diff --git a/src/BoundaryConditions/fill_halo_regions.jl b/src/BoundaryConditions/fill_halo_regions.jl
index fa380e7029..7ac3e79ea5 100644
--- a/src/BoundaryConditions/fill_halo_regions.jl
+++ b/src/BoundaryConditions/fill_halo_regions.jl
@@ -64,7 +64,9 @@ function fill_halo_regions!(c::MaybeTupledData, boundary_conditions, indices, lo
     return nothing
 end
 
-function fill_halo_event!(c, fill_halos!, bcs, indices, loc, arch, grid, args...; kwargs...)
+function fill_halo_event!(c, fill_halos!, bcs, indices, loc, arch, grid, args...; 
+                          async = false, # This kwargs is specific to DistributedGrids, here is does nothing
+                          kwargs...)
 
     # Calculate size and offset of the fill_halo kernel
     # We assume that the kernel size is the same for west and east boundaries, 
@@ -295,27 +297,27 @@ end
 ##### Kernel launchers for single-sided fill_halos
 #####
 
-fill_west_halo!(c, bc, size, offset, loc, arch, grid, args...; kwargs...) = 
+fill_west_halo!(c, bc, size, offset, loc, arch, grid, args...; only_local_halos = false, kwargs...) = 
     launch!(arch, grid, KernelParameters(size, offset),
             _fill_only_west_halo!, c, bc, loc, grid, Tuple(args); kwargs...)
 
-fill_east_halo!(c, bc, size, offset, loc, arch, grid, args...; kwargs...) = 
+fill_east_halo!(c, bc, size, offset, loc, arch, grid, args...; only_local_halos = false, kwargs...) = 
     launch!(arch, grid, KernelParameters(size, offset),
             _fill_only_east_halo!, c, bc, loc, grid, Tuple(args); kwargs...)
 
-fill_south_halo!(c, bc, size, offset, loc, arch, grid, args...; kwargs...) = 
+fill_south_halo!(c, bc, size, offset, loc, arch, grid, args...; only_local_halos = false, kwargs...) = 
     launch!(arch, grid, KernelParameters(size, offset),
             _fill_only_south_halo!, c, bc, loc, grid, Tuple(args); kwargs...)
 
-fill_north_halo!(c, bc, size, offset, loc, arch, grid, args...; kwargs...) = 
+fill_north_halo!(c, bc, size, offset, loc, arch, grid, args...; only_local_halos = false, kwargs...) = 
     launch!(arch, grid, KernelParameters(size, offset),
             _fill_only_north_halo!, c, bc, loc, grid, Tuple(args); kwargs...)
 
-fill_bottom_halo!(c, bc, size, offset, loc, arch, grid, args...; kwargs...) = 
+fill_bottom_halo!(c, bc, size, offset, loc, arch, grid, args...; only_local_halos = false, kwargs...) = 
     launch!(arch, grid, KernelParameters(size, offset),
             _fill_only_bottom_halo!, c, bc, loc, grid, Tuple(args); kwargs...)
 
-fill_top_halo!(c, bc, size, offset, loc, arch, grid, args...; kwargs...) = 
+fill_top_halo!(c, bc, size, offset, loc, arch, grid, args...; only_local_halos = false, kwargs...) = 
     launch!(arch, grid, KernelParameters(size, offset),
             _fill_only_top_halo!, c, bc, loc, grid, Tuple(args); kwargs...)
 
@@ -323,17 +325,17 @@ fill_top_halo!(c, bc, size, offset, loc, arch, grid, args...; kwargs...) =
 ##### Kernel launchers for double-sided fill_halos
 #####
 
-function fill_west_and_east_halo!(c, west_bc, east_bc, size, offset, loc, arch, grid, args...; kwargs...)
+function fill_west_and_east_halo!(c, west_bc, east_bc, size, offset, loc, arch, grid, args...; only_local_halos = false, kwargs...)
     return launch!(arch, grid, KernelParameters(size, offset),
                    _fill_west_and_east_halo!, c, west_bc, east_bc, loc, grid, Tuple(args); kwargs...)
 end
 
