LegisTrack
Back to all bills
HR 4192119th CongressIn Committee

the Military PFAS Transparency Act of 2025

Introduced: Jun 26, 2025
Defense & National SecurityEnvironment & Climate
Standard Summary
Comprehensive overview in 1-2 paragraphs

The Military PFAS Transparency Act of 2025 would require the Department of Defense (DoD) to be much more transparent about its PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) remediation work. Specifically, the bill adds a new required annual report to Congress detailing the funding and status of interim remedial actions at DoD installations, and it establishes a public online dashboard that tracks site-by-site funding, remediation progress, completion timelines, and community contact points. It also obliges the DoD to produce a remediation acceleration strategy within 180 days of enactment, outlining prioritization criteria, timelines for CERCLA-style cleanup phases, resource deployment plans (including PFAS testing labs), and performance benchmarks. The combination of annual congressional reporting, a rapid-remediation strategy, and a public-facing dashboard aims to increase accountability, speed up cleanup where possible, and provide communities with clearer and more timely information about PFAS at military sites. In plain terms, the bill would force the DoD to publicly disclose how much money is being spent on PFAS at each installation, track the progress of interim cleanup actions, and lay out concrete plans and timelines to accelerate remediation. It also requires a government-wide transparency mechanism (the dashboard) that the public can access and which would be updated twice a year.

Key Points

  • 1Adds a new Sec. 2717 to Title 10 U.S.C.: The Secretary of Defense must provide an annual report to the Senate and House Armed Services Committees on the funding and status of interim PFAS remedial actions at DoD installations.
  • 2Detailed reporting requirements: Each annual report must show total funding budgets and obligations for the current and prior fiscal year by site, and, starting with subsequent reports, the total funding and expenditures since the previous report, at each installation.
  • 3Status and timeline information: For each site, the report must list announced or selected interim actions, describe how each action contributes to PFAS remediation, and give phase-specific status (design, contracting, construction, operation), along with timelines, delays, and any barriers causing budget or schedule impacts.
  • 4Remediation acceleration strategy: Within 180 days of enactment, DoD must submit a strategy that prioritizes installations by health risk, environmental impact, and nearby communities; provides timelines for CERCLA cleanup phases; outlines additional resources or technologies to reduce delays; and includes benchmarks to evaluate agency performance.
  • 5Public dashboard: Within one year, DoD must publish an accessible online dashboard that the public can use, updated semiannually. It must cover site-by-site funding, remediation status, timelines (projected and actual), and points of contact for community engagement.

Impact Areas

Primary group/area affected:- DoD installations with PFAS contamination, including site managers, environmental programs, and on-site contractors.- Nearby communities and service members/civilian employees who rely on installations for drinking water or residence, as well as environmental justice communities potentially affected by PFAS exposure.Secondary group/area affected:- Congress (Senate and House Armed Services Committees) and DoD leadership, due to expanded reporting and oversight requirements.- DoD contractors and environmental testing labs, especially those accredited under the DoD Environmental Laboratory Accreditation Program (ELAP) for PFAS testing.Additional impacts:- Increased transparency could reveal funding gaps, delays, or ineffective interim actions, potentially influencing appropriations and program management.- Public dashboard may drive greater community engagement and scrutiny, possibly affecting communication strategies and risk perceptions.- Could accelerate or reprioritize cleanup efforts at the installations with the highest risk, and influence DoD planning, resource allocation, and regulatory interactions (including CERCLA-related processes).
Generated by gpt-5-nano on Oct 7, 2025