Developing an adequate groundwater monitoring well network in the area around Red Hill is a key requirement of the Administrative Order on Consent (AOC). The groundwater monitoring network serves multiple purposes.

Monitoring wells provide regular data on contaminant concentrations in the groundwater under in and around the Red Hill facility. The current monitoring well network consists of ten monitoring locations, three of which are directly under the Red Hill tanks and seven which are not under the tanks provide and data on the nature and extent of any fuel contamination migrating away from the facility. Samples of groundwater are taken every three months and analyzed for a number of chemicals that are contained in the fuel stored at Red Hill.

To date, only very low concentrations of chemicals of concern have been detected in some of the wells not located under the Red Hill tanks.

The monitoring well network provides data that will help refine the Groundwater Flow and Fate & Transport Models. Monitoring wells also provide important data on groundwater elevations that are critical inputs to the Groundwater Flow Models. Data collected from the wells provides information that helps to validate the results of modeling. Information gathered during the installation of new monitoring wells will also provide essential data.

In order to improve the current well network, preliminary agreement has been reached on the general locations for four new groundwater monitoring wells. On August 10, 2016 the Regulatory Agencies conditionally approved the Navy’s "Monitoring Well Installation Work Plan, Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility" from July 17, 2016. The July 17, 2016 Monitoring Well Installation Work Plan is available for viewing below.

A map provided by the Navy which illustrates the most up-to-date proposed new well locations (RHMW08, RHMW09, RHMW10, RHMW11) is included on the Additional Documents page. The Navy began the well installation process in late July. The new groundwater monitoring wells will sample for the same analytes and at the same frequency (quarterly) as the existing groundwater monitoring wells. The Parties to the AOC have agreed on the preliminary list of chemicals of potential concern to be analyzed. This list may be revised depending on the Regulatory Agencies’ evaluation of the chemicals used as fuel additives for the Navy and the Air Force. The list of fuel additives is provided on the Additional Documents page.

The results of all groundwater monitoring is submitted to the Hawaii Department of Health and can be viewed at their website. Exit

On May 4, 2016 the Navy submitted an initial scope of work to address investigation and remediation of contamination, modeling and the groundwater monitoring network. On September 15, 2016 the Regulatory Agencies disapproved this initial scope of work and required the Navy to revise the document. On November 5, 2016 the Navy submitted a revised Scope of Work/Workplan (attached below). The Regulatory Agencies conditionally approved the revised Scope of Work/Work Plan on December 5, 2016 (attached below). The revised Scope of Work/Workplan includes a discussion of the process the Navy and DLA will follow to re-evaluate the adequacy of the groundwater monitoring network and determine if additional groundwater monitoring wells are necessary

Documents

• Regulatory Agency Conditional Approval: Revised Section 6&7 SOW 2 December 2016 (PDF)(4 pp, 599 K, 12/02/2016)
  Letter from U.S. EPA, Region 9 and State of Hawaii Department of Health re: Conditional Approval of Red Hill AOC SOW Deliverable under Sections 6 & 7 -Work Plan/ Scope of Work, Investigation and Remediation of Releases and Groundwater Protection and Evaluation, Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility, November 5, 2016 Revision 01
• Navy Red Hill Revised Monitoring Well Installation Work Plan 17 July 2016 (PDF)(498 pp, 9 MB, 08/17/2016)
  This work plan (WP) documents the proposed approach for installing monitoring wells and investigating the subsurface in and around the Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility (RHSF), Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, O‘ahu, Hawai‘i, via the logging of boreholes and collection of rock core samples.
• Regulatory Agencies’ Conditional Approval of MWIWP 10 Aug 2016 (PDF)(4 pp, 957 K, 08/10/2016)
  Approval of Red Hill AOC SOW Deliverable under Sections 6 & 7 - Revised Monitoring Well Installation Work Plan, July 17, 2016