Press Releases

(Washington, DC) - U.S. Senators Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i) and Mazie K. Hirono (D-Hawai‘i) and U.S. Representatives Ed Case (D-Hawai‘i) and Kaiali‘i Kahele (D-Hawai‘i) called on Governor David Ige to request that President Biden declare an emergency and direct the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to step in and assist with the water contamination crisis on Oahu.

“The EPA’s direct intervention in your request is essential,” the delegation wrote in their letter to Ige. “While the source of the contamination affecting the drinking water is still unknown, it is important that the public have confidence in the process that the Navy and Hawai‘i Department of Health (DOH) are using to draw samples from the Navy’s water system to ensure the results show the true extent of the problem that threatens the health and safety of the people of Hawai‘i.

"The EPA has the expertise to validate the techniques and procedures that the Navy and DOH are using to draw their samples, and it can direct them to take corrective actions where appropriate. It can also draw its own samples to compare against as we work to identify, isolate, and fix the source of the contamination affecting the drinking water.”

The full text of the letter can be found below and is available here.

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