Congressman Boyle Advances $60 Million Amendment for DOD Cleanup, Clean Water

WASHINGTON, DC – Tonight, the U.S. House will vote on an amendment offered by Congressman Brendan F. Boyle (PA-13) that would appropriate a $30 million funding increase each for the Navy and Air Force for the purpose of remediating contamination caused by firefighting foams used at military installations nationwide. The contaminants, including perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS), are the cause of local drinking water contamination in the area surrounding Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Willow Grove and Horsham Air Guard Station, and across the country.

"The federal government has a responsibility to ensure the safety of our drinking water, and to act quickly and decisively when that is threatened – especially when such threat is at the hands of the military," said Congressman Boyle. "The families surrounding NAS-JRB Willow Grove and Horsham Air Guard Station have paid for endless stockpiles of bottled water and higher utility fees as their communities took steps to reduce their water system's exposure. The DOD owes them better. And, our community is just one of so many across the country."

Continued Boyle, "This funding is a necessary response to an ongoing environmental issue that is only going to get worse – and more expensive – for the Department and the countless innocent communities impacted across the country."

Perfluorinated compounds (PFCs), including PFOA and PFOS, have threatened the drinking water of some 70,000 residents in Bucks and Montgomery Counties surrounding Willow Grove and Horsham Air Guard Station due to the use of AFFF on site. The Department of Defense has identified over 400 other properties of potential concern nationwide where studies are ongoing. So far, water contamination has been found near 27 military bases in 16 states, according to numbers from the Air Force, Navy, and Army. The military has also addressed contamination in on-base drinking systems on 15 installations.

In June, Congressman Boyle reintroduced bipartisan legislation, H.R. 3106, to require the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to set an enforceable nationwide drinking water standard for PFCs including PFOA and PFOS. Currently, only a voluntary EPA lifetime health advisory exists for these "contaminants of emerging concern." Earlier this month, Congress passed the National Defense Authorization Act with Congressman Boyle's amendment requiring the Department of Defense to report to Congress on its progress determining a safer, effective alternative to the polluting foam that does not contain PFOA and PFOS.

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