Overview

• The latest list, dated March and posted online in recent weeks, delays some site timelines by nearly a decade compared with the December 2024 plan.
• Preparatory work has been pushed back at roughly 25% of nearly 600 known PFAS sites, with an average delay of about five years.
• At certain installations, cleanup is now unlikely to start before 2039 as defense officials point to the complexity of the effort and limited treatment options.
• A GAO analysis describes the scope as overwhelming, flags gaps in historical records, and estimates costs near $7 billion annually after $2.6 billion already spent on investigations and interim measures.
• Community leaders and lawmakers demand transparency and funding, while the pending 2026 defense bill proposes cuts to toxic-site cleanups and would undo the PFAS foam ban.