28 Senators sign letter urging DoD to accelerate PFAS remediation, reduce backlog

NOVEMBER 8, 2023

OSCODA, Mich. - The Great Lakes PFAS Action Network (GLPAN) today applauded U.S. Sens. Debbie Stabenow and Gary Peters for calling on the Department of Defense (DoD) to increase funding to speed up PFAS cleanups at military installations across the country. Last week, Stabenow and Peters signed a joint letter with 26 other U.S. senators, urging Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin to reduce the Pentagon’s backlog of PFAS contaminated sites across the country and to jump-start cleanups by fully implementing the Pentagon’s recently announced  national “interim action” cleanup directive. 

The senators’ letter echoes the concerns raised in a September letter to Secretary Austin signed by 52 members of the U.S. House of Representatives, signifying a growing chorus of federal lawmakers urging quicker action from the DoD to address PFAS.

“We are encouraged by the growing number of voices – in both chambers of Congress, from both political parties – calling on the Pentagon to speed up PFAS cleanups,” said Tony Spaniola, co-chair of the Great Lakes PFAS Action Network. “The Pentagon has established a national ‘interim action’ cleanup directive, inspired by community experts at the former Wurtsmith Air Force Base in Oscoda, that sets a framework for urgent action. Now, it’s time to fully fund and implement that directive in communities across the country. We are grateful to Sens. Stabenow and Peters for their continuing leadership, and we look forward to continuing to work with them on this important issue.”

Since 2016, the DoD’s estimate for PFAS remediation has ballooned from $27.3 billion to $38.7 billion as more contaminated sites have been identified, but DoD’s requests for cleanup funding have failed to keep pace. The Senators’ letter requests that DoD provide Congress a detailed update on the implementation of the national “interim action” cleanup directive, including milestones, a summary of results, locations, resources needed, and more. The full text of the 28 senators’  letter to Secretary Austin is available at: FY25 PFAS Funding Letter (ewg.org) The September letter from 52 members of the U.S. House of Representatives is available at: https://static.ewg.org/upload/pdf/PFAS_Cleanup_Letter_to_DoD_9.21.23_2.pdf