Recommendations Wanted for Non-Fuel Repurposing of the Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility

The first survey to collect input from the public on recommendations to re-purpose the Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility (RHBFSF) is now available:

Take the Survey

Responses are due by May 31, 2023.
All responses are confidential and will be included in a report provided to the U.S. Navy.

This qualitative survey is a coordinated effort from the U.S. Navy and Nakupuna Companies to collect ideas from the public regarding non-fuel uses for the facility following its closure. The Navy's closure plan for RHBFSF, submitted to the Hawaii Department of Health (DOH) and the public on November 1, 2022, included provisions for the Navy to explore and evaluate potential options.

This survey is part of a larger effort to collect and examine potential non-hazardous uses for the facility, and will be supplemented by a second survey targeted to residents of neighboring areas around Red Hill. This first survey is designed to give everyone the opportunity to provide their suggestions and to determine how the public is getting information about Red Hill.

If you need help accessing or filling out the survey, please contact:

Project Background

On May 6, 2022, the Hawaii Department of Health (DOH) issued an Emergency Order to the Navy requiring the Navy to defuel and close RHBFSF. A requirement in that order for closing the facility was for the Navy to meet with the DOH. That meeting was held on July 14, 2022, and included discussion on closure options and elements the DOH required in the Closure Plan.  The Navy’s Closure Plan, submitted to the DOH and the public on Nov. 1, 2022, included provisions for the Navy to explore and evaluate potential options. The Department of Defense will not allow for hazardous materials to be stored over the aquifer, and the Navy, at DOH’s request, has committed to exploring possible beneficial non-fuel reuses of RHBFSF. As part of fulfilling the requirement of the DOH, the Navy has awarded a contract to the Nakupuna Companies.  

Nakupuna and their subcontractors, CommPac and SMS, will conduct two separate surveys. The first will be an online qualitative survey available to the general public, and the second will be a quantitative survey made available through both a mail-in survey, with pre-paid postage, intended for the residents in the neighboring areas around Red Hill, as well as online for Oahu residents.

The online qualitative survey will give the public the opportunity to provide suggestions for repurposing of Red Hill and to gather an estimate of how people are hearing and learning about Red Hill and additional information they would like to know. 

The quantitative mail-in survey will gather resident feedback on input received through the website survey. 

After completion of the surveys, the contractor team will synthesize the recommendations collected from the surveys and outreach and provide them in a report to the Navy. This report will be used in future discussions between the Navy, the DOH, the EPA, and other groups as they formulate plans for the beneficial re-use of RHBFSF following its closure.  

Red Hill Tank Facility

Red Hill Tank Facility Diagram

The Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility (RHBFSF) consists of 20 steel-lined underground storage tanks encased in concrete and built into cavities that were mined inside of Red Hill. Each of the tanks measures 100 feet in diameter and 250 feet in height, and has a storage capacity of 12.5 million gallons. Located under a volcanic ridge near Honolulu, Red Hill's tanks are connected to three gravity-fed pipelines that run approximately 3 miles inside a tunnel to fueling piers at Pearl Harbor.

A full description of the facility is available in the Navy's Closure Plan.

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