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The next step is to repair equipment so the rest of the fuel can be safely drained from storage tanks in preparation for closing the facility.

It’s the first time the Navy has announced a date for the permanent closure of the facility at the center of last year’s massive fuel contamination crisis.

Members of a joint task force said the defueling process will begin Tuesday after a more than weeklong delay due to water main breaks on the Navy’s system.

Officials advised people to boil water used for drinking and cooking as a precaution to prevent bacteria after four water main breaks occurred.

The first phase to remove fuel from three pipelines at the Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility will begin later this month, health officials said.

The commander of a new task force aimed at safely removing fuel from the WWII-era facility promised accountability and transparency in dealing with the aftermath of last year’s leaks.

The U.S. military has built megastructures under wartime conditions on short orders when enthusiasm and necessity were involved.

The findings add to a long list of compliance and maintenance failures in the military’s fuel operations on Oahu.

The Oahu Water Protectors organized a rally outside the White House to keep up pressure on the U.S. Navy to shut down the WWII era fuel farm that’s sickened thousands in the islands.

Sens. Hirono and Schatz express hope that the appointment will expedite defueling of the facility.