August 9, 2019 SAAA-LS

Melanie Benesh Environmental Working Group (EWG) Sent via email: mbenesh@ewg.org

Dear Ms. Benesh:

This letter is a rolling release in response to amended Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request dated 26 April 2019. You are seeking records pertaining to your enclosed FOIA. Your request was assigned our office tracking number FA-19-0044.

We are releasing (133) pages to you in full referred to us by the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army (Installations, Energy and Environment) (ASA IE&E). Be advised, ASA IE&E provided additional information pertaining to your request listed below:

Attached are two tables of the PFAS sampling results from the sampling of Army owned drinking water systems. One table covers Active and Army Reserve installations and the other table covers Army National Guard installations. The tables covers installations subject to UCMR3 requirements and subsequent sampling of all Army owned and operated drinking water systems through April 25, 2019. Additional information on the UCMR3 sampling can be found on the EPA Web site: https://www.epa.gov/dwucmr/third-unregulated-contaminant-monitoring-rule.

The Army is not the owner of sampling results from public and private drinking water systems. We cannot validate the accuracies of the information for those systems and the data is owned by public sector or private party. EWG needs to contact them directly for this information.

Army used EPA identified qualified laboratories for the drinking water analysis. The table below is a list of the Laboratories with their address used by the Army.

Laboratory Name Address

Eurofins Eaton Analytical 110 South Hill Street, South Bend, Indiana 46617

Eurofins Lancaster Laboratories 2425 New Holland Pike, Lancaster, Pennsylvania 17601

TestAmerica Laboratories, Inc. 880 Riverside Parkway, West Sacramento, California 95605

DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY OFFICE OF THE ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT TO THE SECRETARY OF THE ARMY

9301 CHAPEK ROAD FORT BELVOIR VA 22060-5527

SGS ACCUTEST Southeast 4405 Vineland Road, Suite C, Orlando, Florida 32811

Alpha Analytical Eight Walkup Drive, Westborough, Massachusettes 01581

Consulting Analytical Services International

3378 S. Scenic Ave., Suite A, Springfield, Missouri 65807

Northern Lake Services, Inc. 400 North Lake Ave, Crandon, Wisconsin 54520

Pace Analytical Services 8 East Tower Circle, Ormond Beach, Florida 32174

Vista Analytical Laboratory 1104 Windfeld Way, El Dorado Hills, California 95762

Southern Nevada Water Authority Water Quality Laboratory

P.O. Box 99954, Las Vegas, Nevada 89193

Endyne Inc, Environmental Laboratories/ Performed by subcontracted laboratory South Central Connecticut Regional Water Authority

160 James Brown Dr., Williston, Vermont 05495

The Army is committed to protecting human health and ensuring the supply of safe drinking water to its Soldiers, Family Members, and Civilians. As part of this commitment, we will continue our comprehensive efforts to investigate, mitigate, and clean up Army releases of PFOS/PFOA as appropriate to ensure continued protection of human health. The Army proactively tested its drinking water systems and mitigated where PFOS/PFOA levels in drinking water systems were above the EPA LHA of 70ppt. There are currently no Army personnel or families drinking water with levels of PFOS/PFOA above the LHA. We will continue working with Department of Defense Energy Installations and Environment to review historical documents and collect soil and groundwater samples to identify areas that may have been impacted by PFOS/PFOA. For any further assistance and to discuss any aspect of your request, you have the right to contact the Army FOIA Public Liaison Officer, Alecia Bolling, by email at us.army.hqda-oaa-ahs.mbx.rmda-foia-public-liaison@mail.mil or by phone at (571) 515-0306. Additionally, you may contact the Office of Government Information Services (OGIS) at the national Archives and Records Administration (NARA) to inquire about the FOIA mediation services they offer. The contact information for OGIS is as follows: NARA-OGIS, 8601 Adelphi Road-OGIS, College Park, MD 20740-6001, email at ogis@nara.gov, telephone number (202) 741-5770 toll free at (877) 684-6448 or by facsimile at (202) 741-5769.

