Aua Fuel Farm Remediation Named USACE 2026 Nationwide Environmental Restoration Project of the Year

The Aua Fuel Farm Remediation Project has received the 2026 Environmental Restoration Award for its success in executing a complex, multi-phased environmental restoration in the Village of Aua, Island of Tutuila, American Samoa. The award recognizes a meaningful impact to the environment that removed former fuel infrastructure and petroleum contamination while navigating cultural considerations, difficult site conditions, regulatory hurdles and the logistical challenges of performing environmental restoration on a remote Pacific island. 

This project addressed the removal of tank remnants and remediation of soil and groundwater petroleum contamination resulting from a former World War II Navy Fuel Farm in Aua Village. A full environmental assessment was prepared in a record five months which facilitated avoiding a year-long delay, prevented millions of dollars in cost overruns, and ensured the land was restored and returned to the community for beneficial use.  Through extensive coordination with the American Samoa EPA and American Samoa Power Authority, the project facilitated a much-needed sewer line infrastructure upgrade in which backyard septic systems throughout Aua Village that were subject to tidal influence and shallow groundwater can now be replaced with sewer laterals connecting to a wastewater treatment plant.  The project was driven by a Project Delivery Team that demonstrated exceptional management and stakeholder engagement and is a powerful example of the USACE mission to "Engineer solutions for the Nation's toughest challenges."

Our team successfully addressed a complex legacy of contamination, transforming a hazardous site into a safe and beneficial community space. Through technical excellence, innovative program management, and an unwavering commitment to partnership, the project has delivered a healthier, safer future for the people of Aua and the environment of American Samoa.

“By systematically removing widespread petroleum contamination, the project directly mitigated long-term health risks for the residents of Aua Village and protected a critical coral reef habitat in Pago Pago Harbor.”
- Linoshka Soto Perez, USACE Project Manager

A description of the work ERRG performed for USACE can be found here.