Senate Democrats press Hegseth on ‘forever chemical’ cleanup delays

June 26, 2026

Read the full article by Rose Hoban and Will Atwater (NC Health News)

"Two dozen Senate Democrats are demanding answers from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth after the Pentagon quietly delayed cleanup timelines for “forever chemical” contamination at military posts around the country, in some cases by years or decades.

The lawmakers’ letter, sent Thursday, follows a report by NOTUS that found the Pentagon significantly pushed back cleanup schedules for the chemicals known as PFAS at nearly 200 sites, and posted the changes online without a public announcement. The revised timelines were published as part of the Defense Department’s cleanup schedule reports for PFAS.

Senators led by Kirsten Gillibrand (D-New York) and Gary Peters (D-Michigan) wrote in the letter to Hegseth that they were “seriously concerned” by the delays and urged the department to reverse them. The group also requested detailed explanations for the schedule changes and asked whether there had been additional delays since the Pentagon’s most recent update."

Location:

• North AmericaUS

Topics:

• ChemicalsPFAS
• SourcesMilitary bases
• Environment
• Wildlife
• Remediation
• Filtration
• ImpactDrinking water
• ImpactDrinking waterPrivate wells
• ImpactAgriculture
• Affected community
• Health
• Measurement Techniques
• Monitoring Data
• PFAS Uses