Public votes on Red Hill oversight committee, includes two well-known Native Hawaiian activists

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) - 10 people were selected on Saturday to be part of an oversight group for the de-fueling of the Navy’s Red Hill Facility scheduled for mid-October.

Two well-known Native Hawaiian activists, Healani Sonde Pale and Big “Al” Alfred Keaka Hiona Medeiros, will be part of the EPA’s group aimed at providing oversight during the De-fueling and removal of the Navy’s Red Hill facility.

The two will be part of the EPA’s 10-person civilian oversight group called the Community Representation Initiative or CRI.

The EPA says they will meet about once a month through the closing process of the Navy’s Red Hill facility.

According to the EPA, the group will review the information and provide input on decisions related to the closure and defueling and assuring safe drinking water.

“We should have had this 2 years ago,” Healani Sonde Pale said.

The EPA says committee members will be finalized Monday night after the appeal window closes.

The 10 members of the Community Representation Initiative are from four categories:

Impacted residents:

Mandy Feidnt

Lacey Quintero

Oahu residents:

Walter Chun

Ilima DeCosta

Susan Gorman-Chang

Marti Townsend

Organizations:

Environmental Caucus of the Democratic Party of Hawaii

Sierra Club

Individuals Representing Native Hawaiian Interests:

Healani Sonoda-Pale

Alfred Keaka Hiona Medeiros

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