CONGRESSMAN PAT RYAN DEMANDS DOD ABANDON ITS DANGEROUS PLANS TO ROLLBACK PFAS CLEANUP AT STEWART AIR NATIONAL GUARD BASE

Congressman Pat Ryan Demands DoD Abandon Its Dangerous Plans to Rollback PFAS Cleanup at Stewart Air National Guard Base

Ryan successfully fought against adoption of Department of Defense (DoD) proposals to dismantle years of progress in combatting toxic PFAS at U.S. military installations in the FY27 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA)

Additionally, Ryan secured provisions in the bill to fund PFAS investigations and speed up clean-up and remediation efforts

Now, Ryan is demanding that DoD immediately withdraw the proposal, and fully recommit to complying with all existing PFAS regulations

NEWBURGH, NY  – Today, Congressman Pat Ryan – a member of the House Armed Services Committee, Iraq War combat veteran, and the first West Point graduate to represent the Academy in Congress – is raising the alarm on a dangerous Department of Defense (DoD) plan to rollback the cleanup of forever chemicals at U.S. military installations, including at Stewart Air National Guard Base. 

In a letter to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Ryan is demanding that DoD recommit to fully abiding by all existing PFAS remediation efforts and timelines, and that the Department immediately withdraw any legislative proposals that attempt to eliminate critical safety requirements.

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are toxic “forever chemicals” impacting the health and safety of servicemembers at and around more than 500 U.S. military installations. The PFAS contamination at Stewart Air National Guard Base has tainted the drinking water in Newburgh, one of the Hudson Valley’s largest cities. 

Ryan has fought hard throughout his time in Congress to bolster PFAS clean-up at Stewart. In the FY27 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), Ryan secured key provisions to fund PFAS investigations  and force the Department to prioritize clean-up and remediation  citing the toxic environment the chemicals have created for servicemembers, their families, and nearby communities.

“Every American – especially our kids – deserves to have clean drinking water. For years we’ve been fighting hard to ensure clean, safe drinking water is available in every Hudson Valley community, including those around Stewart Air National Guard Base. But now, inexplicably, Hegseth’s DoD is doing the opposite, blowing up decades of bipartisan progress,” said Congressman Pat Ryan. “Our military families have sacrificed so much. They deserve better. Children in Newburgh – one of the largest cities I represent – still don’t have clean drinking water. They deserve better. I’m fighting hard at every level to deliver the support and resources our communities need – including in this year’s NDAA. But we’re still facing a public health crisis in the Hudson Valley, and the last thing we need is the progress we’ve made rolled back. I’ll work with anyone to hold polluters accountable and make sure all our families have access to clean water – and I’ll fight like hell against anyone who stands in our way.”

“For three decades, the City of Newburgh has paid the price for military PFAS contamination. Our water was poisoned without consent. Today, our families and veterans are paying with their health—facing chronic illness and cancer. We are now seeing an administration led by special interests, sacrificing scientific ethics and trading away our health,” said Jennifer Rawlison, Newburgh Clean Water Project. “Any plan to roll back or postpone remediation efforts is a betrayal of science and the communities harmed. This past May marked 10 years since our contamination was finally made public. That is ten years of knowing my family’s health is forever tied to toxic PFAS and terrifying unknowns. The Newburgh Clean Water Project completely rejects these rollbacks and the implication that families and their health are expendable. The Department of Defense's efforts to protect this nation should include preventing the poisoning of its people. Together with communities across the Hudson Valley, we stand united. We demand accountability. We demand for a full and timely remediation of all land and watersheds contaminated at the hands of the Department of Defense. Clean water is a right, not a privilege.”

“Weakening federal drinking water protections or delaying compliance with PFAS standards threatens public health and cleanups currently underway, undermining years of progress toward cleaner, safer water,” said David Toman, Executive Director, Hudson River Sloop Clearwater. “Communities in the Hudson Valley and across the country deserve strong safeguards that keep public health and clean water an imperative first, then use science to derive an acceptable solution.”

Ryan’s full letter to Secretary Hegseth is included below. 

Dear Secretary Hegseth,

I write as a member of the House Armed Services Committee and as the Representative for Stewart Air National Guard Base to express my outrage regarding the Department of Defense’s (DoD) proposal to eliminate a host of statutory reporting requirements related to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) contamination at military installations. The Department’s May 29, 2026 legislative package, submitted for inclusion in the Fiscal Year 2027 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), sought to dismantle years of congressional efforts to protect the health and safety of our servicemembers, veterans, military families, and neighboring communities. I fought to secure provisions to strengthen oversight of PFAS remediation investigations and funding and for now, I am proud to say that the Department’s planned rollbacks have been rejected. But these proposals are ludicrous and should never have been submitted in the first place. The Department must fulfill its full legal obligations and its fundamental duty to remedy the PFAS contamination crisis at our military installations. 

The scale of PFAS contamination at DoD facilities is staggering. The Government Accountability Office (GAO) reported in 2025 that the Department has conducted preliminary assessments at nearly all 718 installations where PFAS was used, identifying more than 500 installations requiring detailed remedial investigations and feasibility studies (RI/FS) to determine the full extent of contamination and identify necessary remedial actions. GAO estimated that DoD’s total projected costs for PFAS investigative and cleanup work will exceed $9.3 billion—a figure that is expected to grow as investigations proceed. At Stewart Air National Guard Base in my district, PFAS contamination has tainted the drinking water supply of one of the largest cities I represent, Newburgh, New York, and created a toxic environment for servicemembers, their families, and the nearby communities. 

I am particularly alarmed by the Department’s attempts to walk back transparency requirements while delaying vital cleanup efforts at nearly 200 military sites. These delays are unacceptable and could push back efforts up to 20 years. When the first news of delays came out last fall, I joined my House colleagues on a letter urging the Department to reverse course on its delayed remediation timelines and revert to its December 2024 cleanup timetable. 

Accordingly, I demand that the Department fully comply with the December 2024 cleanup timetable and all existing statutory reporting requirements related to PFAS contamination, remediation, disposal, and community notification unless and until Congress determines otherwise. The Department’s efforts to weaken or eliminate these oversight mechanisms are inexcusable and unacceptable. It is the Department’s fundamental responsibility and legal obligation to address and remediate the extensive PFAS contamination at military installations across the country. 

Accordingly, I call on the Department of Defense to:

1. Withdraw its legislative proposals to eliminate PFAS reporting requirements submitted in the May 29 package. Congress will not accept the elimination of oversight mechanisms that protect public health and hold the Department accountable for a contamination crisis of its own making.
2. Comply fully and immediately with all existing PFAS reporting and notification requirements, including biannual cleanup status and cost updates, annual incineration reports, farm and agricultural notifications, and AFFF spill reporting, as mandated by current law.
3. Accelerate PFAS remedial investigations and cleanup timelines at all contaminated installations, prioritizing sites that pose the greatest risk to human health and the surrounding environment.
4. Provide complete, transparent, and timely budget justification documents for all PFAS-related activities, including full breakdowns of funding for research and development, testing, remediation, disposal, and community outreach, as required under current statute.
5. Fulfill the briefing requirements directed by the House Armed Services Committee in the FY2027 NDAA, including the GAO review of PFAS RI/FS prioritization and funding, and the assessment of Class I hazardous waste well utilization for PFAS disposal.

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