-function fill_south_and_north_halo!(c, south_bc, north_bc, size, offset, loc, arch, grid, args...; kwargs...)
+function fill_south_and_north_halo!(c, south_bc, north_bc, size, offset, loc, arch, grid, args...; only_local_halos = false, kwargs...)
     return launch!(arch, grid, KernelParameters(size, offset),
                    _fill_south_and_north_halo!, c, south_bc, north_bc, loc, grid, Tuple(args); kwargs...)
 end
 
-function fill_bottom_and_top_halo!(c, bottom_bc, top_bc, size, offset, loc, arch, grid, args...; kwargs...)
+function fill_bottom_and_top_halo!(c, bottom_bc, top_bc, size, offset, loc, arch, grid, args...; only_local_halos = false, kwargs...)
     return launch!(arch, grid, KernelParameters(size, offset),
                    _fill_bottom_and_top_halo!, c, bottom_bc, top_bc, loc, grid, Tuple(args); kwargs...)
 end
diff --git a/src/BoundaryConditions/fill_halo_regions_periodic.jl b/src/BoundaryConditions/fill_halo_regions_periodic.jl
index 890b9c2fba..edd97528fa 100644
--- a/src/BoundaryConditions/fill_halo_regions_periodic.jl
+++ b/src/BoundaryConditions/fill_halo_regions_periodic.jl
@@ -15,19 +15,19 @@ end
 
 @inline fix_halo_offsets(o, co) = co > 0 ? o - co : o # Windowed fields have only positive offsets to correct
 
-function fill_west_and_east_halo!(c, ::PBCT, ::PBCT, size, offset, loc, arch, grid, args...; kw...)
+function fill_west_and_east_halo!(c, ::PBCT, ::PBCT, size, offset, loc, arch, grid, args...; only_local_halos = false, kw...)
     c_parent, yz_size, offset = parent_size_and_offset(c, 2, 3, size, offset)
     launch!(arch, grid, KernelParameters(yz_size, offset), fill_periodic_west_and_east_halo!, c_parent, Val(grid.Hx), grid.Nx; kw...)
     return nothing
 end
 
-function fill_south_and_north_halo!(c, ::PBCT, ::PBCT, size, offset, loc, arch, grid, args...; kw...)
+function fill_south_and_north_halo!(c, ::PBCT, ::PBCT, size, offset, loc, arch, grid, args...; only_local_halos = false, kw...)
     c_parent, xz_size, offset = parent_size_and_offset(c, 1, 3, size, offset)
     launch!(arch, grid, KernelParameters(xz_size, offset), fill_periodic_south_and_north_halo!, c_parent, Val(grid.Hy), grid.Ny;  kw...)
     return nothing
 end
 
-function fill_bottom_and_top_halo!(c, ::PBCT, ::PBCT, size, offset, loc, arch, grid, args...; kw...)
+function fill_bottom_and_top_halo!(c, ::PBCT, ::PBCT, size, offset, loc, arch, grid, args...; only_local_halos = false, kw...)
     c_parent, xy_size, offset = parent_size_and_offset(c, 1, 2, size, offset)
     launch!(arch, grid, KernelParameters(xy_size, offset), fill_periodic_bottom_and_top_halo!, c_parent, Val(grid.Hz), grid.Nz; kw...)
     return nothing
diff --git a/src/Utils/kernel_launching.jl b/src/Utils/kernel_launching.jl
index 3625ae7632..097ce8fe00 100644
--- a/src/Utils/kernel_launching.jl
+++ b/src/Utils/kernel_launching.jl
@@ -272,10 +272,7 @@ end
 @inline function _launch!(arch, grid, workspec, kernel!, first_kernel_arg, other_kernel_args...;
                           exclude_periphery = false,
                           reduced_dimensions = (),
-                          active_cells_map = nothing,
-                          # TODO: these two kwargs do nothing:
-                          only_local_halos = false,
-                          async = false)
+                          active_cells_map = nothing)
 
     location = Oceananigans.location(first_kernel_arg)