U.S. Navy Gets Hit With A $1.2 Billion Lawsuit

The U.S. Navy is facing a major legal problem.

The Honolulu Board of Water Supply is suing the U.S. Navy for over $1 billion.

In the lawsuit, the Honolulu Board of Water Supply revealed that the U.S. Navy had released hazardous chemicals into Hawaii’s main drinking water supply.

Fox News provided key details in the lawsuit:

The Honolulu Board of Water Supply (BWS) on Tuesday filed a federal lawsuit against the U.S. Navy, seeking more than $1 billion after the military branch released petroleum and other hazardous chemicals into Oʻahu, Hawaii’s sole source of drinking water.

During the incident, 27,000 gallons of toxic jet fuel stored in miles of underground tunnels leaked into the aquifer near Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, affecting 93,000 people living near the military’s strategic fuel storage facility, Red Hill.

The Navy acknowledged responsibility for the environmental and human health crisis caused by the November 2021 jet fuel release, though the board alleges it has refused to accept responsibility for the $1.2 billion the BWS will incur to respond to the Navy’s contaminant releases.

Residents served by the Navy’s water system allegedly suffered serious injuries from the incident, and the BWS claimed its ability to provide clean, safe, dependable water to Oʻahu residents continues to be severely impacted, according to a statement from BWS.

Fox News Digital previously reported that some residents continue to suffer long-term symptoms, including Parkinson’s disease and seizures.

To protect against contamination of its own water sources following the spill, BWS shut down its Hālawa Shaft and the ʻAiea and Hālawa wells.

Here’s the aftermath of the spill:

This is our aquifer. The Halawa Shaft, up until Dec. 2021, provided 20% of Honolulu’s water. The Board of Water Supply announced that due to the Navy contaminating our water with fuel from their leaking Red Hill tanks, we may never be able to draw from this shaft again. Ever. pic.twitter.com/8I4ld64HWV

— Victims of Capitalism Memorial Foundation (@karaokecomputer) March 15, 2022

BREAKING: Hundreds of people in Hawaii who ingested jet fuel leaked by the Navy into drinking water are fighting back and suing. @SECNAV still hiding grave risk that endangers thousands of families.

Pentagon must create a victims fund now. @oahuWP https://t.co/iCWUgmLBKo pic.twitter.com/xWAO3ZomGg

— Steven Donziger (@SDonziger) May 13, 2022

Civil Beat reported more on the chemical spill:

The November 2021 spill contaminated the military’s own separate water system, too, which draws from the same underground aquifer complex and is used by more than 90,000 people to drink, bathe and clean.

Thousands of those military personnel and their family members were sickened in the days that followed the spill, and the local water agency scrambled to isolate the island’s general water supply. That included shutting down the city’s nearby Hālawa Shaft and ʻAiea and Hālawa wells, which represented about 20% of Oʻahu’s water supply.

The incident was hardly a surprise. Multiple leaks had occurred at the 20 massive, underground fuel tanks buried at Red Hill in prior decades and Board of Water Supply Manager and Chief Engineer Ernie Lau had publicly urged the Navy for years to refurbish those tanks and better protect against future spills.