The Environmental Protection Agency is asking members of the Red Hill Community Representation Initiative to enter into mediation with the Navy as the military continues the shutdown process for its underground fuel storage facility.
During the CRI's March meeting held Thursday night at ‘Olelo in Mapunapuna, Amy Miller, director of EPA Region 9, said the agency has invited the Navy and CRI to enter into mediation with an “EPA arranged mediator ” with the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service.
The CRI is made up of a mixture of local residents and activists along with people directly affected by the Red Hill water crisis—which began in November 2021 when fuel from the Navy's bulk Red Hill fuel storage facility entered and contaminated the Navy's Oahu water system, which serves 93, 000 people.
The CRI was created as part of a federal consent order regarding the closure of Red Hill among the EPA, state Department of Health and military. Its formation came out of requests for community involvement in the defueling and shutdown process.
CRI Chair Marti Townsend told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser she believes “the EPA is appealing to the Navy's desire to lock down the conversation on Red Hill. What I think they don't realize is that the conversation is essential to healing the festering wounds of the lingering Red Hill water crisis.”
Meetings have often been contentious, with members of the CRI and from the community frequently…
