Congress

The Defense Department (DOD) is estimating that its costs for cleaning up the two most studied per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) will be approximately $3 billion, an estimate that is 50 percent higher than its previous rough estimate, but the department expects that number to grow as it further investigates contamination.

Democratic lawmakers, former EPA officials, a large coalition of environmental groups and states are urging the White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) to drop its plan to scale back how federal agencies implement the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), renewing a series of sharp critiques in formal comments on the policy.

Backers of legislation authorizing EPA to phase down potent greenhouse gases known as hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) are not giving up efforts to move the measure through the Senate, even though a broader energy bill has derailed amid disagreements about whether to add the HFC restrictions as an amendment.

With the window narrowing for Congress to reauthorize the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Standards (CFATS) program before it expires next month, a House panel is moving to extend the current authorization for another 18 months as broader legislation that seeks to strengthen the program has lagged.