Groundwater Cleanup Could Overwhelm Pentagon Budget

The $2 billion the Pentagon may need to clean up contaminated groundwater near military bases could blow a hole in the Defense Department’s remediation budget, an official said.

That estimate could grow because the Defense Department is only 80 percent of the way through testing the groundwater at its bases for toxic perfluorinated chemicals, which can collect in the body and biodegrade very slowly, Maureen Sullivan, the Pentagon’s top official overseeing environmental issues on its installations, said at an Aug. 8 conference of scientists, engineers and others who work on groundwater issues.

The Pentagon currently has ...