Mandy Feindt News Today

Court hears effects of 2021 leak, in which thousand of gallons of fuel seeped into drinking water supply from US navy storage tank

The Navy on Friday released several documents regarding its data on the health impact of the November 2021 Red Hill fuel spills, just before a federal trial begins Monday in a lawsuit brought by affected families against the federal government alleging the spill has caused long-term health damage.

A report from the Environmental Protection Agency released this week confirmed that there are still detectable levels of fuel in some homes on the Navy water system on Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam.

The Navy waterline serves 93,000 people, including service members, military families and local civilians living in former military housing areas.

A community group in Hawaii is asking the Navy to investigate an uptick in reports of water contamination in households near Pearl Harbor that were affected by a jet fuel spill in late 2021.

Applications are mounting as a two-year deadline approaches under the Federal Tort Claims Act.

President Joe Biden nominated Pacific Fleet commander Adm. Samuel Paparo to be the top commander of all U.S. military forces in the Pacific, the White House announced Friday.

At the core of the issue is the so-called Morgan and DeVos doctrines, which have historically shielded high-ranking executive branch officials from being deposed in similar cases unless there are exceptional circumstances.

In a legal order issued by Magistrate Judge Kenneth J. Mansfield of Hawaiis U.S. District Court, he concluded attorneys representing the families had not demonstrated that Adm. Samuel Paparo had information they couldnt get elsewhere and did not have a compelling reason to force his testimony.

At the core of the issue is the so-called Morgan and DeVos doctrines, which have historically shielded high- ranking executive branch officials from being deposed in similar cases unless there are exceptional circumstances.