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WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Representatives Debbie Dingell (D-MI), Ann McLane Kuster (D-NH), Chris Pappas (D-NH), and Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-DE) led 112 bipartisan Representatives in calling for the inclusion of robust clean-up provisions in the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for fiscal year 2021 to address per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). 

Since the enactment of last year’s defense authorization, the Department of Defense’s PFAS Task Force has increased the number of confirmed PFAS contamination sites at active or closed military installations from 401 to 651 nationwide. The Environmental Working Group has also separately identified 328 military sites with known PFAS contamination, as of April 2020. 

In a letter to leadership of the House Armed Services Committee, the lawmakers called for strong federal leadership and that any final FY 2021 NDAA should include strong clean-up provisions. 

“We urge you and every member of the House Armed Services Committee take this crisis seriously and ensure strong provisions on PFAS clean-up are included in any final FY2021 National Defense Authorization Act,” the lawmakers wrote. 

In January, the House took strong action and passed H.R. 535, the PFAS Action Act—a landmark bill to accelerate the clean-up of the most harmful chemicals and limit human exposure by establishing a national drinking water standard, as well as limiting industrial PFAS emissions and pollution into the air, water, and soil. 

116 members—Republicans and Democrats—signed the letter. The text is available here or below:

Dear Chairman Smith and Ranking Member Thornberry:

As you begin crafting the Fiscal Year (FY) 2021 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), we write to express our strong support for the inclusion of necessary and comprehensive clean-up provisions to address harmful per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) that continues to contaminate military bases, surrounding communities, and our environment and drinking water nationwide.  

We thank you for your leadership and your efforts to include PFAS specific provisions in the FY2020 NDAA, but significant and decisive action is still needed. 

Since the enactment of last year’s defense authorization, the number of confirmed PFAS contamination sites at active or closed military instillations has increased from 401 to 651 nationwide according to a new assessment from the Department of Defense (DOD).^[1] The Environmental Working Group has also separately identified 328 military sites with known PFAS contamination, as of April 2020.^[2] 

The House took bold, bipartisan action in January to meet the PFAS contamination crisis head-on by passing H.R. 535, the PFAS Action Act, in a 247-159 vote. The vote included a strong showing of support from 24 Republican members representing districts in Michigan, California, Washington, Texas, Florida, New York, North Carolina, West Virginia, New Jersey, Arkansas, Nebraska, Wisconsin, and Ohio.

The PFAS Action Act is a landmark bill that includes a comprehensive package of provisions led by many of our House colleagues and assembled through regular order in the Energy and Commerce Committee. And we continue to collectively work hard to advance and enact this important bill. Among the many good provisions, the foundation of this bill is aimed at accelerating PFAS contamination clean-up for the most harmful chemicals and limiting human exposure to PFAS by establishing a national drinking water standard and by limiting industrial PFAS emissions and pollution into the air, water, and soil.

In particular, the PFAS Action Act would require the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to list PFOA and PFOS as hazardous substances under Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA, or Superfund Program), and to determine whether to list other PFAS as hazardous substances within five years. In addition to PFOA and PFOS, PFHxS, PFHpA, PFHxA, PFDA, and PFNA are commonly found at DOD installations and pose many of the same health risks. The highest detection recorded at a DOD installation is for PFHxS—not PFOA and PFOS—and studies suggest that PFHxS causes liver damage, reduces the effectiveness of vaccines, and increases the risk of early menopause and osteoporosis. PFHxS, PFBS, PFHxA, and PFNA have all been subject to specific state limitations, and PFHpA and PFDA have included into the “Sum of PFAS” maximum contaminant levels (MCLs) set by two states.

We urge you and every member of the House Armed Services Committee take this crisis seriously and ensure strong provisions on PFAS clean-up are included in any final FY2021 National Defense Authorization Act. Thank you for all that you do each year to keep our nation’s defenses strong to safeguard the American people and care for our servicemembers and their families in all branches of the U.S. Armed Forces. 

Your attention to this important matter is appreciated and we stand ready to work with you throughout this process to find bipartisan solutions to the critical human health and environmental challenges PFAS contamination poses to us all. 

Sincerely,                                             

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