FILE - In this Dec. 23, 2021, photo courtesy of the U.S. Navy, Rear Adm. John Kolka, commander and chief of civil engineers at Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command (NAVFAC), leads Navy and civilian water quality restoration experts through red water near Pearl Harbor, Haw

FILE - In a Dec. 23, 2021 photo courtesy of the U.S. Navy, Rear Adm. John Kolka, commander and chief of civil engineers at Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command (NAVFAC), leads Navy and civilian water quality restoration experts through the vicinity of Pearl Harbor, Hawaii Tunnels at the Red Mountain Bulk Fuel Storage Facility. Mismanagement and human error allowed fuel to leak into tap water at Pearl Harbor last year, poisoning thousands and forcing military families to evacuate their homes for hotels, a Navy investigation released Thursday, June 30, 2022 revealed. The investigation details for the first time how jet fuel from the Red Mountain bulk fuel storage facility leaked into a well that supplies water to homes and offices. Pearl Harbor and surrounding areas. (Luke McCall/U.S. Navy via AP , File)

PEARL HARBOR, Hawaii (AP) — A Navy investigation released Thursday revealed that mismanagement and human error led to a fuel leak into a U.S. military base last year. Pearl Harbor's tap water poisoned thousands of people and forced military families to evacuate their homes and head to hotels.

The investigation details for the first time how jet fuel from the Red Mountain bulk fuel storage facility leaked into a well that supplies water to homes and offices. In and around the massive base. About 6,000 people experienced nausea, headaches, rashes and other symptoms.

After months of resistance, the military agreed in April to the state of Hawaii's order to empty tanks and close the Red Mountain facility. A separate report provided by the Defense Department to the state Department of Health on Thursday said December 2024 was the earliest it could safely refuel the tanks. The

investigative report lays out a cascading series of errors that began on May 6, 2021, when operator error caused a pipe to rupture and 21,000 gallons (80,000 liters) of fuel to be spilled while transferring fuel between tanks. Much of the fuel leaked into the fire suppression lines and sat there for six months, causing the lines to sag. On November 20, a cart hit the sagging line, releasing 20,000 gallons (75,700 liters) of fuel.

There should not have been fuel in the area where the cart hit the line, so officials responding to the leak did not have the proper equipment to capture the liquid.

Adm. Sam Paparo, commander of the U.S. Pacific Fleet , told reporters at a news conference: "The team mistakenly believed that all fuel was filled." About 5,000 gallons (19,000 liters) of fuel were not recovered .

"Meanwhile, over the course of eight days, fuel entered the French drain under the concrete and slowly and quietly seeped into the Red Hill well. The fuel that entered the Red Hill well was then pumped into the Navy system," Paparo said.

Red Hill officials believe only 1,618 gallons (6,125 liters) escaped in the May spill, and they recovered all but 38 gallons (144 liters). They noticed one of the tanks held less than 20,000 gallons (75,700 litres) but thought it was coming from a pipe, not realizing it had flowed into a fire suppression line. They did not report this discrepancy to senior leadership.

After the November spill when people started getting sick, the military moved about 4,000 mostly military families into hotels for several months while they waited for their water to be safe again.

leak contaminates Navy water supply. The fuel did not enter the Honolulu municipal water system. But concerns that oil could enter the city's wells through the aquifer prompted the Honolulu Water Board in December to shut down a critical well that serves about 400,000 people. The agency has been asking residents to conserve water due to this unusually dry weather.

reported that officials defaulted to assuming the best for what was happening when the leak occurred, rather than assuming the worst, which led them to overlook the severity of the situation.

Paparo said the Navy is trying to get out of this situation. He calls it an ongoing process of "getting real with ourselves" and "being honest about our shortcomings."

He recommended that the Navy review the operations of 48 defense fuel storage facilities around the world. "We cannot assume that Red Mountain is an outlier and that similar issues may exist elsewhere,"

Paparo wrote in the report.

The deputy chief of naval operations has assigned the four-star admiral in charge of U.S. Fleet Command to determine disciplinary action against those in uniform. Paparo said recommendations for civilian employees will be sent to their supervisors.

reports The investigation revealed that poor training and supervision, poor leadership and a lack of ownership over operational safety also contributed to the accident, the

report said: “Key leaders’ lack of critical thinking, intellectual rigor and self-assessment at decisive moments exemplified a pattern of failure. A culture of complacency and demonstrates a lack of professionalism that the high-consequence nature of fuel operations requires.

In particular, the investigation highlighted the decision by the commander of the Fleet Logistics Center at Pearl Harbor in February 2021 to remove uniformed military oversight from day-to-day operations at Red Mountain. This significantly increased the risk of fuel handling operations, the report said.

It also Pointing out that key leaders on the scene of the November 2021 oil spill failed to exercise the sense of urgency, critical thinking, strong support and timely and effective communication required by the "seriousness of the situation"

U.S. Rep. Keari Kahele. "The Navy has repeatedly stated that Red Mountain is an important component of U.S. defense, but has not been properly overseen for decades," he said, indicating a lack of leadership, investment and gross negligence.

"The Navy's report stated in May 2021. and the fuel spill at Red Mountain in November 2021 was preventable. This is shocking and deeply concerning," Kahele, a Democrat from Hawaii, said in a statement.

David Henkin, an Earthjustice attorney who has been pursuing a legal challenge to the facility, said the Navy has failed to recover from the mistake Lessons learned.

"Rather than move quickly to remove the more than 100 million gallons of toxic fuel still perched on Oahu's only source aquifer, the Navy is proposing to give it another two and a half years—until the end of 2024—for "Red Hill tanks are draining fuel," he said. "This is completely unacceptable." "