HONOLULU, Hawaii —
Joint Task Force-Red Hill (JTF-RH) completed gravity-based defueling of the tank mains at the Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility (RHBFSF) Nov. 17. JTF-RH safely removed approximately 103,458,180 gallons of fuel or 99.5% of the fuel previously stored at Red Hill.
During the defueling of the “tank mains,” each of the storage tanks at RHBFSF were drained to the seven-foot level.
The next stage in defueling is removing the remaining useable fuel in the “flowable tank bottoms,” which refers to the liquid fuel in the last seven feet of the tanks.
Pending regulatory approval, draining the flowable tank bottoms is expected to begin Dec. 4.
A JTF-RH video illustrating defueling the flowable tank bottoms can be found here: dvidshub.net/video/884471/flowable-tank-bottom-motion-graphic.
JTF-RH is slightly ahead of schedule and has initiated discussions with the Environmental Protection Agency and the Hawaii Department of Health to possibly accelerate the gravity defueling timeline. We will keep the community updated accordingly.
JTF-Red Hill is committed to working with regulators and government stakeholders to ensure Red Hill is defueled safely, expeditiously, and in compliance with all applicable laws and regulations.
For more information about JTF-RH, visit pacom.mil/jtf-red-hill/ or download the App by searching for “JTF–Red Hill” in the Apple App store or Google Play store.