If you have any questions regarding this letter or the information furnished, please contact this office at (703) 614-5871 or email at usarmy.belvoir.hqda-oaa.rpa.mbx.oaa-cals-mailbox-foia@mail.mil. In all correspondence please refer to FOIA number FA-19-0044.

Sincerely,

Paul V. DeAgostino Senior Counsel

Enclosure: Amended FOIA Request (133) pages

FREEDOMOFINFORMATIONACTREQUESTREVISED:April26,2019

VIAELECTRONICMAILPaulV.DeAgostinoSeniorCounselChiefAttorneyandLegalServicesOfficeoftheAdministrativeAssistanttotheSecretaryoftheArmy

Re:FreedomofInformationActRequestDearMr.DeAgostino,Pertoourconversationtoday,April25,2019,IamnarrowingthescopeofrequestEWGsubmittedtotheSecretaryoftheArmyonNovember15,2018,pursuanttotheFreedomofInformationAct(FOIA),5U.S.C.§552etseq.andtheimplementingregulationsoftheU.S.DepartmentofDefense(DoD),32C.F.R.Part286.Pleasefindbelowanamendedrequestthat:

• RemovesthepartsoftheFOIAbeingprocessedbyotherbranchesoftheDoD• LimitsthescopeoftherequesttodetectionsinthecontinentalU.S.plusAlaskaandHawaii• IncludesasearchenddateofrecordsuptoApril25,2019.

PFASChemicalsHighlyfluorinatedtoxicchemicals,betterknownasPFAS,havebeenlinkedtocancer,thyroiddisease,weakenedimmunity,andotherhealthproblems.Whilethefullextentofcontaminationisunknown,EWGestimatesthatupto110millionpeopleareaffectedbyPFASpollutionintapwatersupplies,1includingresidentsaround(andservicememberson)militaryinstallations.2Stateofficialsimpactedby

1DavidAndrews,Report:Upto110MillionAmericansCouldHavePFAS-ContaminatedDrinkingWater,ENVIRONMENTALWORKINGGROUP(May22,2018),https://www.ewg.org/research/report-110-million-americans-could-have-pfas-contaminated-drinking-water#.W6u-F5NKi1s;BillWalker,Update:MappingtheExpandingPFASCrisis,ENVIRONMENTALWORKINGGROUP(April18,2018),https://www.ewg.org/research/update-mapping-expanding-pfas-crisis#.WvxdddMvwWo.2TaraCopp,DoD:AtLeast126BasesReportWaterContaminantsLinkedtoCancer,BirthDefects,MILITARYTIMES(April26,2018),https://www.militarytimes.com/news/your-military/2018/04/26/dod-126-bases-report-water-contaminants-harmful-to-infant-development-tied-to-cancers/.SeealsoAToxicThreat:GovernmentMustActNowonPFASContaminationatMilitaryBases,UNIONOFCONCERNEDSCIENTISTS(Sept.2018),https://www.ucsusa.org/center-science-and-democracy/preserving-science-based-safeguards/toxic-threat-pfas-contamination-military-bases#.W6vPcX4pBEJ.

