Federal Grand Jury Indicts Two Civilian Workers Over Red Hill Disaster
The two men are accused of making false statements and withholding information about the May 2021 fuel spill.
By Lynn Kawano and Mahealani Richardson
A federal grand jury indicted two men in connection with the Red Hill fuel disaster that poisoned the water for thousands of people.
The 11-page indictment accuses John Floyd and Nelson Wu, civilian workers for Navy Supply Systems, of conspiracy and making false statements about the May 2021 Red Hill fuel leak. That led to another leak in November 2021.
Combined, the leaks sickened at least 6,000 people and forced more than 90,000 to be without clean water for months.
“The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency uses the Hawai‘i Department of Health to enforce storage tank requirements,” said retired FBI agent Tom Simon.
“Investigators at the Hawai‘i Department of Health asked the Navy for information regarding this spill, and the information they requested had the obvious question of how much jet fuel went into Oʻahu’s soil?”
According to the indictment, the “couplings on the pipeline at Red Hill failed” during an attempted transfer of jet fuel from tank 12 to tank 9.
And the “attempted transfer was aborted after approximately 20,000 gallons of jet fuel” spilled into the tunnel.
The court records continue, Floyd and Wu “falsely stated” to the Navy that the “May 6, 2021, pipeline breach released an estimated 1,618 gallons” — far less than the actual amount. Military officials then recirculated that false information to the DOH.
“This case is about a cover up,” Simon said.
“According to the indictment, Mr. Floyd and Mr. Wu conspired to provide false information to their bosses,” who responded to DOH’s inquiry.
The charges against Floyd and Wu are felonies with each carrying a maximum of five years.
But some are questioning why only two civilians are taking the fall for such a disaster.
Retired federal public defender Alexander Silvert said some might think Floyd and Wu are “scapegoats” who “are going to accept the blame for everything, including exonerating the military from having intentionally and knowingly done anything wrong,” and that could look like another cover-up.
Hawaii News Now did reach out to Wu’s attorney, Alen Kaneshiro, who said his client was not making a comment at this time.
Floyd did not have an attorney listed in the court records.
No hearing date has been set for the two men. They will not be arrested, but rather summoned to court.
Click here to read the full indictment.
