PRIA, Government Policy, Made Personal

Summary

The Secretary of Defense must send Congress a report by March 31 each year about what the Department of Defense did on environmental programs during the previous fiscal year. The report must say how the Defense Environmental Restoration Program and each military department are doing. It must give the total number of sites worked on, how cleanup is going at sites that are not finished, the remaining cost to finish cleaning known sites (including detailed information about the cost for investigating and cleaning up per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, called PFAS, and the required cost-to-complete analysis), and an overall judgment of the program’s progress. The report must also include assessments of conservation and planning, environmental compliance, climate resiliency, and progress on the Department’s Environmental Technology Program. The Secretary may combine this report with other related annual reports. Each year the Secretary must do a PFAS cost-to-complete analysis for the biggest cost drivers. That analysis must look at how changes in rules, treatment methods, and site priorities could change costs; give examples of how different assumptions about contamination, cleanup timelines, or disposal methods would change costs; identify any funding shortfalls or limits; and include a risk and uncertainty review about changing contamination levels, shifts in regulations, and advances in treatment or disposal technology that could raise or lower long-term costs.

Title 10, §2711

Armed Forces, Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)Report Required.—

Not later than March 31 of each year, the Secretary of Defense shall submit to Congress a report on progress made by environmental programs of the Department of Defense during the preceding fiscal year.

(b)Elements.—

Each report under subsection (a) shall include, for the year covered by the report, the following:

(1)With respect to environmental restoration activities of the Department of Defense, and for each of the military departments, information on the Defense Environmental Restoration Program under section 2701 of this title, including—

(A)the total number of sites at which such program was carried out;

(B)the progress of remediation for sites that have not yet completed cleanup;

(C)the remaining cost to complete cleanup of known sites, including information on the costs associated with investigating and remediating releases of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, including—

(i)detailed information regarding the total potential cost to the Department of investigating and remediating such releases at all locations where investigation and remediation is expected to be funded by the Department; and

(ii)the cost-to-complete analysis required under subsection (d); and

(D)an assessment by the Secretary of Defense of the overall progress of such program.

(2)An assessment by the Secretary of achievements for environmental conservation and planning by the Department.

(3)An assessment by the Secretary of achievements for environmental compliance by the Department.

(4)An assessment by the Secretary of achievements for climate resiliency by the Department.

(5)An assessment by the Secretary of the progress made by the Department in achieving the objectives and goals of the Environmental Technology Program of the Department.

(c)Consolidation.—

The Secretary of Defense may consolidate, attach with, or otherwise include in any report required under subsection (a) any annual report or other requirement that is aligned or associated with, or would be better understood if presented as part of a consolidated report addressing environmental restoration, compliance, and resilience.

(d)PFAS Cost-to-complete Analysis.—

The Secretary shall carry out an annual cost-to-complete analysis with respect to the most important contributors to the costs to the Department of investigating and remediating per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances releases that—

(1)includes—

(A)an assessment of any changes in regulatory standards, treatment technologies, and site prioritization that could affect the cost to complete;

(B)examples of how modifying assumptions about contamination extent, remediation timelines, or emerging disposal methods could affect the cost to complete; and

(C)an identification of any funding shortfalls or other constraints that could affect the investigation and remediation of such contamination; and

(2)incorporates a risk and uncertainty analysis with respect to the effects of potential changes in the most important contributors to the costs to the Department to complete the known per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances sites, including—

(A)variability in the extent of such contamination based on ongoing site assessments, inspections, and investigations;

(B)shifts in regulatory requirements that could alter investigation and remediation strategies; and

(C)advances in technologies for the treatment and disposal such contamination that could reduce or increase long-term costs.

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

Amendments

2025—Subsec. (b)(1)(C). Pub. L. 119–60, § 311(1), substituted “sites, including information on the costs associated with investigating and remediating releases of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, including—” for “sites; and” and added cls. (i) and (ii). Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 119–60, § 311(2), added subsec. (d). 2022—Pub. L. 117–263 added subsecs. (a) to (c) and struck out former subsecs. (a) and (b) which related to report required and definitions, respectively.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Reporting on Lead Service Lines and Lead Plumbing Pub. L. 117–263, div. B, title XXVIII, § 2853, Dec. 23, 2022, 136 Stat. 3009, provided that: “(a) Initial Report.—Not later than January 1, 2025, the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment shall submit to the congressional defense committees [Committees on Armed Services and Appropriations of the Senate and the House of Representatives] a report that includes—“(1) a list of military installations (including Government-owned family housing facilities), military housing, and privatized military housing projects that, as of the date of the report, are being serviced by lead service lines or lead plumbing for the purposes of receiving drinking water; “(2) an evaluation of whether military installations and privatized military housing projects are in compliance with the Lead and Copper Rule and, to the extent that such installations and projects are not in compliance, an identification of—“(A) the name and location of each such installation or project that is not in compliance; and “(B) the timeline and plan for bringing each such installation or project into compliance; and “(3) an identification of steps and resources needed to remove any remaining lead plumbing from military installations and housing. “(b) Inclusion of Information in Annual Report.—If, after reviewing the initial report required under subsection (a), the Secretary of Defense finds that any military installation or privatized family housing project is not in compliance with the Lead and Copper Rule, the Secretary shall include in the annual report on defense environmental programs required under section 2711 of title 10, United States Code, for each year after the year in which the initial report is submitted, an update on the efforts of the Secretary, including negotiations with privatized military family housing providers, to fully comply with the Lead and Copper Rule.”

§2711 Annual Report on Defense Environmental Programs