I 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1202 

To provide for environmental oversight and remediation activities at Red 

Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 17, 2017 

Ms. HANABUSA (for herself and Ms. GABBARD) introduced the following bill; 

which was referred to the Committee on Armed Services, and in addition 

to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such 

provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To provide for environmental oversight and remediation 

activities at Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Red Hill Oversight 

5 and Environmental Protection Act of 2017’’. 

6 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

7 In this Act: 

8 (1) ADMINISTRATIVE ORDER ON CONSENT/ 

9 STATEMENT OF WORK; (AOC/SOW).—The terms ‘‘AdVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:09 Feb 28, 2017 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1202.IH H1202

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1 ministrative Order on Consent/Statement of Work’’ 

2 and ‘‘(AOC/SOW)’’ mean a legally enforceable 

3 agreement between the United States Department of 

4 the Navy (Navy), the Defense Logistics Agency 

5 (DLA), the United States Environmental Protection 

6 Agency (EPA), Region 9, and the State of Hawaii 

7 Department of Health (DOH) that the parties vol8 untarily entered into on September 28, 2015 (EPA 

9 DKT NO. RCRA 7003–R9–2015–01/DOH DKT 

10 NO. 15–UST–EA–01). 

11 (2) CONGRESSIONAL DEFENSE COMMITTEES.— 

12 The term ‘‘congressional defense committees’’ has 

13 the meaning given the term in section 101(a)(16) of 

14 title 10, United States Code. 

15 (3) FACILITY.—The term ‘‘facility’’ means the 

16 Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility located on 

17 Oahu, Hawaii. 

18 SEC. 3. FINDINGS. 

19 Congress makes the following findings: 

20 (1) Construction on the Red Hill Bulk Fuel 

21 Storage Facility began in secret in December 1940. 

22 (2) More than 3,900 workers constructed the 

23 underground facility. 

24 (3) Construction of the facility continued non25 stop except for the time of the attack on Pearl HarVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:09 Feb 28, 2017 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1202.IH H1202

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1 bor, on December 7, 1941. The facility was com2 pleted in September 1943, nine months ahead of 

3 schedule. 

4 (4) The facility was constructed underground in 

5 hollowed out volcanic rock to allow for maximum 

6 protection of the fuel supply. 

7 (5) The facility’s 20 steel tanks are encased by 

8 2.5–4 feet of concrete and surrounded by basalt bed9 rock. 

10 (6) Only 18 fuel tanks are currently oper11 ational. 

12 (7) The facility is the largest single Department 

13 of Defense fuel storage facility in the Pacific the14 ater. 

15 (8) The facility protects more than 250,000,000 

16 gallons of fuel. 

17 (9) The fuels stored are marine diesel, F–76, 

18 and two types of jet fuel: JP–5 and JP–8. 

19 (10) The fuel stored at the facility directly sup20 ports vessels and aircraft of— 

21 (A) the United States Navy and Air Force 

22 in Hawaii, the Pacific theater, and around the 

23 world; 

24 (B) the Hawaii National Guard; 

25 (C) the United States Coast Guard; and 


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1 (D) the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

2 Administration. 

3 (11) The facility allows the United States mili4 tary to— 

5 (A) maintain a forward presence; 

6 (B) build cooperation with partner nations, 

7 including through the biannual Rim of the Pa8 cific exercise; 

9 (C) ensure maritime security; and 

10 (D) maintain regional stability. 

11 (12) Military forward presence— 

12 (A) keeps sea lanes open; and 

13 (B) ensures the free flow of commerce to 

14 Hawaii, the continental United States, and the 

15 Indo-Asia-Pacific region. 

16 (13) In 1991, the facility was used as a trans17 fer point for moving fuel from the continental 

18 United States to the Persian Gulf. 

19 (14) This transfer of fuel was done as part of 

20 the first Gulf War. 

21 (15) The facility was declassified in 1995. 

22 (16) The facility is physically protected and 

23 cyber-hardened. 

24 (17) The facility can be operated entirely off 

25 the electric grid by using gravity flow to transport 


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1 fuel from the facility to Pearl Harbor, Hickam Air2 field, and a truck loading site. 

3 (18) The facility is located approximately 100 

4 feet above the basal groundwater table on the 

5 boundary of the Waimalu and Moanalua Aquifer 

6 Systems. 

7 (19) The Waimalu and Moanalua aquifers are 

8 sources of potable water and are potentially vulner9 able to contamination from an unscheduled dis10 charge of fuel from the facility. 

