The Honorable Carlos Del Toro

Secretary of the Navy

1000 Navy Pentagon
Washington, DC 20350-1000

December 23, 2021

Dear Secretary Del Toro

I am writing to urge you to address the insulting and offensive comments made by
Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Navy, James Balocki, during the evidentiary hearing
concerning the State Department of Health Order on the Red Hill Operations that took place on
Monday December 20, 2021.

When asked by Ella Foley Gannon, counsel for the Board of Water Supply, if the
ongoing events at Red Hill would qualify as a crisis, Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Navy,
James Balocki, responded that the events were “not a crisis” while also expressly voicing his
disagreement with the statements of Admiral Samuel Paparo, who has repeatedly referred to the
events as a crisis. In response to a question from David Henkin, counsel for the Sierra Club of
Hawaiʻi, it appeared that the Deputy Assistant Secretary was not aware that servicemembers and
their families have fallen gravely ill from drinking water contaminated with petroleum, despite
heavy media circulation and Navy findings to the contrary.

Deputy Assistant Secretary Balocki’s role is to serve as the principal advisor to the
Assistant Secretary of the Navy for energy, installations, and environment. This includes, in his
own words, pollution prevention and environmental protection. As such, I find Deputy Assistant
Secretary Balocki’s comments, demeanor, and lack of awareness to be wholeheartedly
inappropriate, further displaying a lack of candor and respect to affected servicemembers, their
families, and the residents of Oʻahu.

The Navy must take immediate steps to correct the misguided and misinformed
comments of Deputy Assistant Secretary Balocki. I urge Deputy Assistant Secretary Balocki to
issue a public apology to our affected servicemembers, their families, the residents of the island
of Oʻahu, and all participants at the hearing for his lack of awareness and understanding of this
ongoing crisis. I also urge the Navy to examine and address the clear inconsistencies present
across the entirety of its organization regarding public messaging on this crisis.

It is imperative that the Navy lead with empathy, transparency, and candor in all public
forums. The reputation of, and trust in, our Armed Services in the State of Hawaiʻi is being
greatly tested and scrutinized. We cannot afford for public comments on behalf of the Navy to
erode the progress that has been made in pursuit of fully remedying this crisis.

Me ka haʻahaʻa (with humility)

Kaialiʻi Kahele
Member of Congress

cc:
Representative Adam Smith, Chairman, HASC
Representative Joe Courtney, HASC Subcommittee Chair, Seapower and Projection Forces
Representative John Garamendi, HASC Subcommittee Chair, Readiness
Under Secretary of the Navy Meredith Berger
Acting Assistant Secretary of the Navy Lucian Niemeyer
Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Navy James Balocki
ADM Samuel Paparo, Commander U.S. Pacific Fleet
RADM Blake Converse, Deputy Commander U.S. Pacific Fleet