Holdups are affecting PFAS cleanup at seven bases in Colorado and the U.S. Air Force Academy
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators John Hickenlooper and Michael Bennet joined 26 of their Senate Democratic colleagues to demand that the Trump administration reverse its decision to delay the cleanup of toxic chemicals at military installations across the country and take action to protect military families and nearby communities by addressing contamination at the affected sites.
In a letter to Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, Hickenlooper, Bennet, and the senators called on the Trump administration to immediately restore the previous timetable for remediating per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) contamination at U.S. military bases and to reverse plans that would further delay long-overdue cleanups, including at seven bases in Colorado and the U.S. Air Force Academy.
“According to reporting, DoD’s new timetable delays cleanup of PFAS pollution at approximately 140 sites, and in some instances, the delay will be nearly a decade. Studies confirm that residents living near many of these sites have dangerously high levels of PFAS in their drinking water, putting them at risk for serious health issues linked to PFAS exposure. PFAS from these sites have also contaminated surrounding groundwater and soil, hurting the livelihoods of farmers and ranchers. Further delaying cleanup will only increase the health and economic costs to servicemembers and communities across the country,” wrote Hickenlooper, Bennet, and the senators. “For years, communities contaminated by PFAS from nearby DoD installations in our states have waited for the DoD to take action. We request that the Department reverse its decision, return to the previous timetable released in December 2024, and accelerate efforts to remediate confirmed PFAS contamination.”
At least 700 military sites in the United States are known or suspected to have PFAS contamination from Department of Defense (DoD) activities. DoD’s delayed timetable would postpone cleanup efforts by years for over 140 of them. Specifically, DoD pushed back the time frame of the Remedial Investigation/Feasibility Study (RI/FS) phase for these bases, which involves collecting detailed information on the nature and extent of the PFAS contamination and conducting a study to evaluate potential options for cleanup.
PFAS chemicals are widespread contaminants found in many industrial applications and especially around U.S. military installations. PFAS exposure is linked to an array of health problems, including various cancers, reduced immune function, reproductive challenges, birth defects, thyroid issues, and more. The use of PFAS-containing firefighting foam at facilities, and the subsequent stormwater runoff, is a significant source of drinking water pollution. This contamination poses serious health risks to service members and their families, as well as surrounding communities.
Hickenlooper and Bennet have consistently advocated for increased funding and resources for PFAS cleanup at military bases and in Colorado communities. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law invested $5 billion over five years, including $86 million in Colorado, to help communities that are on the frontlines of PFAS contamination. In 2022, Hickenlooper and Bennet urged the U.S. Air Force to address water contamination in El Paso County from PFAS, which was found in firefighting foam used at Peterson Space Force Base.
The full text of the senators’ letter can be found here.
A full list of military installations affected by the delays can be found here. A list of the military installations in Colorado that are affected by the Trump administration delays can be found below:
| Installation Type | Installation Name | Estimated RI/FS End Date Released in December 2024 | Estimated RI/FS End Date Released on March 31, 2025 |
| Active | Air Force Plant PJKS | 9/2029 | 6/2032 |
| Active | Buckley Space Force Base | 6/2026 | 6/2032 |
| Active | Cheyenne Mountain Space Force Station | 9/2029 | 6/2032 |
| BRAC | Lowry AFB | 9/2028 | 9/2035 |
| Active | Petersen Space Force Base | 6/2026 | 6/2032 |
| Active | Schriever Space Force Base | 9/2029 | 6/2032 |
| Active | Fort Carson | 9/2027 | 1/2029 |
| Active | USAF Academy | 9/2027 | 6/2032 |
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