Gillibrand, Peters, Colleagues Demand Answers As Trump Administration Further Delays Toxic Chemical Cleanups At Military Sites

Gillibrand, Peters, Colleagues Demand Answers As Trump Administration Further Delays Toxic Chemical Cleanups At Military Sites

Jun 26, 2026

Trump Administration Newly Postponed Cleanup of Toxic PFAS Chemicals at Over 170 Military Installations - In Some Cases by as Much as Two Decades

Senators Request Detailed Explanations for Continued Delays that are Putting Service Members and Military Families at Risk

Today, U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) and U.S. Senator Gary Peters (D-MI) led a group of 24 Senate Democrats in demanding that the Trump administration answer for its continued delays of toxic chemical cleanups at military installations nationwide.

In a letter to U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) Secretary Pete Hegseth, the senators called on DoD to reverse its unacceptable postponement of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) remediation at military bases across the country. They further requested detailed explanations for the delays in order to give service members, their families, and the surrounding communities the transparency they deserve.

"We remain greatly concerned by the staggering delays at some installations, which include over 170 installations with delays ranging from 1 year to over 20 years,"the senators wrote. "Communities around these installations must not be left behind, and remediation work cannot wait."

Recently, the Department of Defense (DoD) quietly updated its timetable for PFAS remediation at military sites across the country. Its new timeline, posted within the last several weeks but dated September 30, 2025, pushed cleanup efforts by over a decade at many installations and even as many as two decades in some cases. In total, over 170 sites were affected by this newest round of delays.

This comes just months after DoD initially pushed the PFAS remediation timelines for roughly 150 bases late last year. In November, Gillibrand, Peters, and 26 other Senate Democrats sent a letter to Secretary Hegseth demanding that he reverse those delays.

In their most recent letter, the senators wrote, "Furthering our concern is the fact that this most recent set of delays is backdated to September 30, 2025, raising the question of whether the Department has further expanded the breadth and extent of its delays in the previous nine months. The longer DoD takes to complete such remediation efforts, the greater the risk to public health and the environment in impacted communities."

PFAS chemicals are widespread contaminants found in many industrial applications and especially around U.S. military installations, and at least 700 military sites in the United States are known or suspected to have PFAS contamination from DoD activities. PFAS exposure is linked to an array of health problems, including various cancers, reduced immune function, reproductive challenges, birth defects, thyroid issues, and more. The use of PFAS-containing firefighting foam at DoD facilities, and the subsequent stormwater runoff, is a significant source of drinking water pollution. This contamination poses serious health risks to service members, their families, and the communities surrounding these military sites.

Gillibrand and Peters were joined on the letter by Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Senators Elissa Slotkin (D-MI), Mark Kelly (D-AZ), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Michael Bennet (D-CO), Adam Schiff (D-CA), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Angus King (I-ME), Jacky Rosen (D-NV), Jon Ossoff (D-GA), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Ed Markey (D-MA), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Raphael Warnock (D-GA), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), and Alex Padilla (D-CA).

The full text of the senators' letter to Secretary Hegseth can be found here.

A full list of military installations affected by this newest round of delays can be found here.

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