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GEORGE F. LEE / GLEE @STARADVERTISER.COM The tunnels of the the Red Hill Fuel Storage Facility in 2023.
GEORGE F. LEE / GLEE @STARADVERTISER.COM The tunnels of the the Red Hill Fuel Storage Facility in 2023.
Two civilian U.S. Navy executives were indicted by a federal grand jury Thursday for lying to the Hawaii Department of Health about the size of the May 6, 2021.
John Floyd, 63, of Mililani, who worked as Fuels Department Deputy Director for the Navy, and Nelson Wu, 38, of Waipahu who was Fuels Department Supervisory Engineer were indicted by a federal grand jury Thursday. Wu reported directly to Floyd.
into the fuel spill have been ongoing since at least 2022.
Floyd and Wu are charged with conspiracy to commit an offense against the United States and causing another person to make a materially false statement or a material omission in a matter within the jurisdiction of the executive branch of the government of the United States, according to the U.S. Attorney’s office.
The pair are summoned for an an arraignment on Sep. 5 at 10 :30 before Chief U.S. Magistrate Judge Kenneth J. Mansfield and are not in federal custody.
Between May 6, 2021 and Oct. 1, 2021, Floyd and Wu worked int heir roles for the Navy Supply Systems Command Fleet Logistics Center Pearl Harbor, which included the Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility.
After 20, 000 gallons of on May 6, 2021 following the failing of two pipeline couplings, the Hawaii Department of Health issued a formal request for answers as part of their authorized role as a regulator of the facility.
On Oct.1, 2021, the Navy responded to the state’s request for information and “Floyd and Wu participated in drafting the response to the RFI (request for information ) for review by Navy officers and transmission to the (state ).”
The Fuels Department was the main source of information for the response.
“When questioned about the accuracy of the May 6, 2021 spill volume data by multiple Navy officers involved in approving the response to the RFI, Floyd and Wu reiterated that only an estimated 1, 618 gallons had spilled into the tunnel and that the remainder of the jet fuel put into the JP-5 pipeline during the attempted transfer from Tank 12 had remained in the pipeline, ” according to the indictment.
The water contamination included a Nov. 20, 2021 spill of 20, 000 gallons and affected roughly 93, 000 people, mainly military families. For months the state Department of Health issued an advisory that the water was unsafe to drink.
Thousands of families relocated to hotel rooms or moved out of their housing as the Navy and regulators worked to make the water safe to drink. The all-clear was declared in March 2022, about four months after the jet fuel contamination was found.
In March 2022, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin announced the department would permanently shut down the Red Hill facility following the disaster. The decision came amid withering pressure from state officials, the Hawaii congressional delegation, protests and extensive community opposition to keeping the under -ground, World War II-era fuel facility in operation.
If convicted, Floyd and Wu face up to five years’ in federal prison and a fine up to $250, 000 on each charge.
This case is being investigated by the Defense Criminal Investigative Service, the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, the Environmental Protection Agency Criminal Investigation Division, and the Environmental Protection Agency Office of the Inspector General.
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