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JOINT BASE PEARL HARBOR-HICKAM, Hawaii–The Navy has provided additional details on the scope and schedule for the contract to develop and execute an outreach program to solicit public recommendations for potential non-fuel repurposing of the Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility (RHBFSF).
The contract between the Navy and the Nakupuna Companies, a Native Hawaiian-owned and local small business, requires Nakupuna to develop a report based on local public input regarding potential alternative uses of the facility following its closure. Under the contract scope of work, Nakupuna and its team of sub-consultants will develop two separate surveys, shaped by input from community leaders, regulatory agencies, environmental groups, and academia, to solicit feedback from the residents of Oahu. The local firm, CommPac, LLC, will be researching and providing survey content. SMS Research & Marketing Services, Inc., will be conducting the quantitative and qualitative surveys.
The first survey will be available online to the general public, and the second will be 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 the residents of Oahu. Anyone interested in receiving information about the surveys can register at the website https://www.redhillrepurposing.com/.
The online qualitative survey will give the public the opportunity to provide suggestions for the non-fuel repurposing of Red Hill and to gather an estimate of how people are hearing and learning about Red Hill as well as identify additional information the community would like to know. The quantitative survey will be conducted by mail to residents in the area surrounding Red Hill and online for residents island-wide. The following is a time frame of major milestones:
The Navy will continue keeping the public informed on the status of the surveys via periodic press releases and other communication outreach efforts, including – but not limited to – providing updates to community groups, neighborhood boards, Native Hawaiian organizations and other interested parties. People interested in being notified when the online website survey is ready can register on the website. The results of the study will be available to the public. The Navy intends to use this community input on the recommended beneficial non-fuel reuse of the RHBFSF in a separate report due to Congress in February 2024.
On May 6, 2022, the DOH issued an Emergency Order to the Navy requiring the Navy to defuel and close the 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 the RHBFSF. As part of fulfilling the requirement of the DOH, the Navy has awarded a contract to the Nakupuna Companies.
The Navy is committed to keeping the public informed on the status of this initiative by publishing periodic press releases. For more information on these actions, go to https://cnrh.cnic.navy.mil/Operations-and-Management/Red-Hill/Red-Hill-News-Releases-and-Media-Coverage/