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee. “We still have more work to do, but we are making progress.”

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