2

thecontaminationhavecalleditthe“stuffhealthdepartmentnightmaresaremadeof.”3PFASchemicalsareverypersistentintheenvironmentandcanbioaccumulateinthehumanbody.4Regulationofthesechemicalsindrinkingwaterisanissueofsignificantpublicinterest.TheU.S.doesnotcurrentlyhavealimitontheamountofPFASchemicalsthatcanbeindrinkingwatersupplies.However,in2016,theEPAsetahealthadvisorylevelof70ppt(individuallyorcombined)forperfluoro-octanesulfonicacid(PFOS)andperfluorooctanoicacid(PFOA),twoofthebest-knownPFASchemicals.5PFASchemicalsarethebasisofaqueousfilmformingfoam(AFFF),whichisusedasafiresuppressant.DoDstartedusingAFFFinthe1970sbecauseAFFFisanefficientmethodtoextinguishaircraftfuelfires.6AFFFhasbeenusedonmilitarybasesforemergencies,fortrainingexercises,andforequipmenttesting;innearlyalluses,PFASchemicalswerereleasedintotheenvironment.PFOSwasoriginallythemaincomponentofAFFF,butitsmanufacturerannounceditwouldceaseproductionin2000.7LegacystocksofAFFFwithPFOSremainonsomemilitaryinstallations.8Moreover,someAFFFscontainPFOA.9TheMilitaryPerformanceSpecification(MILSPEC)forAFFFwasamendedin2017tosetamaximumconcentrationofPFOSandPFOAinAFFF.10ButuseoffluorocarbonsurfactantsisstillmandatedbytheMILSPEC,andthe8-carbon-chainPFASchemicalsPFOAandPFOSarebeingreplacedbyshorter-chainPFASchemicalsinAFFFformulations.11Theseshorter-chainreplacementPFASarenotaswell-studiedasPFOAandPFOS.12PFASChemicalswereincludedinUCMR3Pursuanttosection1445oftheSafeDrinkingWaterAct,42U.S.C.§300j-4,everyfiveyearstheAdministratoroftheEPAissuesalistofuptothirtycontaminantswhicharenotcurrentlyregulatedundertheAct,butaboutwhichinformationmustbecollectedbypublicwatersystems(PWSs).13Theresultsobtainedfrommonitoringtheseunregulatedcontaminantsareprovidedtothe“primary

3GarretEllison,BelmontWoman’sBloodis750TimesNationalPFASAverage,GRANDRAPIDSNEWS(Jan.9,2018),http://www.mlive.com/news/grand-rapids/index.ssf/2018/01/pfas_blood_test_ppt.html.4EnvironmentalProtectionAgency,BasicInformationonPFAS,https://www.epa.gov/pfas/basic-information-pfas(lastvisitedNov.8,2018).5EnvironmentalProtectionAgency,DrinkingWaterHealthAdvisoriesforPFOAandPFOS,https://www.epa.gov/ground-water-and-drinking-water/drinking-water-health-advisories-pfoa-and-pfos(lastvisitedMay16,2018).6MaureenSullivan,FY18HASCbriefonPFOS-PFOA,atslide4(March2018).http://www.oea.gov/resource/addressing-perfluorooctane-sulfonate-pfos-and-perfluorooctanoic-acid-pfoa.7Id.8MaureenSullivan,StatementbeforetheCommitteeonHomelandSecurityandGovernmentalAffairs,at2(Sept.26,2018).9Id.10NavalSeaSystemsCommand,PerformanceSpecification–FireExtinguishingAgent,AqueousFilm-FormingFoam(AFFF)LiquidConcentrate,ForFreshandSeaWater(MIL-PRF-24385F(SH))(Sept.7,2017),http://quicksearch.dla.mil/qsDocDetails.aspx?ident_number=17270.11SharonLerner,TheU.S.MilitaryisSpendingMillionstoReplaceToxicFirefightingFoamwithToxicFirefightingFoam,THEINTERCEPT(Feb.10,2018),https://theintercept.com/2018/02/10/firefighting-foam-afff-pfos-pfoa-epa/;StateofAlaskaDepartmentofEnvironmentalConservation,RiskofAqueousFilmFormingFoam(AFFF),https://dec.alaska.gov/spar/csp/aqueous-film-forming-foam/(lastvisitedNov.8,2018).12EnvironmentalProtectionAgency,BasicInformationonPFAS,https://www.epa.gov/pfas/basic-information-pfas(lastvisitedNov.8,2018). 1342U.S.C.§§300j-4(a)(2)(A),(B).

