Federal Facilities

Topic Subtitle
Federal Facilities Watch brings together our coverage of environmental policy decisions and proposals with the potential to directly affect operations at federal facilities, including military bases, DOE labs and more.

EPA Adds PFHxS Salt To TRI Reporting List, Following IRIS Toxicity Value

EPA is adding another PFAS to the list of chemicals that regulated facilities must report to the agency under the Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) program, as part of an automatic update to the inventory required by law after the agency completes a toxicity value for the chemical or undertakes certain other regulatory activities. The agency’s Oct. 7 addition of sodium perfluorohexanesulfonate (PFHxS-Na) to the TRI means regulated entities must now report 206 PFAS though facilities will not begin tracking their...

Boeing Rebuts L.A. Water Board Defense Of SSFL Cleanup Permit In Appeal

The Boeing Co. is rebutting arguments by the Los Angeles regional water board in defense of its strict testing, cleanup and monitoring requirements contained in a water permit for cleanup at the Santa Susana Field Laboratory (SSFL), arguing in part that the regulator’s monitoring requirements and effluent limits far exceed its authority. “The Board’s position reflects an unprecedented expansion of regulatory authority far beyond what state and federal law -- not to mention common sense -- allow,” states Boeing’s Sept...

EPA Eyes WTE Plants As ‘Passive Receivers’ For PFAS CERCLA Waiver

EPA is suggesting waste-to-energy (WTE) plants that receive municipal solid waste as “feedstock” could qualify as another category of “passive receivers” to earn waivers from Superfund liability for PFAS contamination, a stance that appears to broaden the scope of any waiver just as officials step up their calls for Congress to legislate on the issue. But some sources say that if EPA significantly broadens the categories of passive receivers, that could undermine the Biden-era Superfund rule that the Trump EPA...

GAO Seeks Data On Nuclear Site Soil, Landfill Cleanups But DOE Defers

Congress’ watchdog is urging the Energy Department (DOE) to compile specific data on “the scope, schedule, and cost” of soil and legacy landfill cleanups at nuclear contaminated sites, saying such information would allow the department to “enhance technical and policy support provided to sites and inform prioritization decisions to reduce risk.” The Sept. 26 Government Accountability Office (GAO) report found that DOE’s Office of Environmental Management (EM) is “unable to readily identify the scope, schedule, and cost of soil and...

CEQ Updates NEPA Guide To Reflect High Court Ruling, New Opt-In Fee

The White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) has issued updated National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) guidance for federal agencies, adding new provisions to reflect a recent Supreme Court ruling that narrowed the scope of agencies’ reviews and bolstered their deference, as well as a new fee for project developers to speed reviews. CEQ’s Sept. 29 guidance , as well as an associated template , also underscores officials’ efforts to ensure consistency across federal agencies in the wake of the...

CEQ Guidance

CEQ Template


Army Corps sends final NWP package to OMB for review

The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has begun formal review of the Trump’s administration’s final five-year overhaul of dozens of Clean Water Act (CWA) dredge-and-fill general permits for pipelines, transmission lines and other projects after the Army Corps of Engineers submitted the measure for review. The Corps sent its final package of reissued and modified nationwide general permits (NWPs) to OMB for interagency review on Sept. 26, teeing the measure up for finalization well ahead of the March 2026...

Longer Timelines For DOD PFAS Cleanups May Boost Transparency Bills

The Defense Department’s (DOD) quiet release of an updated schedule showing delays for PFAS cleanup work could fuel support for pending legislation included in the House version of the fiscal year 2026 defense policy bill that would require greater public transparency from the department on its PFAS cleanup efforts. Reacting to findings that DOD has extended the timeline for cleaning up PFAS contamination at numerous sites, Rep. Kristen McDonald Rivet (D-MI), co-chair of the bipartisan Congressional PFAS Task Force, says...

GAO Urges DOE To Step Up Efforts To Determine PFAS Cleanup Needs

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) is pressing the Energy Department (DOE) to step up efforts -- and set a deadline -- for surveying the more than 100 sites it has yet to investigate for historical and current uses of PFAS, data GAO says will be key to prioritizing cleanups and estimating costs. GAO points out that while DOE policy memos direct all of DOE’s sites to characterize per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) use, they lack clear deadlines for completing such...

Padilla Eyes Relief For PFAS Passive Receivers As Bill Remains Uncertain

Sen. Alex Padilla (D-CA), a member of the Senate environment committee, is signaling he is leaving the door open to supporting a bill limiting Superfund liability for a narrow set of “passive receivers” of PFAS contamination, a sign that any effort to enact such protections could win bipartisan support though the panel has yet to advance legislation. Padilla “recognizes the importance of this issue and wants to work with other [Environment and Public Works Committee (EPW)] members to develop legislation...

Industry Warns Court Ruling Could Allow ‘Effectively Unlimited’ NRD Claims

Industry officials are warning that the recent 9th Circuit ruling allowing Superfund natural resource damages (NRD) claims connected to the cultural uses of contaminated land could open the door for state, federal and tribal trustees to pursue “effectively unlimited” claims for damages. “Companies may need to prepare for more and broader claims, potentially driving higher settlement demands and extended litigation,” lawyers at K&L Gates warn in a Sept. 22 post . “Project sponsors should carefully consider how to address losses...

In Test, Air Force Urges Panel To Send New Mexico State Claims To MDL

The Air Force is urging a joint judicial panel to reject New Mexico’s opposition to sending the state’s latest PFAS cleanup lawsuit to multidistrict litigation (MDL) governing firefighting foam contamination claims, arguing the new state law claims mirror federal waste law claims previously overseen and then dismissed by the MDL court. The case could test what recourse states have in pursuing their per- and polyfluoroalkyl substance (PFAS) cleanup claims against federal facilities. The Air Force in a Sept. 10 brief...

Air Force’s Response Brief

New Mexico’s Reply Brief


EPA’s WOTUS Plan Appears Aimed At Quelling Industry, State Concerns

The Trump EPA’s upcoming plan to revise the definition of “waters of the United States” (WOTUS) appears aimed at quelling concerns raised by industry groups and states over the Biden-era rule, broadening the scope of certain existing exclusions and incorporating flexibilities to account for states with differing hydrology. The agency’s draft plan, currently under review by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), establishes explicit definitions on such hot-button terms such as “continuous surface connection” between waterbodies and whether they...

EPA Plans To Weigh Costs In Future CERCLA Listings, Sparking Criticism

EPA’s plan to develop a framework rule governing future designations of “hazardous substances” under the Superfund law, which the agency announced it will craft after deciding to retain the Biden-era rule designating two PFAS, is raising concerns that it will adopt cost as a factor, which one environmentalist says is at odds with the law. The agency announced its plan for the framework rule alongside its surprise decision to retain the landmark rule designating two legacy per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances...

In Surprise, EPA Decides To Retain Landmark Biden-Era CERCLA PFAS Rule

In a surprise move, EPA has told a federal appellate court it is planning to retain the Biden-era rule designating two legacy PFAS as “hazardous substances” under the Superfund law, clearing the way for the agency to defend the measure in a pending industry suit despite recent reports that one top EPA official advocated for the agency to oppose the rule. “EPA has reviewed the underlying rule and has decided to keep the Rule in place,” the agency says in...

Motion

Declaration


Pages

Not a subscriber? Request 30 days free access to exclusive environmental policy reporting.