Schatz Statement On New Commander Of Red Hill Joint Task Force
Schatz: Red Hill Water Contamination Is An Emergency, DoD Must Move Faster To Defuel, Shut Down Red Hill
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i), a member of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense, today released the following statement after the Department of Defense announced it had named Rear Admiral John Wade to serve as commander of Joint Task Force Red Hill.
“Shutting down Red Hill cannot be delayed. With a commander now in place, the Joint Task Force can become fully operational and begin to work on-site with state, local, and community leaders to safely and quickly defuel Red Hill.
“The Department of Defense is perfectly capable of meeting a tight timeframe in an emergency situation. And this is an emergency. Our water was poisoned. Of course they need to assess, prepare, and drain the tanks in a way that is safe and doesn’t cause more contamination, but anything resembling a delay, intentional or not, is totally unacceptable. As a member of the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee, I will use every tool, every power, and every resource at my disposal to drain the tanks as soon as possible.”
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