3

enforcementauthorityforthesystem.”14Thedataareenteredintoa“nationaldrinkingwatercontaminantdatabase,”andbecome“availabletothepublicinreadilyaccessibleform.”15In2012,EPAissuedtheFinalRulefortheUnregulatedContaminantMonitoringRule3(UCMR3).16AllPWSsservingmorethan10,000people,andasampleof800smallPWSsservingfewerthan10,000people,wererequiredtomonitorabouttwentycontaminantson“List1.”17SixPFASchemicalswereonList1:perfluorooctanesulfonicacid(PFOS);perfluorooctanoicacid(PFOA);perfluorononanoicacid(PFNA);perfluorohexanesulfonicacid(PFHxS);perfluoroheptanoicacid(PFHpA);perfluorobutanesulfonicacid(PFBS).18Assessmentandmonitoringoccurredbetween2013and2015.19WheretheDoDactsasasupplierofdrinkingwaterformilitaryinstallations,itfallsunderthejurisdictionoftheSafeDrinkingWaterAct.Dependingonthenumberofpeopleservedbyeachwatersystem,DoDmayhavebeenrequiredtocollectwatersamplesandtestforthesePFAScontaminants.DoDtestedbetweensixty-three20andseventy-seven21communitywatersystemsunderUCMR3.DoDconductedadditionaltestingofmilitaryinstallationsInresponsetoEPA’sissuanceofahealthadvisoryforPFOSandPFOAin2016,DoDorderedadditionalwatertesting.22“TheDepartmentbegantestingDoD-operateddrinkingwatersystemsworldwideinJune2016toidentifydrinkingwaterthatexceededEPA’s[healthadvisorylevel].”23DoDhascompletedthetestingofatleast524DoDdrinkingwatersystems.24IfDoDisnotthesupplierofdrinkingwater,thentheinstallationissupposedtoinquire,fromthesupplier,whetherthedrinkingwaterhasbeentestedforPFAS.25RecognizingthatPFASfromAircraftRescueandFirefightingactivitiescouldpersistinandmigratethroughtheenvironment,DoDismonitoringsuspectedreleasesthroughadditionalPFASsampling.“AsofAugust2017,DoDhasidentified401activeorclosedmilitaryinstallationswithknownorsuspectedreleasedofPFOSorPFOA.”26“TheComponentsalsosampledprivatedrinkingwaterwellsiftherewasasuspectedorknownreleasethatmigratedoffbase.”27AsofAugust2017,2445off-base

14Id.§300j-4(a)(2)(D).15Id.§§300j-4(g)(1),(5),(7).16RevisionstotheUnregulatedContaminantMonitoringRegulation(UCMR3)forPublicWaterSystems,77Fed.Reg.26,072(May2,2012).17Id.18Id.19Id.20MaureenSullivan,FY18HASCbriefonPFOS-PFOA,atslide7.21DepartmentofDefense,WaterSafetyonMilitaryBases,at4(May2018).22GovernmentAccountabilityOffice,DrinkingWater:StatusofDODEffortstoAddressDrinkingWaterContaminantsUsedinFirefightingFoam,at0(GAO-18-700T,Sept.26,2018);MaureenSullivan,FY18HASCbriefonPFOS-PFOA,atslide7.23MaureenSullivan,StatementbeforetheCommitteeonHomelandSecurityandGovernmentalAffairs,at3(Sept.26,2018).24MaureenSullivan,FY18HASCbriefonPFOS-PFOA,atslide7.25Id.26GovernmentAccountabilityOffice,DrinkingWater:StatusofDODEffortstoAddressDrinkingWaterContaminantsUsedinFirefightingFoam,at0;MaureenSullivan,FY18HASCbriefonPFOS-PFOA,atslide9.27MaureenSullivan,FY18HASCbriefonPFOS-PFOA,atslide8.

