700 gallons of diesel fuel spilled at Haleakala summit

Incident comes in wake of public outcry over fuel leaks at Oahu military facility

About 700 gallons of diesel spilled when a pump failed to shut off at the Maui Space Surveillance Complex located at the summit of Haleakala, the U.S. Space Forces Indo-Pacific said late Tuesday night.

On Sunday night, a diesel fuel pump for an on-site backup generator failed to shut off due to a mechanical issue, according to a news release. At 8 a.m. Monday, site maintenance personnel identified the pump failure and immediately deactivated the transfer pump. About 700 gallons of diesel fuel were released from the system.

The military said it notified the Department of Health and the Environmental Protection Agency of the spill.

Fuel spill experts from the Air Force Installation and Mission Support Center will assess the site to begin remediation efforts, the military said. There were no injuries, and the cause of the failure is under review.

"We understand the importance of being good stewards of the environment and will work with necessary state and federal officials as we begin cleanup efforts," said Brig. Gen. Anthony Mastalir, commander of the U.S. Space Forces Indo-Pacific.

Known for its exceptionally clear skies at 10,023 feet of elevation, Haleakala's summit is home to several high-powered telescopes and military facilities. The 15th Space Surveillance Squadron operates the Maui Space Surveillance Complex, which hosts small, medium and large-aperture tracking optics, including the U.S. Department of Defense's largest optical telescope designed for tracking and imaging satellites, according to the U.S. Space Force. The complex has visible and infrared sensors that collect data on near-Earth and deep-space objects.

Haleakala's importance both culturally and for research and military purposes has long sparked clashes between the community and government agencies, with protesters staging demonstrations to block the delivery of parts for the Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope, one of the largest and most recent facilities built on the summit, a place that many Native Hawaiians consider sacred.

The fuel spill at Haleakala comes after months of public outcry over multiple fuel and chemical leaks at the Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility on Oahu, where the U.S. Navy keeps fuel in massive underground tanks. In May 2021, about 20,000 gallons of fuel spilled into a fire suppression line during a transfer between tanks due to an operator error that caused the pipe to rupture, the Navy said. In November 2021, a cart ran into the line and sent fuel spilling into the tunnel.

In the wake of the spills, fuel leaked into Pearl Harbor's tap water and sickened thousands of people, many of them military families near the area.

Then in November of last year, about 1,100 gallons of toxic fire-suppression foam leaked at the Red Hill facility.

The Navy has said it plans to defuel the beleaguered Red Hill facility by 2024.