Military

Defense Department to Again Target 'Forever Chemicals' Contamination near Michigan Military Base

Rep. Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., asks a question

Associated Press | By Todd Richmond

Published January 19, 2024 at 12:48pm ET

The U.S. Department of Defense plans to install two more groundwater treatment systems at a former Michigan military base to control contamination from so-called forever chemicals, U.S. Rep. Elissa Slotkin's office announced Friday.

Environmentalists say the systems will help prevent PFAS from spreading into the Clarks Marsh area and the Au Sable River near the former Wurtsmith Air Force Base in Oscoda on the shores of Lake Huron. The base closed in 1993 as part of a base realignment.

PFAS, an abbreviation for perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, are compounds that don't degrade in the environment. They're linked to a host of health issues, including low birthweight and kidney cancer. The chemicals are found in a wide range of products, including nonstick cookware, food packaging and firefighting foam that airports use to combat fires resulting from plane crashes.

Pentagon documents show at least 385 military bases nationwide are contaminated with PFAS, mostly from firefighting foam used during training.

DOD records released in 2021 ^[1] showed PFAS had been detected in groundwater around Wurtsmith at levels up to 213,000 parts per trillion. Federal regulators in March proposed limits of 4 parts per trillion in drinking water. State officials have warned people not to eat fish, venison or small game caught in and around Clarks March and parts of the Au Sable and to avoid contact with all surface water and shoreline foam in Oscoda.

The Department of Defense announced in August ^[2] that it would install two groundwater treatment systems near the base. The two new systems would be in addition to those systems.

“This announcement is a milestone moment for Oscoda and its surrounding communities,” Slotkin said in a news release. “I will continue to urge the Pentagon to swiftly implement these measures and to address other instances of PFAS contaminations at installations in Michigan and across the country.”

Tony Spaniola, co-chair of the Great Lakes PFAS Action Network, has pushed the Pentagon to clean up PFAS contamination around Wurtsmith since he was notified in 2016 that water near his Oscoda cabin wasn't safe to drink. In a statement in Slotkin's news release, he called the additional systems “a landmark moment." The effort should serve as a model for cleanup at other contaminated military installations, he said.

Snowy Sentinels Stand Watch at Tomb of the Unknown Soldier > U.S. Department of Defense > Story

A soldier in a formal uniform carries his rifle in the snow.

Soldiers assigned to the 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment, known as "The Old Guard," didn't let a little snow keep them from their duty at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Arlington National Cemetery, Virginia.

It was the first significant snow of the season

Snowy Sentinels Stand Watch at Tomb of the Unknown Soldier

The Pentagon Will Install Rooftop Solar Panels as Biden Pushes Clean Energy in Federal Buildings

The Pentagon in Washington, March 27, 2008.

WASHINGTON — The Defense Department will install solar panels on the Pentagon, part of the Biden administration's plan to promote clean energy ^[1] and “reestablish the federal government as a sustainability leader.”

The Pentagon is one of 31 government sites that are receiving $104 million in Energy Department grants that are expected to double the amount of carbon-free electricity at federal facilities and create 27 megawatts of clean-energy capacity while leveraging more than $361 million in private investment, the Energy Department said.

Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm, Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks and Brenda Mallory, chair of the White House Council on Environmental Quality, announced the projects Wednesday at the Pentagon.

The solar panels are among several improvements set for the Pentagon, which also will install a heat pump system and solar thermal panels to reduce reliance on natural gas and fuel oil combustion systems

Brendan Owens, assistant secretary of Defense for energy, installations and environment, said the projects will improve energy resilience and reliability at the Pentagon and other military sites in the U.S. and Germany. He called energy use "central to everything we do.''

Solar panels will provide "an uninterrupted power source'' at the Pentagon in case of a cyberattack or other outage to the bulk grid, as well as reduce strain on the building's power load, Owens said in an interview.

Because of the Pentagon's “relatively congested air space” outside Washington, solar panels were the best option for clean energy, he said. The building is a nationally registered historic landmark, so officials will work with local officials to ensure the panels meet all requirements.

The grant program also includes energy upgrades at Naval bases in Georgia and Washington state, as well as the Naval Support Activity Mid-South in Tennessee.

In addition to the Defense Department, projects also include installation of thermally efficient windows at the Energy Department headquarters in Washington, as well as efficiency upgrades to the Commerce and Transportation departments.

Other agencies selected for projects include the Interior and Veterans Affairs departments, as well as the General Services Administration, Office of Personnel Management and Social Security Administration.

The program also will make the Mauna Loa Observatory in Hawaii a net-zero emissions facility. The site run by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration ceased all measurements and radio transmissions in late November after a lava eruption of the Mauna Loa volcano ^[2] cut the power line and buried over a mile of the access road to the observatory. Since November, access to the site has been limited to costly weekly visits by helicopter to collect limited atmospheric data, officials said.

The grant program will install solar panels and batteries at the observatory to make the facility a net-zero site for carbon emissions, bring atmospheric science instrumentation back online and significantly improve the site’s climate resiliency, officials said.

“As the observatory is considered the definitive source for documenting the increased atmospheric burden of fossil fuel emissions, this project has the unique ability to eliminate 100% of the combustion of fossil-fueled electrical power to make those critical measurements,'' the Energy Department said.

The funding announced Wednesday is the first of three disbursements expected from the Assisting Federal Facilities with Energy Conservation Technologies ^[3] or AFFECT program included in the 2021 infrastructure law. A total of $250 million was awarded to the program, which was established in 1992 to help agencies cut energy consumption.

The projects align with Biden’s 2021 executive order ^[4] that called for a 65% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from federal operations by 2030 and a net-zero building portfolio by 2045.

The projects also include installation of solar panels at the U.S. Army Garrison in Wiesbaden, Germany, as well as energy and water efficiency improvements and solar panels at the Maui Air Traffic Control Tower in Kahului, Hawaii.

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