4

drinkingwatersystemsweretested.28Whereareleaseissuspected,DoDisalsosamplinggroundwatertotestforPFAS.29

RECORDSREQUEST–DEPARTMENTOFTHEARMY“TheArmyhadidentified61[or64]installationswithknownorsuspectedreleasesofPFOSandPFOA....”30AmemorandumfromJune2016statesthat“TheArmywillsampleforPFOSandPFOAinArmy-ownedoroperatedwatersystemslocatedonArmyinstallationsthathavenotpreviouslysampledforPFOSandPFOA.”31Allsizes,evensinglewellsystems,wererequiredtobesampled.32Samplingwastobecompletedbytheendof2016.33AnEPAapprovedmethodwastobeusedintheanalysis.34TheArmytested255drinkingwatersystemswhereDoDisthepurveyorofwater.35Onethousandfivehundredeighty-nine(1589)drinkingwatersystemsthathaveanon-DoDpurveyoralsoconductedwatertesting.36SixteendrinkingwatersystemshadPFOSandPFOAresultsabovetheEPAhealthadvisorylevel.37TheArmyalsotested258groundwaterwells.38Onehundredfour(104)groundwaterwellstestedabovethehealthadvisory.39RECORDSREQUESTFromtheDepartmentoftheArmy,EWGrequeststhefollowingrecords:

1) AllwatertestingdatasampledonorbeforeApril25,2019fromtheUCMR3forallinstallationsrequiredtocomplywithUCMR3withinthecontinentalUnitedStates,plusHawaiiandAlaska.ThesedatashouldincludethesixPFASrequiredundertheUCMR3,andanyotherPFASdataifadditionalanalyseswereperformed(EPA-approvedMethod537candetect14PFASchemicals,40butonlysixhadtobemonitoredtocomplywithUCMR3).EWGrequestsallresultsforeachsample,includingtheoriginalresultsreportasreceivedfromthewatertestinglabwiththeconcentrationofeachPFAS,thedetectionlimitandthequantificationlimit.Wealsoarerequestingthelocationinformationforeachsample.

2) AlltestingdatawithinthecontinentalUnitedStatesplusHawaiiiandAlaskafromanysubsequentmonitoringsinceUCMR3,butonorbeforeApril25th,2019.ThisshouldincludeallPFASchemicalstestedfor,notjustPFOSandPFOA.Allresultsforeachwatersampleshouldbeincluded,includingtheoriginalresultsreportasreceivedfromthewatertestinglabwiththeconcentrationofeachPFAS,thedetectionlimitandthequantificationlimit.Wealsoarerequestingthelocationinformationforeachsample.

28Id.29Id.at9.30GovernmentAccountabilityOffice,DrinkingWater:StatusofDODEffortstoAddressDrinkingWaterContaminantsUsedinFirefightingFoam,at6;MaureenSullivan,FY18HASCbriefonPFOS-PFOA,atslide10.31MemorandumfromDept.oftheArmyforCommander,ArmyMaterielCommand,etal.,at2(Jun.10,2016),https://www.denix.osd.mil/army-pfas/the-army-addresses-pfos-pfoa/the-army-addresses-pfos-and-pfoa/perfluorinated-compound-pfc-contamination-assessment1/.32Id.33Id.34Id.35MaureenSullivan,FY18HASCbriefonPFOS-PFOA,atslide18.36Id.37Id.38Id.at10.39Id.40Seen.42,above.

5

3) AllwatertestingdatafrominstallationswhichwerenotrequiredtotestunderUCMR3,whetherDoDisapurveyorofthedrinkingwaterornot.ThesedatashouldincludeallPFASchemicalstestedfor,notjustPFOSandPFOA.Allresultsforeachwatersampleshouldbeincluded,includingtheoriginalresultsreportasreceivedfromthewatertestinglabwiththeconcentrationofeachPFAS,thedetectionlimitandthequantificationlimit.Wealsoarerequestinglocationinformationforeachsample.

