U.S. military bases delay cleanup of toxic “forever chemicals”

Communities Face Extended Wait as Military Postpones PFAS Remediation

Cybersecarmor.com – For nearly half a decade, Brandi and Brad Hyatt have lived with the knowledge that their residential well sits beneath a layer of contamination. Their property borders an Army installation in Washington state, where “forever chemicals” have infiltrated their water supply. The couple’s daily routine transformed entirely; they switched to bottled water for every purpose, from brewing morning coffee to rinsing their toothbrushes. Their two young children were transported across town to a local fitness center for baths, ensuring the toddlers wouldn’t ingest the tainted water at home.

Although the Army deployed a filtration system last year, the well continues to harbor pollutants. The Hyatts estimate their children will have reached adulthood before the military implements a permanent solution. That resolution has been pushed beyond 2042, according to updated military records.

Widespread Delays Across Military Installations

A comprehensive USA TODAY examination of military documentation reveals that hundreds of bases have systematically postponed addressing toxic PFAS—perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances. The most recent wave of postponements, published in May within a lesser-known section of the Pentagon’s official website, has extended certain deadlines by decades or eliminated them entirely.

For generations, armed forces have utilized firefighting foams enriched with PFAS compounds. These substances migrate into soil and aquifers, where they endure indefinitely without degrading. Residents drawing water from affected wells face elevated risks of developing specific cancers.

While the military declined to provide USA TODAY with an estimate of affected populations, the number likely reaches tens of thousands when accounting for the volume of delayed sites.

Residents Left in the Dark

The Hyatts, residing near the Yakima Training Center, remained unaware of the postponement until contacted by journalists. “They do not tell us anything,” Brandi Hyatt explained.

The only indication of change emerged through a hidden link on the Pentagon’s website, which tracks cleanup schedules for more than 700 military facilities. USA TODAY assembled these reports—many subsequently removed—dating back to 2021. The investigation identified over 1,000 occasions where cleanup schedules shifted across five years without official notification.

The May announcements represent the most substantial postponements, averaging ten years per site. Journalists compiled these timeline modifications into an interactive data dashboard for public access.

Timeline Changes Accelerate

Approximately three-quarters of monitored locations—exceeding 500 sites—experienced at least one postponement, with delays becoming progressively longer. Between 2021 and 2024, the military extended schedules for dozens of locations each quarter, typically by one or two years. A small number of facilities actually accelerated their timelines during this period.

March 2025 marked a turning point when the Pentagon simultaneously delayed more than 150 locations. Updated records from September 2025 extended target dates for nearly 200 military installations by as much as twenty years.

These schedules reflect only the “remedial investigation” phase of the congressional Superfund program, which examines pollution extent and repair strategies. Actual remediation cannot commence until these preliminary milestones are achieved.

Water Contamination Spreads Beyond Bases

Postponements occur even at facilities where the Pentagon acknowledged PFAS migration into surrounding water supplies. Testing indicates these chemicals travel off-base, contaminating private wells and municipal drinking sources. Cities including Dayton, Ohio; Fort Worth, Texas; and Tucson, Arizona have initiated legal action against the military, alleging PFAS threatens their water infrastructure.

USA TODAY’s review of military water testing data revealed that wells surrounding 73 bases exceeded the Environmental Protection Agency’s current drinking water threshold for forever chemicals. Every one of these locations except two encountered cleanup delays.

At McEntire Air National Guard Base in South Carolina, where one-third of water samples surpassed EPA standards, the remediation schedule shifted from 2029 to 2053. Similarly, Biddle Air National Guard Base near Philadelphia recorded 85% of samples above the limit, with its cleanup postponed by 19 years.