Defense Environmental Restoration Program
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| Defense Environmental Restoration Program | |
|---|---|
| Name | Defense Environmental Restoration Program |
| Established | 1986 |
| Jurisdiction | United States Department of Defense |
Defense Environmental Restoration Program
The Defense Environmental Restoration Program is a statutory initiative administered by the United States Department of Defense to identify, investigate, and remediate hazardous contamination at United States military installations, former military bases, and properties transferred under the Base Realignment and Closure process. It coordinates technical activities, regulatory compliance, and funding across components such as the United States Army, United States Navy, United States Air Force, and Defense Logistics Agency to respond to environmental hazards, petroleum releases, unexploded ordnance, and munitions constituents. The program operates within a framework established by major statutes and interagency instruments to protect human health and environmental protection objectives on and off installations.
Overview
The program addresses contamination from sources including industrial operations, ordnance testing, storage and disposal areas, fuel storage facilities, and maintenance activities at locations such as Fort Bragg, Naval Air Station Fallon, and Nellis Air Force Base; it employs remediation technologies ranging from pump-and-treat systems to in-situ bioremediation and excavation conducted in coordination with Environmental Protection Agency regional offices, state environmental agencies like the California Environmental Protection Agency, and tribal authorities such as those from the Navajo Nation. The initiative applies risk assessment frameworks found in guidance from the National Research Council, the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, and interagency memoranda with the Department of the Interior to prioritize sites listed on inventories analogous to the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act remediation lists. Program activities often intersect with planning instruments like the National Environmental Policy Act compliance documents and site-specific remedial action plans.
History and Legislative Background
Originating in the mid-1980s amid Congressional attention to legacy contamination at installations highlighted by investigations at sites such as Camp Lejeune and Tooele Army Depot, the statutory authority for the program was established through amendments to laws including the Federal Facilities Compliance Act and provisions of the Defense Authorization Act and linked to the Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act. Congressional committees such as the United States House Committee on Armed Services and the United States Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works conducted oversight hearings involving testimony from officials of the Office of the Secretary of Defense and the United States Government Accountability Office, shaping policy on cleanup standards, transfer of property under Base Realignment and Closure Commission decisions, and interagency coordination with the Environmental Protection Agency and state governors.
Program Structure and Administration
Administration is centralized through the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment and executed by component environmental offices such as the US Army Environmental Command, Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command, and Air Force Civil Engineer Center, with technical support from laboratories including the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Naval Research Laboratory, and federally funded research centers like the National Institute of Standards and Technology. Legal and regulatory liaison occurs with entities such as the Department of Justice and state attorneys general when negotiating consent decrees or administrative orders with the Environmental Protection Agency and state environmental agencies. Program management uses data systems that interface with inventories maintained by the Defense Logistics Agency and property records tied to the Base Realignment and Closure process.
Cleanup Activities and Processes
Site identification and characterization employ techniques supported by organizations like the United States Geological Survey and adhere to methodologies referenced by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine; characterization leads to remedial investigation/feasibility studies, selection of remedies consistent with EPA Superfund criteria, and implementation of actions such as soil excavation at ranges impacted by munitions constituents, groundwater treatment for chlorinated solvents at depots like Letterkenny Army Depot, and unexploded ordnance response modeled on protocols from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Hazardous, Toxic, and Radioactive Waste Center of Expertise. Community engagement plans reference protocols used by the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry and local health departments including those in Los Angeles County and Harris County, Texas to ensure public participation during remedy selection and long-term monitoring.
Funding and Budgeting
Funding streams derive from annual appropriations authorized by Congress through the Department of Defense Appropriations Act and programmed via the Program Objective Memorandum process; specific account structures include Defense Environmental Restoration accounts executed by the components and overseen by the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller). Budgetary allocations respond to cost estimates prepared with input from entities such as the Government Accountability Office and are influenced by Congressional direction from the Congressional Budget Office and committee markups in the House Appropriations Committee and Senate Appropriations Committee. Cost-sharing arrangements, settlement proceeds, and recovery actions sometimes involve the Department of Justice when pursuing third-party liability.
Environmental and Health Impacts
Remediation outcomes aim to reduce exposures associated with contaminants documented by the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry and research on pollutants from institutions like the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences; contaminants of concern include volatile organic compounds, heavy metals, perchlorate linked to research at New Mexico Tech and other labs, and munitions constituents studied by the Armed Forces Toxicology Research Program. Health surveillance and epidemiological studies coordinated with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and state health departments assess community risks near sites such as Lockheed Martin-operated facilities and former radar stations, while environmental endpoints are compared against standards set by the Environmental Protection Agency and state standards like those promulgated by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation.
Oversight, Reporting, and Compliance
Oversight mechanisms include periodic audits and reports by the Government Accountability Office and inspector general offices such as the Department of Defense Inspector General, regulatory enforcement by the Environmental Protection Agency and state agencies, and statutory reporting to Congressional committees including the House Armed Services Committee and Senate Armed Services Committee. Compliance instruments include consent decrees, interagency agreements with the Department of the Interior, and monitoring requirements under laws interpreted by the Office of Management and Budget; performance metrics and environmental indicators are tracked to inform programmatic adjustments and future appropriations.