11 (20) The Navy and the Defense Logistics Agen12 cy have kept the drinking water safe through 70 

13 years of operation. 

14 (21) The Navy and the Defense Logistics Agen15 cy are responsible for protecting the public from un16 scheduled fuel leaks that may pose a risk to the 

17 drinking water. 

18 (22) The facility has experienced unscheduled 

19 fuel leaks as evidenced by stains beneath several of 

20 the existing fuel tanks. 

21 (23) Chronic releases of petroleum, oils, and lu22 bricants have the potential to cause damage to 

23 Oahu’s drinking water supply. 


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1 (24) Historic records compiled by the Navy in 

2 a 2008 ground water protection plan indicated that 

3 there were more than 30 leaks dating back to 1947. 

4 (25) The 2008 ground water protection plan 

5 suggested at least 170,000 gallons of fuel has leaked 

6 since the facility began operating. 

7 (26) In January 2014, the United States Navy 

8 discovered a loss of fuel from Tank #5 and notified 

9 the Environmental Protection Agency and the Ha10 waii Department of Health (DOH). 

11 (27) The Navy estimated the fuel loss at ap12 proximately 27,000 gallons. 

13 (28) Following the January 2014 fuel release, 

14 the EPA and DOH negotiated an enforceable agree15 ment, an Administrative Order on Consent (AOC), 

16 with the Navy and the DLA [EPA DKT NO. RCRA 

17 7003–R9–2015–01/DOH DKT NO. 15–UST–EA– 

18 01]. 

19 (29) The order requires the Navy and the DLA 

20 to take actions, subject to DOH and EPA approval. 

21 (30) The order addresses fuel releases and 

22 implementable infrastructure improvements to pro23 tect human health and the environment. 


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1 (31) The order includes a Statement of Work 

2 (SOW) that lays out the specific tasks the Navy and 

3 the DLA must implement. 

4 (32) The SOW consists of 8 sections on overall 

5 project management: 

6 (A) Tank inspection. 

7 (B) Repair and maintenance. 

8 (C) Tank upgrade alternatives. 

9 (D) Release detection and tank tightness 

10 testing. 

11 (E) Corrosion and metal fatigue practices. 

12 (F) Investigation and remediation of re13 leases. 

14 (G) Groundwater protection and evalua15 tion. 

16 (H) Risk and vulnerability assessment. 

17 (33) Each section includes deadlines for the 

18 Navy and DLA to meet planned deliverables. 

19 (34) The Fiscal Year 2018–2019 Area Cost 

20 Factor for Pearl Harbor is 2.26. 

21 (35) The Area Cost Factor may impact deci22 sionmaking for sustainment, repair, and mainte23 nance priorities. 

24 (36) Since the January 2014 fuel loss, the 

25 Navy has— 


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1 (A) increased standards for contractor 

2 workmanship; 

3 (B) increased government oversight; 

4 (C) updated operator procedures; 

5 (D) increased training; 

6 (E) instituted new safeguards, checks, bal7 ances, and alarm procedures; and 

8 (F) installed two additional groundwater 

9 monitoring wells. 

10 (37) The facility has 12 total groundwater mon11 itoring sites. 

12 SEC. 4. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

13 It is the sense of Congress that— 

14 (1) the facility is a national strategic asset 

15 that— 

16 (A) supports combatant commander the17 ater security requirements; 

18 (B) supports contingency operations; 

19 (C) provides essential and timely support 

20 to the United States and allies’ military mobili21 zations and disaster response efforts in the 

22 Indo-Asia-Pacific and around the world; and 

23 (D) is routinely used to support normal 

24 transit of Navy and Air Force movements in 

25 the region; 


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1 (2) the facility in its current form cannot be 

2 replicated anywhere else in the world; 

3 (3) moving the fuel to another storage facility 

4 in the Indo-Asia-Pacific would have implications for 

5 the United States military force structure in the 

6 State of Hawaii and put at risk billions of dollars in 

7 annual economic activity that the Armed Forces 

8 bring to the State of Hawaii; 

9 (4) if the facility were closed, the United States 

10 Armed Forces would be unable to support the Na11 tional Military Strategy, including the goals of the 

12 United States Pacific Commander, and national se13 curity interests would be significantly undermined; 

14 (5) constant vigilance is required to ensure that 

15 facility degradation and fuel leaks do not pose a 

16 threat to the people of Hawaii, especially the drink17 ing water on Oahu; 

