Hawai'i Families Sue US Over Contaminated Drinking Water from Navy's Red Hill Facility
Four families filed a federal lawsuit against the United States for "negligence, trespass, nuisance, and medical malpractice resulting in physical and emotional injuries" after jet fuel leaks contaminated drinking water in Oahu, Hawai'i.
The Military reports that although the lawsuit currently lists four families as plaintiffs, others are expected to join, according to Kristina Baehr, an attorney representing some of these plaintiffs. The plaintiffs allege that the Navy knew it was not operating Red Hill fuel facility safely and did not announce the leak in a timely manner.
The families allege that the Navy tainted public drinking water with jet fuel from the Red Hill bulk fuel storage facility near Pearl Harbor. Additionally, the lawsuit alleges that the second leak was caused by a "negligent 'operator error,'" reported USA Today.
Kristina Baehr, attorney for Just Well Law, told USA TODAY that the case "signifies an opportunity for change because the government is not going to make change unless they are held accountable. They didn’t warn these families that their water was contaminated when they knew it was contaminated – that’s poisoning."
"Our clients want accountability and truth. ...They know that Red Hill is just the next event in a long legacy of toxic exposures caused by the government," Baehr wrote in an email to Military.com. "They know that their families are at risk of serious future harm, just like the families at Camp LeJeune, and they ask the United States to make it stop."
Just Well Law and Hosoda Law Group filed the lawsuit in the District of Hawai'i on behalf of the Feindt, Freeman, Simic and Wyatt families, reported USA Today. Additionally, the lawsuit was filed under the Federal Torts Claims Act, which states that the U.S. "shall be liable for actual or compensatory damages."
Two jet fuel leaks occurred in 2021 at the Navy's Red Hill bulk fuel storage facility, which led to petroleum and other toxic chemicals entering the local water supply, reported USA Today. Approximately 93,000 people use the water supply.
