US Sen. Schatz calls on EPA to take over testing in Navy water crisis amid mixed messages

Mixed messaging between the Navy, Hawaii Department of Health (DOH) and Board of Water Supply (BWS) have made the contaminated water crisis challenging for some agencies to get clear answers.

The BWS said it is a long chain of command with the Navy sending test results to the DOH who then sends it to the BWS.

“The Navy operates a regulated community water system subject to state and federal drinking water regulations and the regulator is the DOH, so we don’t want to get in the way of the communication chain there,” said Ernie Lau, Board of Water Supply chief engineer.

Now, United States Sen. Brian Schatz, (D) Hawaii is calling for more consistency.

“We should have one point of contact with the Hawaii public about what’s happening, not multiple agencies disagreeing with each other via press release, that’s just irresponsible.”

Schatz is pushing the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to take over and become the independent agency to get answers regarding this water contamination issue.

“Nobody knows what to think, and it’s just a very public sign of dysfunction. I’ve asked the EPA to not just weigh in and not just to consult, but to actually take over the process of collecting and analyzing samples and also communicating to the public regarding the safety of the water and the water system,” Schatz added.

The EPA said they have and will continue to assist with the response effort. The EPA also stated it already has emergency response staff on Oahu who are helping to develop a water sampling plan and are providing support on drinking water system treatment and flushing.

However, Schatz is calling on officials to allow the EPA to take over immediately.

“I spoke to the governor last night about that. I spoke to the President’s Homeland Security team this morning and everybody seems amenable, but this needs to happen right away because every day we have disagreements between the Navy and the Department of Health,” explained Schatz.