Air Force fire protection specialists from the New Jersey Air National Guard’s 177th Fighter Wing douse a simulated ship fire with foam during a training exercise at the Military Sealift Command Training Center East in Freehold, N.J. (Air National Guard)
WASHINGTON — Cleanups of cancer-causing chemicals by the Defense Department at hundreds of military installations across the nation would be tracked through a public dashboard and an “acceleration strategy” for higher risk sites would be monitored by lawmakers, according to newly proposed legislation.
Reps. Jack Bergman, R-Mich., and Kristen McDonald Rivet, D-Mich., the bill’s sponsors, said the legislation will yield site-specific information about contamination from per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances at more than 600 military sites and surrounding communities across the country.
The Military PFAS Transparency Act instructs the Defense Department to improve disclosures about PFAS investigations and cleanups through enhanced public outreach and annual reports to Congress.
“The bill requires DOD to commit to more efficient cleanup strategies. These strategies will prioritize cleanup based on risk, increase lab testing capacity and set standards for evaluating cleanup efforts,” the lawmakers said in a statement.
The legislation is expected to be introduced as an amendment to the fiscal 2026 National Defense Authorization Act, the annual must-pass bill that sets Congress’ policy and spending priorities for the Pentagon, according to Bergman’s office.
Known as “forever chemicals,” PFAS are a large group of synthetic chemicals that persist in the water, soil and air for decades after being released, according to the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, a federal research agency.
The Defense Department’s plan for PFAS cleanup “consists of following the CERCLA process to investigate releases, prioritize responses, and determine appropriate cleanup actions based on risk to human health and the environment,” according to the agency. “The process ensures that facilities take and document a consistent, systematic, and thorough approach to investigate and cleanup releases.”
CERCLA is the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980, also known as “Superfund,” the federal cleanup law, according to the Defense Department.
PFAS chemicals have been detected in drinking water and ground water in and around military bases, according to according to a July 2024 report by the Government Accountability Office that examined the Defense Department’s efforts to transition away from using PFAs in firefighting foams.
The Defense Department is phasing out PFAS in firefighting foams because of the potential harm from exposure to human health that includes cancer and liver damage, the report said.
Exposure to PFAS also may harm the thyroid and immune system, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.
Bentley Johnson, federal government affairs director at the Michigan League of Conservation Voters, said the online dashboard will help the public learn about PFAS contamination and the progress of cleanup efforts at military sites.
“For far too long, people living near military bases exposed to toxic PFAS chemicals have been in the dark in terms of Department of Defense cleanup efforts, which puts our water and our health in danger,” Johnson said.
The legislation instructs the Defense Department to establish the online dashboard so the public can view PFAS mitigation efforts by site, with information on funding, cleanup status and schedule for completion, according to the bill.
The legislation would improve accountability and responsiveness by the Defense Department to community concerns over cleanup efforts, McDonald Rivet said.
Defense officials also would be required to report to Congress annually on their actions to contain and remove the chemicals from military communities.
Community contacts would be identified for fielding questions and concerns from the public.
“This problem has been studied extensively — it’s time to act,” said Bergman, a retired Marine Corps lieutenant general who served from 1969 to 2009. “This bill is about turning analysis into accountability and moving the Pentagon from paperwork to real-world cleanup.”
The National Defense Authorization Act of 2020 required the Defense Department to end use of AFFF [aqueous film-forming foam] after October 2024 with waivers possible until Oct. 1, 2026, according to the 2024 GAO report.
The U.S. Fire Administration stated firefighting foams work by forming a “blanket” over liquid fuel that acts as a barrier preventing flammable vapors from escaping the liquid, the GAO reported.
The Defense Department has spent $2.6 billion since 2017 addressing PFAS releases, according to a GAO report in February on costs for addressing and mitigating contamination.
“Investigating where PFAS may have been released and cleaning them up are complex and time-intensive processes that have been affected by evolving regulations, emerging technologies, barriers presented by the natural environment, and a changing understanding of the potential risks posed by these chemicals,” according to a letter to Congress in the February GAO report.
“Our government owes the communities and people affected by PFAS clarity and answers,” McDonald Rivet said.
