The Department of Justice has issued about $17 million in payments to 629 people, mostly military family members, in connection with the toxic fuel spills that poisoned their water in Hawaii in 2021.
These are the first payments for settlements resolving about 3,600 claims resulting from the poisoned water, which caused numerous health problems for military families living in military housing, and for other civilian families in Hawaii whose water was provided by the Navy.
Another 3,000 people haven’t accepted the government’s offer, which their attorney describes as “paltry.”
And service members affected have received no payments, said Kristina Baehr, attorney for the plaintiffs in two federal court cases filed against the government. That issue is on appeal to the Ninth Circuit.
‘A step in the right direction’
Service members and family members reported numerous health problems, including diarrhea and other gastrointestinal problems, rashes, neurological issues, burns, lesions, thyroid abnormalities, migraines and neurobehavioral challenges.
“The United States’ settlement payments to hundreds of Red Hill families are a step in the right direction,” Baehr said. “Every dollar paid represents some measure of accountability for families who were exposed to fuel-contaminated water in their homes, suffered injuries, and then were forced to fight their own government for recognition and relief.”
The lawsuits, filed in U.S. District Court in Hawaii, alleged negligence in at least two separate events — in May and November 2021 — at the Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility, which contaminated the Navy’s water distribution system.
Some 9,715 households in Navy, Army and Air Force neighborhoods were affected by the November spill. Those storage tanks have since been drained.
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The first wave of these settlements for the 629 plaintiffs was approved by the Hawaii court on May 19, and their payments were issued on June 22, Justice officials said.
Justice officials have reached settlements with about 3,600 plaintiffs in the two lawsuits following a federal judge’s orders in 2024. Payments for those settlements are in various stages. The two lawsuits include about 6,500 people.
“This Justice Department is proud to announce the efficient resolution of claims relating to the Red Hill jet fuel spills that harmed American service members and their families,” Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward said in an announcement of the payments. “These latest settlements prove our commitment to ensuring justice for our nation’s heroes who repeatedly risk greatly to safeguard our freedoms.”
Baehr questioned that statement.
“No dollars are going to America’s heroes,” she said.
“This Department of Justice proclaims that it is ensuring justice for America’s heroes by way of these paltry settlements,” she said. “[It] doesn’t mention that they have paid zero dollars to service members. [DOJ] argued in court that service members should be dismissed from their Red Hill contamination claims because when they bathed their babies at home and bathed themselves naked in their showers, those were incident to military service because they occurred in military housing.”
3,000 fight for higher settlement
All of the 629 people received payments of about $27,000, she said.
“The government undercut the court’s order” on the amounts of damages in its offers to the plaintiffs, Baehr continued. “The government is legally permitted to do that, but it can’t then proclaim they’re ensuring justice for America’s heroes when they’re avoiding the court’s order on damages.
“The government had an opportunity to settle all claims in this case, if they had made an offer within the court’s order on damages. Instead they made this lowball offer,” she said.
The remaining 3,000 who declined the offer “wanted to make sure there is accountability in this case, and are going to hold the government to the court’s order.”
Justice officials are making “good faith efforts” to resolve the more than 6,500 claims from the Red Hill spills, said Assistant Attorney General Brett A. Shumate of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “The settlements represent a fair and just resolution of claims and we look forward to paying additional claims once they are approved.”
The Red Hill disaster wasn’t just about an environmental failure, Baehr said. Rather, “it was failure of trust between the government and the military and civilian families it is obliged to protect.”
The Navy initially told families the water was safe to drink, and families allege they weren’t provided adequate medical care. The Navy later moved families to hotels while they worked to flush the system. Navy officials acknowledged their operator error caused the problem.
“Until every affected family is treated fairly, until injured service members have their day in court, and until the full consequences of Red Hill are acknowledged, this matter is not over,” Baehr said.
In the last month, the government has settled with two of her clients with numbers that are within the court’s order — one at $45,000 and another at $50,000.
“We’re thankful for it,” Baehr said. “We believe the justice system can make it right, and we believe they will, but it’s not yet.”
Karen has covered military families, quality of life and consumer issues for Military Times for more than 30 years, and is co-author of a chapter on media coverage of military families in the book “A Battle Plan for Supporting Military Families.” She previously worked for newspapers in Guam, Norfolk, Jacksonville, Fla., and Athens, Ga.
