The Joint Task Force – Red Hill began removing residual fuel from pipelines at the Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility on Monday, the joint task force announced in a news release.
The process of removing residual fuel, which is expected to last through March, marks the transition period between the joint task force and the Navy Closure Task Force – Red Hill, which will take over the closure of the fuel storage facility once the residual fuel is removed.
The residual fuel, about 64,000 gallons, is what remains in the pipelines after the joint task force finished gravity defeuling, which is the process of draining the tanks by letting the fuel flow down pipelines. Gravity defeuling finished in December, draining approximately 104 million gallons of fuel.
To remove the residual fuel, the joint task force will open low point drains and vent valves one-by-one, according to the release. This will get about 60,000 of the 64,000 gallons left.
The Navy Closure Task Force – Red Hill will then be responsible for removing the remaining 4,000 gallons, as well as about 28,000 gallons of sludge. Removing the sludge will not be a new process, Rear Adm. Stephen Barnett, who is dual-hatted as the NCTF-Red Hill commander as well as the Navy Region Hawaii commander, told USNI News.
Cleaning out sludge is something that happened as part of tank maintenance over the years, Barnett said. He has a full engineering team working on the procedure for removing the sludge and leftover residual fuel, which will be approved by the Environmental Protection Agency and the Hawaii Department of Health, as has happened with the Joint Task Force – Red Hill plans.
The idea for the transition period is to fully integrate the two teams, making the takeover by NCTF-Red Hill smooth, said Vice Adm. John Wade, commander of the joint task force.
Once the joint task force completely hands over the closure of Red Hill, the task force will shut down, Wade said. Some of the task force members will transition to the closure task force, while others, including Wade, will receive new orders. Wade has not yet received his orders, but he does not expect to remain in Hawaii.
