After thousands of gallons of fuel from the Navy’s Red Hill storage complex contaminated Oahu’s drinking water, the Department of Defense decided to investigate other military gas stations around the world. 

In an audit of nearly 600 petroleum storage sites, released last week, the Department of Defense Inspector General found that the mismanagement and poor oversight that caused the crisis at Red Hill was not limited to Hawaii. Between fiscal years 2020 and 2022, there were 172 fuel spills at these sites, including one that totaled 136,000 gallons. 

As a result of a lack of oversight by the Defense Logistics Agency, which manages the fuel, these storage sites have an “increased risk of fuel leaks and spills, which could endanger public health, harm natural resources and lead to mission failure,” the audit states. 

The audit was prompted by the Red Hill disaster, according to the report. In 2021, back-to-back spills released jet fuel into the Pearl Harbor drinking water system serving some 93,000 people. 

Entire families were sickened after drinking and bathing in the water, and hundreds have reported continuing health problems. A lawsuit filed against the federal government by thousands of impacted individuals is set to go to trial on April 29.

In light of the contamination at Red Hill, the IG initiated its review of other fueling locations to “help reduce risks of additional leaks and spills.” 

The agency’s report focused on sites that store and provide fuel to military agencies and federal departments. The locations range in size from serving a single military base to wholesale facilities that provide millions of gallons of fuel to multiple locations. 

Department of Defense policy states that the Defense Logistics Agency is responsible for managing its fuel and leak detection systems.

At more than 91% of the sites reviewed, the DLA was unable to show it had performed site visits required every three years to verify compliance and investigate excessive gains and losses of fuel. 

The DLA failed to show it visited 87% of the sites that experienced a fuel spill, according to the audit. Most of the spills were caused by equipment failure while others were attributed to human error or other factors. The report doesn’t list where these spills occurred.

According to the audit, the DLA blamed Covid-19 pandemic travel restrictions for the skipped visits. But the IG noted that no alternative review mechanism was put in place. No oversight processes were instituted through regional offices, which may not have had sufficient staff to do such reviews. 

The agency also failed to oversee construction on sustainment, restoration and modernization — or SRM — projects at five sites the IG visited, opting instead to rely on its contract quality assurance process. 

The DLA told the IG that “they do not have the staff to visit and oversee every SRM project, and do not have the expertise to monitor military construction projects.” 

Without proper oversight, the DLA cannot be sure that its SRM projects are addressing health and safety concerns, security and environmental shortcomings and “risk of mission failure,” the audit found.

“These deficiencies increase the risk of leaks and spills,” the audit states.

The IG’s recommendations include that DLA develop a plan to bring all its sites into compliance with the three-year visit requirement, do a staffing study of its regional offices and assess its contract oversight processes. 

In a letter, Emily Vogeler, executive director of the DLA’s logistics policy and programs, concurred with the IG’s findings and outlined changes the agency plans to implement in the next two years. 

Sen. Mazie Hirono, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said in a statement that the audit shows the military needs to improve, especially as the DOD moves to distribute more of its fuel throughout the Pacific.

“The Red Hill crisis showed all too clearly the dire consequences of DOD’s failure to adequately oversee, maintain, and modernize fuel depots. Our military is only as strong as the critical infrastructure it relies on,” Hirono said.

“The DOD needs to put forward a comprehensive plan to rectify this issue in order to ensure the readiness of our troops and the health and safety of surrounding communities.”

Sen. Brian Schatz said he will continue to hold the military accountable for repairing its aging facilities.

“The IG report reaffirms what has become clear in recent years with Red Hill and installations across the country: our military infrastructure is aging, in disrepair, and in urgent need of upgrades,” said Schatz, a senior member of the appropriations subcommittees for defense and military construction.

Schatz said he has worked to secure increased funding for sustainment, restoration, and modernization across the military to address maintenance issues and the backlog of repairs. In Fiscal Year 2024, Congress boosted that funding by millions, he said, but more is needed and “funding alone won’t solve this.”

“As the report lays out, there is an organizational culture within DLA that gives inadequate attention to safety and accountability,” he said. “This must change.”

Civil Beat’s community health coverage is supported by the Swayne Family Fund of Hawaii Community Foundation, the Cooke Foundation, Atherton Family Foundation and Papa Ola Lokahi.