You can help ask your members of Congress to protect military servicemembers, the surrounding community, agriculture, industry, and wildlife.

Numerous military bases in recent years have reported contamination of waterways and groundwater by PFAS, the so-called forever chemicals that do not degrade over time, and can cause a variety of diseases.

Map: military sites with known or suspected PFAS discharges –EWG

Right now is an opportunity to get a couple of amendments into the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) to require the Department of Defense to tell everyone about PFAS contamination, to test to see how far it has spread, including private wells, and to provide alternate water supplies if necessary.

That PFAS work will also bring federal dollars to the districts.

You can sign on to a request letter here:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeg8c_Stwv5iuXcEEgsYXIx9vIZRQy_lg4RoHIymcR7ZsYNYw/viewform

Or write your own, or call or meet with your Representative.

Affected bases include:

• In GA-08, Representative Austin Scott, Moody Air Force Base, on Beatty Branch, into Cat Creek and the Withlacoochee River.
• In FL-01, Rep. Matt Gaetz, bases include Tyndall AFB Eglin Air Force Base, Hurlburt Field, and Naval Air Station Pensacola.

Rep. Scott and Gaetz are on the Armed Services Committee, which is the best place to introduce such amendments to the NDAA.

As you can see there are many more, such as Fort Moore in GA-02, Rep. Sanford Bishop.

Even if there are no such bases in a specific Congressional district, it is still to everyone’s advantage to deal with this problem, because people move around.

You can pan and zoom in this map by Environmental Working Group (EWG), and click on specific bases.
https://www.ewg.org/interactive-maps/2020-military-pfas-sites/map/

Below is the letter the form uses.

Please take a moment of your time to sign on or to contact your Representative in some other way.
https://pluralpolicy.com/find-your-legislator/

Ask

Congressman Neal Dunn, District 2, Florida

Congressman Austin Scott, District 8, Georgia

Congressman Matt Gaetz, District 1, Florida

Congressman Sanford Bishop, Jr., District 2, Georgia

Congresswoman Kat Cammack, District 3, Florida

US House of Representatives
Washington, DC 20515

Dear Representative,

We are writing to ask you to cosponsor Amendments #368 and #404 that were filed for consideration as amendments to the National Defense Authorization Act.

These bipartisan amendments are important for addressing high levels of PFAS contamination found on nearby military installations. Amendment 368 requires the Department of Defense (DoD) to make information on PFAS contamination and cleanup available to communities. Amendment 404 instructs DoD to stop PFAS from spreading to offsite drinking water sources, rivers, and lakes. A summary of the amendments is included in the Enclosure to this letter.

Protection from PFAS “forever chemicals” is an urgent priority for drinking water and for lakes, rivers, and streams used for fishing, hunting, and recreation.

Thank you for your consideration.

Amendments

Background: Amendment #404 – Sponsors: Slotkin (D-MI), Kiggans (R-VA), Posey (R-FL), Lawler (R-NY), Carbajal (D-CA), Houlahan (D-PA), Jack Bergman (R-MI)

Background: The Department of Defense has over 500 sites with known PFAS contamination of water, but little progress has been made to stop the spread of contamination and protect the drinking water of our servicemembers, their families and the surrounding defense communities. This provision improves upon an existing DoD directive that requires the Department to evaluate sites to identify “early actions” to slow or stop the migration of PFAS. While the policy was a step in the right direction, it didn’t include any deadlines, nor did it require any public reporting or community engagement. Amendment 404 improves the directive by requiring DoD to publish a schedule for the implementation of “interim actions,” and improves transparency and community involvement. In recognition of EPA’s recently announced (April 10, 2024) drinking water standards for PFAS, Amendment 404 also requires that alternative safe water is provided when an on-base release of PFAS has contaminated nearby water supplies.

Amendment #368 – Sponsors: Slotkin (D-MI), Lawler (R-NY), Posey (R-FL), Carbajal (D-CA), Houlahan (D-PA), Jack Bergman (R-MI)

Background: The Department of Defense has over 500 sites with known PFAS contamination of water, but many communities may not have been informed of the potential contamination of public or private water supplies. Most of these communities do not have experience with PFAS or DoD’s approach to cleanups. When information is made available to communities, it’s often in the form of long technical documents that are not helpful for communities that demand, and are entitled to, straightforward answers about the risks of contamination, DoD’s plans or schedules for cleanup, and how they (communities) can be engaged. DoD follows the federal Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (or “Superfund”) approach for cleanup, which requires community engagement. This provision will assure that DoD achieves this statutory requirement.

 -jsq, John S. Quarterman, Suwannee RIVERKEEPER®

You can help with clean, swimmable, fishable, drinkable, water in the 10,000-square-mile Suwannee River Basin in Florida and Georgia by becoming a WWALS member today!
https://wwals.net/donations/

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