SUPPORT SB2046 & SB2093: Red Hill Bills
/Here we go! Two critical Red Hill bills need our support for a hearing on MONDAY - please submit written testimony ASAP (sample verbiage and testimony instructions below) and consider attending the hearing on Monday, February 2, at 3 pm in Hawaiʻi State Capitol Conference Room 224 or via Zoom (must submit written testimony to testify verbally - see below).
What these bills do:
SB2046 would require the Navy to remediate all jet fuel-related contamination (including compounds created when jet fuel breaks down over time) from the Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility, to below-detectable levels (using the most sensitive detection technology available).
SB2093 would require the Fuel Tank Advisory Committee to meet once per quarter, rather than only twice a year, ensuring greater public access, transparency, and accountability in governmental responses to the ongoing Red Hill water crisis.
Why these bills are important
There should be no jet fuel in our water. Period. After ignoring public demands, whistleblower complaints, and basic common sense for years leading up to the November 2021 Red Hill water crisis, the Navy must be held legally accountable to fully clean up the mess it created. Unfortunately, over four years later, the Navy has failed to make any meaningful investments in remediation efforts, assuring us that its jet fuel in our aquifer will go away "naturally" over the course of decades. SB2046 would make clear that we will not stand idly by as the Navy ignores the harms it has inflicted on our ʻāina and wai - and that of our children and grandchildren.
The Fuel Tank Advisory Committee (FTAC) has significant potential to accelerate Red Hill response efforts, and to ensure that all relevant parties - including government agencies, elected officials, and the Navy itself - hear from each other and the public, and openly discuss their ongoing efforts as well as community questions and concerns in real time. However, FTAC only meets twice a year, leading to overstuffed agendas, limited discussions, and truncated testimonies. By increasing the frequency of FTAC's meetings, SB2093 will ensure much greater transparency, accountability, and action in the governmental response to the ongoing Red Hill water crisis.
Sample testimony for SB2046 ("No Jet Fuel in Our Water")
Aloha Chair San Buenaventura, Chair Gabbard, Vice Chair McKelvey, Vice Chair Richards, and members of the Senate Health and Human Services and Agriculture and Environment Committees,
My name is [Your name] and I STRONGLY SUPPORT SB2046, which makes clear that any jet fuel released from an underground storage tank system - such as the Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility - must be completely cleaned up.
Well over four years after the November 2021 Red Hill fuel spill, and nearly three years after the Red Hill Water Alliance Initiative called for the complete clean up of this contamination, the Navy has failed to make any meaningful efforts to remediate our island's sole source aquifer. After having ignored years of public outcry, whistleblower complaints, and basic common sense prior to the 2021 catastrophe, the Navy must not be allowed to now ignore the harms it has inflicted on our ʻāina and wai.
This bill would establish an enforceable legal standard that will also be binding on the federal government: there should be NO jet fuel in our precious and once-pure drinking water or in our environment, especially when it has been released by the reckless operation of a decrepit underground storage tank facility after years of objections by Hawaiʻi's residents.
I urge you to PASS SB2046.
Sincerely,
[Your name]
Sample testimony for SB2093 (Transparency and Accountability in Red Hill Response)
Aloha Chair San Buenaventura, Chair Gabbard, Vice Chair McKelvey, Vice Chair Richards, and members of the Senate Health and Human Services and Agriculture and Environment Committees,
My name is [Your name] and I STRONGLY SUPPORT SB2093, which will help the Fuel Tank Advisory Committee (FTAC) realize its potential in navigating our Red Hill water crisis through greater public transparency and accountability.
With government regulators, state and federal elected officials, Navy leaders, and community representatives among its members, FTAC has tremendous potential in identifying and addressing the myriad issues and community concerns surrounding our Red Hill water crisis. However, by meeting only twice a year, FTAC's potential has been squandered. Performative presentations in hours-long meetings that occur only once every six months simply do not allow for the timely updates, robust conversation, and public testimonies and questions that are essential to ensuring our future water security and the safety of present and future generations.
By requiring FTAC to meet at least once a quarter, this measure will ensure that FTAC is able to more meaningfully address our ongoing and evolving water crisis, including through timely updates, public access, transparency, and community accountability for FTAC and its members.
I urge you to PASS SB2093.
Sincerely,
[Your name]
Testimony instructions
Register for a capitol website account if you haven’t yet (you’ll need to confirm your registration by responding to an automated email)
Sign in to capitol.hawaii.gov with your registration information and click the "Submit Testimony" button.
Enter "SB2046" or "SB2093" where it says "Enter Bill or Measure."
Input your information and your written testimony, select your testimony option(s)—in-person + written, remotely + written, written only. Please consider providing verbal testimony (in-person or remotely) if you are able!
Note: Virtual testimony option may be disabled 24 hours before the hearing.
If you are testifying via Zoom, be sure to review these instructions (page 4)
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