Navy gets final order from Hawaii Health Department: Close Red Hill fuel facility

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FORT SHAFTER, Hawaii — The Hawaii Department of Health on Monday gave final approval to an emergency order to close the Navy’s Red Hill underground fuel storage facility on Oahu that is linked to contaminated water affecting thousands living in military communities.

“Today’s decision affirms DOH’s actions to safeguard the drinking water that we share as a community,” Kathleen Ho, deputy director of environmental health, said in a news release.

Ho ordered the facility closed Dec. 6, about a week after people living on and near Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam began complaining of foul-smelling tap water that carried an oily sheen.