The fallacy of the DOD memorandum that provides guidance for implementing Sections 323 and 324 of the 2020 National Defense Authorization Act

By Pat Elder
August 26, 2021

The DOD’s exception to banning aqueous film-forming foam (AFFF) at five DOD installations results in AFFF containing PFAS being released into the environment, despite DOD assurances.

Sections 323 and 324 of the 2020 National Defense Authorization Act prohibit the use of Aqueous Film Forming Foam (AFFF) for training exercises at military installations. AFFF contains PFAS, or per- and poly fluoroalkyl  substances. The Act allows for the non-emergency release of AFFF for the purposes of testing of equipment or training of personnel, if complete containment, capture, and proper disposal mechanisms are in place to ensure no AFFF is released into the environment.

The DOD claims the five installations listed here have documented “containment systems, processes, and procedures” in place to ensure AFFF is not released into the environment:

• The Naval Research Laboratory - Chesapeake Bay Detachment, MD
• Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake, CA 
• Tyndall Air Force Base, FL  
• Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, NC  
• Marine Corps Air Station Camp Pendleton, CA  

The DOD and Democratic members of the House Armed Services Committee are aware that the mere existence of AFFF on a military installation ultimately entails release into the environment. These are “forever chemicals” and they don’t break down. When the containment systems, processes and procedures have finished doing their thing, the materials are shipped off to be “properly” disposed of, according to the DOD. How, exactly does this work?  We could ask the Director of the Defense Logistics Agency, but we wouldn’t get an answer. PFAS materials cannot be emptied into storm drains, buried in landfills, or incinerated, and they cannot be sent down sanitary sewer drains for treatment because the treatment apparatus for PFAS is non-existent.

The DOD’s exception to banning aqueous film-forming foam (AFFF) at five DOD installations results in AFFF containing PFAS being released into the environment, despite DOD assurances.

Shaky track record

An examination of the contamination of surface water at the Navy Research Laboratory - Chesapeake Bay Detachment, (NRL-CBD), one of the five bases listed in the memo above, suggests that the “containment systems, processes, and procedures” may not be doing their thing.

The image above is taken from the Final Draft, May, 2021 RAB Minutes posted by the Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command, (NAVFAC)  (red ink added by author.) NRL-CBD is north and east of the white boundary line in the image above.

The red X shown above is the location of the sewer treatment plant on the naval facility. As the stream travels away from the historic fire training area, PFOS levels predictably decrease, in this case, from 165 nanograms per liter, or parts per trillion, (ppt) to 137 ppt. PFOS levels in the stream, however, jump from 137 ppt to 1,230 ppt  as the stream runs alongside the NRL-CBD sewer treatment plant, before discharging into the Chesapeake Bay about 1,000 feet away. Fish caught in the Chesapeake Bay nearby have been found to contain nearly 10,000 ppt of PFAS.

The Navy says PFAS compounds on the base are “contained and not being released to the environment.” During the virtual Restoration Advisory Board (RAB) meeting in May, 2021 the Navy responded to a question from the public that asked if PFAS compounds are still being released to the environment through activities on base. The Navy responded, “Current modernized facilities have stopped these releases. These (fire training) operations are conducted in very controlled settings. After tests are conducted, residual aqueouos film-forming foam (AFFF) product is containerized, and removed from the area for proper disposal.”

The Navy added that PFAS detections in surface water are likely attributable to “groundwater to surface water discharge”.

The PFAS spike in the stream after it passes by the sewer treatment plant suggests that PFAS is likely being released into one or more sanitary sewer drains somewhere on base.  See the full story here.

Buildings on military bases where AFFF is used often drain into sanitary sewer systems.  Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, NC, identified above,  is in the process of investigating the presence of PFAS. The Preliminary Assessment dated March, 2020 identifies the sanitary wastewater treatment plant on base as a likely conduit for PFAS contamination. A building on base that frequently uses PFAS has a drain that is connected to the sewer system. The contamination is believed to be emptying into Hunting Island Creek and Bogue Sound near Emerald Isle Beach on the Atlantic Ocean.

The Patuxent River Naval Air Station in Maryland recently sent 2,500 gallons of AFFF into the sanitary sewer system. The highly carcinogenic substances were pumped 2 miles into the Chesapeake Bay, near popular fishing grounds. There are numerous cases of overhead suppression systems on military bases that accidentally discharge the carcinogens into sanitary sewers.

Of the five bases that enjoy the exemption regarding AFFF use, three had previously reported levels of PFAS in groundwater:

• The Naval Research Laboratory - CBD, MD 241,000 ppt
• Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake, CA 8,000,000 ppt
• Tyndall Air Force Base, FL  902,460.

The two Marine corps bases, Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, NC and   Marine Corps Air Station Camp Pendleton, CA have still not published their levels of PFAS contamination.  

PFAS is with us forever. The trick is to stop manufacturing it and using it.