In an unfolding drama worthy of a Hollywood script, a Honolulu-based insurer, DTRIC Insurance Co. Ltd., and TD Food Group Inc., operators of Taco Bell and Pizza Hut, have thrown down the legal gauntlet in a federal court in Hawaii. Their formidable opponent? The United States government itself, in a gripping narrative of negligence, nuisance, and a fight for justice.
This legal battle, stemming from the Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility’s disastrous fuel leaks in 2021, has ensnared the U.S. under the Federal Tort Claims Act. The contention? That the U.S., in a similar vein to any private entity causing such an environmental debacle, must bear the financial brunt of its actions.
US Must Cover Hawaii Fuel Leak Payment : Unleashing a Toxic Torrent
The plot thickens at the Red Hill facility, a mammoth 250-million gallon military stronghold operated by the Department of the Navy. It was here that the story’s villains – a ruptured pipe joint and a wayward Navy-operated train cart – unleashed a torrent of jet fuel and contaminants into Oahu’s water supply. This eco-thriller’s backdrop? None other than Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam.
