Pentagon to shut down leaking fuel tank facility in Hawaii

By LOLITA C. BALDOR
Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Defense Department says it will permanently close the Navy’s massive Hawaii fuel tank facility that leaked petroleum into Pearl Harbor’s tap water. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin made the decision Monday based on a new Pentagon assessment of the problem. The Navy will also drain fuel from the tanks at the Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility, in line with a Hawaii’s Department of Health order. The tanks leaked fuel into a drinking water well and contaminated water at Pearl Harbor homes and offices. Nearly 6,000 people were sickened. Most live in military housing at or near Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam.