US military bases slow cleanup of toxic ‘permanent chemicals’
Hundreds of U.S. military bases have delayed cleaning up PFAS for years, according to a new USA TODAY analysis of military records.
It’s been nearly five years since Brandi and Brad Hiatt discovered that their well, located next to an Army base in Washington, was contaminated with so-called “forever chemicals.”
They started using bottled water for everything from making coffee to rinsing toothbrushes. The couple even carted their two young children across town to bathe at the gym so they wouldn’t accidentally swallow contaminated bath water.
The Army installed filters last year, but the wells remain contaminated. The children will be much older by the time the military provides a permanent fix, which is currently delayed until 2042 or later.
Hundreds of military bases have delayed removing toxic PFAS, or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, for years, according to a new USA TODAY analysis of military records. The latest extensions, posted by the Pentagon in an inconspicuous corner of its website in May, pushed some deadlines back by decades or removed them altogether.
For decades, the military has used foam containing toxic PFAS to extinguish fires. These chemicals seep into the soil and groundwater, where they remain unbroken down and increase the chance that people who drink water from contaminated wells will develop certain cancers.
The military did not respond to USA TODAY’s request to say how many people the delays would affect, but given the number of delayed sites, the tally could easily reach tens of thousands of neighbors.
The Hyatts, who live across the street from the U.S. Army Yakima Training Center, didn’t know about the cleaning delay until USA TODAY contacted them.
“They don’t tell us anything,” Brandi Hiatt said.
The only clue that anything had changed appeared behind a link embedded on the Pentagon’s website. The website publishes cleanup schedules for more than 700 military facilities. USA TODAY compiled those reports, many of which have now been removed, dating back to 2021, and observed at least 1,000 instances in which cleaning times were changed over the past five years without an official announcement.
The latest delays, announced in May, are the most significant, averaging 10 years. USA TODAY has collected timeline details in this searchable data dashboard.
Map: Are PFAS cleanups delayed at nearby military installations?
If you can’t see the graphic, click here.
Delays start to pile up in 2025
Almost three-quarters of over 500 sites experienced at least one delay, and the delays were significantly longer.
A USA TODAY analysis of documents now unavailable shows that from 2021 to 2024, the military delayed cleaning schedules for dozens of sites each quarter, typically by just a year or two. Some sites have shorter timelines, typically by a year or so.
In March 2025, delays suddenly started piling up, with the Department of Defense delaying more than 150 facilities at once. The latest records released represent a cleanup schedule as of September 2025, pushing back the target date for about 200 military facilities by 20 years.
If you can’t see the diagram below, click here.
These schedules don’t even indicate when each base’s neighbors can expect their properties to be permanently safe from the chemicals. In cleaning up environmental contamination, the military follows the multi-phase Superfund program established by Congress. The military’s delayed schedule is mainly for the “remediation study” phase, which will examine how far the contamination has spread and how the damage can be repaired. You can’t even begin final cleaning until you pass these milestones.
Delays at sites found to be contaminated
Such cleaning delays also occur at military facilities where the Pentagon has officially acknowledged that chemicals are seeping into local water supplies, USA TODAY reported.
Water tests have shown that chemicals could leak off base and contaminate private wells and the city’s drinking water sources. Dayton, Ohio, Fort Worth, Texas, and Tucson, Arizona are just a few of the cities that have filed lawsuits against the military alleging PFAS threatens their water supplies.
A USA TODAY analysis of available military test results for public and private drinking water shows that 73 wells around the base tested above current EPA limits for permanent chemicals in drinking water.
USA TODAY reported that all but two of those bases are facing delays in the cleaning process.
At McIntire Air National Guard Base in South Carolina, one-third of water samples have tested above Environmental Protection Agency standards, pushing the cleanup schedule back nearly a quarter-century from 2029 to 2053.
At Biddle Air National Guard Base outside Philadelphia, about 85% of samples test above EPA limits, but cleanup has been delayed for 19 years. And in Yakima, Washington, cleanup was delayed for more than 13 years, even though more than 1,350 water samples taken from Hyatt neighbors around the Army Yakima Training Center tested above EPA standards.
For Brandi Hyatt, moving into a three-bedroom home on two acres was like a dream come true. The couple and their two children enjoyed the view of the stream running through their backyard and the snow-capped mountain peaks in the distance. Additionally, the constant convoy of soldiers coming and going from the base just down the street gave them a sense of security and pride.
Until the Army knocked on Hyatt’s door in 2021, tested the wells, and discovered PFAS. Since moving in, she said, at least five neighbors have died of cancer and she too has developed thyroid disease.
“This beautiful dream of raising a baby at the end of a sweet cul-de-sac with kind neighbors,” Hyatt said, pausing. “It’s really hard to know that that dream could kill you.”
What does the military say?
Since last fall, dozens of members of Congress have sent letters to the Corps expressing concerns about the delays. In the latest report, sent on July 21, Democratic Sen. Patty Murray of Washington criticized not only the delay but also the process.
“Instead of consulting with local leaders and announcing the delay to the public, the department has chosen to quietly remove the previous cleaning schedule from its website and publish a new schedule,” Murray wrote. “This is ultimately a violation of trust between military leaders and the communities around them.”
The Department of Defense did not respond to USA TODAY’s request for comment in time for publication.
However, an Army spokesperson said the schedule change is a natural part of the environmental cleanup process.
“These reflect ongoing technical work and are not a change in our approach,” Lt. Col. Orlando Howard wrote in an email.
He explained that protecting drinking water is a top priority at the Yakima Training Center, adding that base personnel are in regular contact with the state and local community.
“The Army updated the timeline when it became clear that updated PFAS data, evolving U.S. EPA standards, and site-specific complexities required the Army to conduct additional fieldwork and analysis beyond what was reflected in the previously published timeline,” Howard wrote.
Because the Superfund cleanup process typically takes years, the military previously said it had taken “interim measures” such as providing bottled water and installing filtration systems near at least 55 of the most contaminated military bases.
“When the data indicates a risk, we take immediate action to shut down that route of exposure,” Howard wrote, noting that the Army has installed 71 home filtration systems around the Yakima training center and plans to install dozens more. Additionally, they are providing bottled water to many of Hyatt’s neighbors who are still waiting for filters.
Across the country near Philadelphia, officials at Biddle Air National Guard Base said they were wrapping up the first phase of the investigation. Investigators said more soil and water sampling is needed to fill data gaps, but that won’t happen until the Air Force gives the base more funding. Meanwhile, the cleanup schedule is nearly 20 years behind schedule.
“We’re prioritizing interim measures nationally, and we’re doing that here at Biddle,” William Meyer, Biddle’s environmental remediation program manager, said at a July 16 public meeting. “We’re actively working on groundwater design to create a groundwater treatment system.”
For the first time, the Department of the Army’s quarterly update released on May 21 includes a brief footnote explaining why each base’s schedule was extended, including prioritization of high-risk sites, the need for additional testing and inclement weather.
The Pentagon also added a note to its website saying the military is “working to maintain the original schedule, but changes may occur due to unique factors encountered in some locations.”
USA TODAY obtained some of the military’s responses to dozens of elected officials who raised concerns about the delay. The department’s response generally mirrors comments from Army spokesmen, blaming tougher EPA regulations and citing factors such as funding availability and problems with contractors.
How will delays impact the community?
It took the Army nearly four years to install a Hyatt PFAS filtration system near Yakima, Washington. The uncertainty in this “very long and scary process” led Brandi Hiatt to found Pursue PFAS Free, a community group that collects, shares information, and advocates for clean water around several military bases in the state.
“Everyone should be safe at home,” she said. “I didn’t feel safe in my house anymore, and neither did my neighbors.”
Years after the contamination was discovered, some of her neighbors still aren’t safe.
Greg Caron, who manages hazardous waste cleanup in the area for the state Department of Ecology, points out that the 71 filtration systems the Army Corps has installed so far are only half the number of nearby homes whose wells are tested above EPA limits. The department wants the Army to be more proactive in testing and mitigating contamination, so a 13-year delay without notice is concerning, Caron said.
“I felt that the 2028 goal was very optimistic, maybe too optimistic,” Caron said. He also didn’t know about the postponement until he was contacted by USA TODAY. “But the 10-year timeline is troubling.”
Caron added that there will be no public review of the cleanup process until the military completes its investigation.
“Until these documents are made public, the public will have no insight whatsoever into what the Army is doing or what’s going on behind the curtain, other than what the Army chooses to share,” Caron said. “If the Army puts off these deliverables for a dozen years, what opportunity is there for the public to truly participate in this issue that affects them?”
The Army created a quarterly newsletter and PFAS website in response to criticism of poor communication in Yakima. Other sites, such as Biddle Air National Guard Base in Pennsylvania, are holding regular meetings of advisory committees that allow neighbors to meet with military personnel leading the cleanup. But Joseph McGrath, who worked for decades at the Naval Air Station adjacent to Biddle, says that’s not enough.
“I have no idea what’s going on day-to-day,” McGrath told Biddle’s restoration managers at a July 16 advisory committee meeting. “You can’t see anything at the active level.”
Hyatt had stronger words about his involvement with the military.
“The Army is just gaslighting everyone,” she told USA TODAY.
“I love my soldiers,” Hiatt said. “But I can’t say enough good things about the way the Army communicated with us.”
She described a tense conversation with Army officials in which she felt bullied and blamed for delays in installing home filtration systems.
“Even with the system in place, there’s still a sense of, “Is it safe today?” Hiatt said, adding that his neighbor’s filter had been failing for several months before he discovered the problem.
Now, Hyatt’s group wants the Army to provide a space for her and her neighbors to have a seat at the decision-making table.
“Stop telling us what you’re going to do for us and how good it’s going to be, and let us be a part of what’s going on.”
