Two U.S. Navy civilian employees accused by federal prosecutors of doctoring documents and lying to cover up the severity of a May 6, 2021, jet fuel spill at the Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility are scheduled to stand trial next month.
John Floyd, 63, of Mililani, who worked as Fuels Department deputy director for the Navy, and Nelson Wu, 38, of Waipahu, who was Fuels Department supervisory engineer, were indicted by a federal grand jury in Honolulu on Thursday. The two men pleaded not guilty Friday.
Floyd and Wu allegedly edited and redacted data sets, control room logs, tank inventory reports, tank level logs and transfer records. They are charged with conspiracy to commit an offense against the U.S. and causing another person to make a materially false statement or a material omission in a matter within the jurisdiction of the executive branch of the federal government.
If convicted, Floyd and Wu face up to five years in federal prison and a fine up to $250,000 on each charge.
The pair are scheduled to stand trial Oct. 27 at 9 a.m., when jury selection begins before U.S. District Judge Jill A. Otake, according to court records.
Floyd’s attorney, William A. Harrison, declined comment. Wu’s attorney, Alen M. K. Kaneshiro, did not immediately reply to Honolulu Star-Advertiser requests for comment.
The U.S. Naval Supply Systems Command Fleet Logistics Center Pearl Harbor referred questions about Floyd and Wu’s employment status and work stations to the U.S. Department of Justice.
Justice department officials did not immediately reply to a Star-Advertiser request. Generally, after an indictment, civilian employees would have their security clearance suspended and be placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of the case.
Chief U.S. Magistrate Judge Kenneth J. Mansfield adopted the recommendations of U.S. Pretrial Services and ordered Wu released on a $50,000 unsecured bond.
Following Wu’s “approved military relocation to Japan,” he will be free on an unsecured $20,000 bond until trial. Floyd was also released on an unsecured bond in the amount of $50,000 and his travel is restricted to Oahu, according to federal court documents.
A federal grand jury investigation into the May 6, 2021, spill, and another 20,000- gallon jet fuel spill on Nov. 20, 2021, that caused a contamination disaster have been ongoing since at least 2022.
Civilian and uniformed U.S. Department of Defense officials in charge of Red Hill operations during the fuel leaks have been testifying before the panel.
In October 2021, the Navy said that the May 6, 2021, spill was due to a control room operator’s failure to follow correct procedures and not due to the age of infrastructure, corrosion or the equipment condition.
Between May 6, 2021, and Oct. 1, 2021, Floyd and Wu worked for the Navy Supply Systems Command Fleet Logistics Center Pearl Harbor, which included the Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility. Wu reported to Floyd.
After 20,000 gallons of jet fuel spilled on May 6, 2021, following the failing of two pipeline couplings, the state Department of Health issued a formal request for answers as part of its authorized role as a regulator of the facility.
On Oct. 1, 2021, the Navy responded to the state’s request for information and Floyd and Wu helped draft the response to request for information for review by Navy officers before it was sent to state health officials.
The Fuels Department that Floyd and Wu helped oversee was the main source of information for the response.
When asked by multiple Navy officers to confirm how big the May 6, 2021, jet fuel spill was, volume data by Floyd and Wu allegedly reiterated that only 1,618 gallons had spilled into the tunnel and that the remainder of the jet fuel put into the JP-5 pipeline during the attempted transfer from Tank 12 had remained in the pipeline.
Prosecutors allege that Floyd and Wu intended the Navy to provide the state Department of Health with a fuel-release quantity for the spill that “severely under reported the actual figure” by supplying the Navy with a draft response that “contained materially inaccurate information and omitted information and records material to the questions and demands.”
They also reassured “the Navy officers that their fuel release and capture quantities were accurate” when questioned by the Navy officers, according to the indictment.
The water contamination, including a Nov. 20, 2021, spill of 20,000 gallons, affected about 93,000 people, mostly military families and civilians. The contamination prompted a class-action lawsuit and civil action against the Navy by the Board of Water Supply.
Thousands of families relocated to hotel rooms or moved out of their housing. The all-clear was declared in March 2022, about four months after the jet fuel contamination was found.
In March 2022, the U.S. Department of Defense announced it would permanently shut down the Red Hill facility following the disaster.
This case is being investigated by the Defense Criminal Investigative Service, the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, the Environmental Protection Agency Criminal Investigation Division and the Environmental Protection Agency Office of the Inspector General.
Source: The Garden Island
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