18 (6) despite its importance, the facility continues 

19 to face long-term challenges without robust and con20 sistent funding that provides the Navy and DLA 

21 with the resources needed to improve the tanks and 

22 associated infrastructure; 

23 (7) achieving the AOC/SOW deliverables is a 

24 multiyear effort that will require sustained commitVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:09 Feb 28, 2017 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1202.IH H1202

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1 ment from the Department of Defense and Con2 gress; 

3 (8) the annual budget submissions of the De4 partment of Defense and the Environmental Protec5 tion Agency must adequately reflect the funding re6 quirements necessary to meet the deliverables com7 mitted to under the AOC/SOW; 

8 (9) the Department of Defense must also in9 clude information about how future years budgets 

10 will support the near-term and long-term measures 

11 detailed in the reported schedule of work to prevent 

12 future fuel leaks; and 

13 (10) for facility sustainment and maintenance, 

14 Pearl Harbor has a high Area Cost Factor (ACF), 

15 and the Department of Defense should develop a 

16 strategy that fiscally accounts for that ACF. 

17 SEC. 5. BUDGET SUBMISSIONS. 

18 (a) DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE.— 

19 (1) ANNUAL BUDGET JUSTIFICATION.—The 

20 Secretary of Defense, in consultation with the Sec21 retary of the Navy, shall ensure that the budget jus22 tification materials submitted to Congress in support 

23 of the Department of Defense budget for any fiscal 

24 year (as submitted with the budget of the President 

25 under section 1105(a) of title 31, United States 


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1 Code) include a description of how the Department 

2 will use funds to support any deliverables that the 

3 parties to the AOC/SOW have identified as nec4 essary to mitigate and prevent fuel leaks at the Red 

5 Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility on Oahu, Hawaii. 

6 (2) FUTURE YEARS DEFENSE PROGRAM.—The 

7 Secretary of Defense, in consultation with the Sec8 retary of the Navy, shall ensure that each future9 years defense program submitted to Congress under 

10 section 221 of title 10, United States Code, de11 scribes how the Department will use funds to sup12 port any deliverables that the parties to the AOC/ 

13 SOW have identified as necessary to mitigate and 

14 prevent fuel leaks at the Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage 

15 Facility on Oahu, Hawaii, in the period covered by 

16 the future-years defense program. 

17 (b) ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY.—The 

18 Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency 

19 shall ensure that the budget justification materials sub20 mitted to Congress in support of the budget for the Agen21 cy for any fiscal year (as submitted with the budget of 

22 the President under section 1105(a) of title 31) includes 

23 a description of how the Agency will use funds to support 

24 any deliverables that the parties of the AOC/SOW have 

25 identified as necessary to mitigate and prevent fuel leaks 


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1 at the Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility on Oahu, Ha2 waii. 

3 SEC. 6. ANNUAL LOCALITY ADJUSTMENT OF DOLLAR 

4 THRESHOLDS APPLICABLE TO RED HILL. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding the dollar limita6 tions in section 2805 of title 10, United States Code, the 

7 Secretary of Defense may obligate or expend, from the 

8 amounts described in subsection (b), not more than 

9 $6,780,000 to carry out an unspecified minor military 

10 construction project for the sustainment and maintenance 

11 of the Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility on Oahu, Ha12 waii. 

13 (b) AMOUNTS.—The amounts described in this sub14 section are— 

15 (1) amounts authorized to be appropriated for 

16 the Department of Defense for operation and main17 tenance, Defense-wide, for any of fiscal years 2017 

18 through 2030; and 

19 (2) amounts authorized to be appropriated for 

20 the Department of Defense for military construction 

21 not otherwise authorized by law for any of fiscal 

22 years 2017 through 2030. 

23 (c) NOTIFICATION.—In accordance with section 

24 2805(b) of title 10, United States Code, the Secretary 

25 shall submit to the congressional defense committees writVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:09 Feb 28, 2017 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1202.IH H1202

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1 ten notice of any decision to carry out an unspecified 

2 minor military construction project under subsection (a). 

3 Such notice shall include— 

4 (1) the justification for the project; and 

5 (2) the estimated cost of the project. 

6 (d) SUNSET.—The authority to carry out a project 

7 under subsection (a) shall terminate on September 30, 

8 2030. 

Æ 


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