The Navy commanding officer who led Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam by means of the second-worst identified case of water contamination in army historical past retired final month, incomes the Protection Division’s second-highest non-combat service award within the course of.
Greater than seven months after the disastrous and preventable spill that displaced hundreds of base residents — and because the Navy has but to announce who, if anybody, shall be held accountable — Capt. Erik Spitzer was awarded the Legion of Benefit for his work on the base over the previous two years.
The Navy’s World Warfare II-era Crimson Hill Bulk Gasoline Storage Facility unintentionally launched hundreds of gallons of gas and water right into a tunnel that homes a hearth suppression system drain line, ensuing within the contamination of a close-by consuming water effectively that serves Pearl Harbor.
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The spill sickened tons of of army households residing on or close to the set up, forcing them to rely solely on bottled water of their properties or to stay in resorts for a number of months whereas the Navy labored to flush the strains and restore protected consuming water.
Spitzer, who obtained his award aboard the historic battleship USS Missouri, was congratulated for “his response to the Crimson Hill water contamination incident,” which “resulted within the expeditious restoration of fresh water all through the neighborhood,” in line with the award’s quotation, which was seen in photographs of the occasion.
The investigation discovered that poor administration and oversight, in addition to a questionable response by the Navy, led to the disaster, leading to tons of of residents needing to hunt medical care and eliminate any home items that got here into contact with the fuel-contaminated water.
However the investigation additionally discovered {that a} building error in 2015 — the selection to make use of PVC pipe slightly than metal pipe for the power’s fireplace suppression system — contributed to the system’s large failure.
The medal is a standard award given to high-ranking officers upon the completion of an obligation tour. It was Spitzer’s second. As commanding officer of Pearl Harbor, he was chargeable for the security, safety, environmental stewardship and safety of personnel and property on the set up.
Nonetheless, the reward stands in distinction to Spitzer’s actions within the days after the spill and studies of chemical smells within the consuming water on base.
‘Deeply Remorseful’
On Nov. 29, 2021, Spitzer instructed residents “that there aren’t any instant indications that the water just isn’t protected,” including that “my employees and I are consuming the water on base this morning, and plenty of of my crew stay in housing and drink and use the water as effectively.” The subsequent day, although, the Hawaii Well being Division suggested residents to keep away from consuming or utilizing the water in any manner.
On Dec. 5, Spitzer publicly apologized for trusting the preliminary take a look at outcomes and deceptive the sailors and households residing on base.
“If there was sooner or later I had an opportunity to do over, it might be that day,” he wrote within the December assertion. “We actually thought the testing outcomes indicated the water was protected to drink. We had been unsuitable.
“I remorse I didn’t inform our households to not drink the water. I’m deeply remorseful,” the message stated.
The next investigation, which was launched final week, painted a fancy image of workplaces and officers who had a hand in operating each the gas storage facility, in addition to the effectively of consuming water for the bottom. Within the combine was the Navy’s Chief of Naval Installations – they owned the effectively — and the Amenities and Engineering Command, which operated the effectively. Plus, there have been public works officers, members of the Utilities and Vitality Administration workplace, and others who might have ordered the consuming water shut off within the wake of the spill.
The report discovered that the Navy created a state of affairs the place there was “no single Crimson Hill proprietor per se,” however it additionally famous that Spitzer was the only particular person who held the “authority and accountability to behave comprehensively and decisively” as a result of he was deemed the incident commander when the disaster at Crimson Hill unfolded.
“He didn’t train his distinctive authority, and that inaction contributed to contamination of the consuming water as a result of the response was neither complete nor efficient,” the report added.
Moreover, the report stated that Spitzer’s message to residents was one in all 4 “key friction factors” that “negatively impacted public belief within the Navy.”
Navy.com has reached out to the Navy for touch upon Spitzer’s award however didn’t hear again earlier than publication.
Since turning over his command of the Pearl Harbor base, Spitzer is within the means of retiring from the Navy this month.
An Earlier Spill and the Incorrect Pipe
The investigation discovered that the Navy’s lack of a response to an earlier spill in Might 2021 and the November 2021 spill contributed to the contamination of the consuming water provide, and that human error all through the method led to the displacement of hundreds from their properties.
However the November spill won’t have occurred if the Crimson Hill Bulk Gasoline Facility’s fireplace suppression system had been constructed as initially laid out in 2015, with metal pipe as a substitute of PVC, the investigation discovered.
In keeping with the investigation launched June 30 by the Navy, the spill occurred when a employee, referred to as a rover, unintentionally struck a hearth suppression system retention line along with his automobile, cracking the PVC pipe and inflicting a joint to rupture.
The accident despatched hundreds of gallons of liquid, together with JP-5 jet gas, gushing into the tunnel, as seen in video and photographs obtained by the Hawaii-based media outlet Civil Beat.
Employees didn’t notice that the road was contaminated with gas from an earlier spill that occurred in Might throughout gas switch, in line with the investigation. The Might 6 occasion launched roughly 20,000 gallons into the realm.
Navy officers underestimated the scope of that spill, main them to consider that a lot of the gas had been contained. However the November accident launched gas from the sooner spill, inflicting as much as 5,542 gallons of gas to leak into the bottom, the porous concrete flooring and drain, finally leaching into the consuming water effectively.
The hearth suppression system’s retention strains by no means had been meant to be PVC piping. They had been to be metal, in line with Navy Amenities Command Pacific and the system’s designer. Metal is far sturdier than PVC pipe, much less prone to cracks and exterior harm, and extra proof against chemical breakdown when uncovered to gas or different contaminants.
In keeping with the investigation, the precise plans for the system referred to as for metal pipes. A change was made when the development contractor, Hensel Phelps, requested the Navy for clarification on the plans, having interpreted the drawings and specs to indicate that it was to make use of PVC.
In response, a building supervisor contracted by the Navy authorised the choice to make use of PVC, telling Hensel Phelps to proceed, so the corporate put in the plastic pipes.
The investigation famous that there was ample time to vary the supplies throughout building. In keeping with the report, the builders submitted buy requests for PVC pipe and later requested whether or not the system wanted a containment “jacket” across the piping to make sure that contents could possibly be contained within the occasion of a break.
Hensel Phelps issued a press release Friday to Navy.com saying it put in the system to design specs, sustaining that the plans referred to as for PVC pipes to hold foam fireplace suppressant.
“Hensel Phelps put in the fireplace alarm/fireplace suppression system in compliance with the design issued to Hensel Phelps from the federal government,” the corporate stated in a press release.
Whereas investigators largely attributed the catastrophe to human error, they added that the PVC piping was additionally a explanation for the November spill.
“It’s affordable that metal pipe … would have been much less more likely to sag below the load of gas contained inside it, making it unlikely that the trolley would have struck the low level drain valve in that case. Even when struck by the trolley in the identical method as truly occurred, a metal retention line and low level drain would most certainly not have ruptured, thereby stopping the spill,” the report said.
— Konstantin Toropin may be reached at Konstantin.Toropin@Navy.com. Observe him on Twitter @ktoropin
— Patricia Kime may be reached at Patricia.Kime@Navy.com. Observe her on Twitter @patriciakime
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