4) Allwatertestingdatafromoff-basepublicandprivatedrinkingwatersystemswithinthecontinentalU.S.plusHawaiiandAlaskatakenonorbeforeApril25,2019.ThisshouldincludeallPFASchemicalstestedfor,notjustPFOSandPFOA.Allresultsforeachwatersampleshouldbeincluded,includingtheoriginalresultsreportasreceivedfromthewatertestinglabwiththeconcentrationofeachPFAS,thedetectionlimitandthequantificationlimit.Wealsoarerequestinglocationinformationforeachsample.

5) Allwatertestingdatafromanyofthe258groundwaterwellslocatedwithinthecontinentalUnitedStatesplusHawaiiandAlaska,whetherthewellswereon-baseoroff-base.ThisshouldincludeallPFASchemicalstestedfor,notjustPFOSandPFOA.Allresultsforeachwatersampleshouldbeincluded,includingtheoriginalresultsreportasreceivedfromthewatertestinglabwiththeconcentrationofeachPFAS,thedetectionlimitandthequantificationlimit.Wealsoarerequestinglocationinformationforeachsample.Iffurthergroundwatermonitoringhasbeencompletedsince2017,wewouldlikethoseresultsaswellforanysamplestakenonorbeforeApril25,2019.

6) AnycorrespondencewiththewatertestinglaboratoriesconcerningthePFAStestingcapabilitiesofthelaboratory.“Testingcapabilities”cansignifythenumberandtypeofPFASanalytesthatcanbetestedforandforeachanalytetherespective“methoddetectionlimit”and“methodquantificationlimit,”andcanincluderesultsfromthelaboratories’demonstrationsofcapabilityandmethodperformanceatandbelowtheMRLduringregistrationwiththeEPA(ifthelaboratorywasapprovedforUCMR3),aswellastheirowninternalcontrols.

Inadditiontotherecordsrequestedabove,wealsorequestrecordsdescribingtheprocessingofthisrequest,includingrecordssufficienttoidentifysearchtermsusedandlocationsandcustodianssearchedandanytrackingsheetsusedtotracktheprocessingofthisrequest.IfDoDusesFOIAquestionnairesorcertificationscompletedbyindividualcustodiansorcomponentstodeterminewhethertheypossessresponsivematerialsortodescribehowtheyconductedsearches,wealsorequestanysuchrecordspreparedinconnectionwiththeprocessingofthisrequest.EWGseeksallresponsiverecordsregardlessofformat,medium,orphysicalcharacteristics.Inconductingyoursearch,pleaseunderstandtheterms“record,”“document,”“data,”“results,”and“information”intheirbroadestsense,toincludeanywritten,typed,recorded,graphic,printed,oraudiomaterialofanykind.Weseekrecordsofanykind,includingelectronicrecords,audiotapes,videotapes,andphotographs,aswellasletters,emails,facsimiles,telephonemessages,voicemailmessagesandtranscripts,notes,orminutesofanymeetings,telephoneconversationsordiscussions.Ourrequestincludesanyattachmentstotheserecords.Nocategoryofmaterialshouldbeomittedfromsearch,collection,andproduction.Youmaynotexcludesearchesoffilesoremailsinthepersonalcustodyofyourofficials,suchaspersonalemailaccounts.RecordsofofficialbusinessconductedusingunofficialsystemsorstoredoutsideofofficialfilesissubjecttotheFederalRecordsActandFOIA.41Itisnotadequatetorelyonpoliciesandproceduresthatrequireofficialstomovesuchinformationtoofficialsystems

41SeeCompetitiveEnter.Inst.v.OfficeofSci.&Tech.Policy,827F.3d145,149—50(D.C.Cir.2016);cf.JudicialWatch,Inc.v.Kerry,844F.3d952,955—56(D.C.Cir.2016).

6

withinacertainperiodoftime;wehavearighttorecordscontainedinthosefilesevenifmaterialhasnotyetbeenmovedtoofficialsystemsorifofficialshave,throughnegligenceorwillfulness,failedtomeettheirobligations.42Toensurethatthisrequestisproperlyconstrued,thatsearchesareconductedinanadequatebutefficientmanner,andthatextraneouscostsarenotincurred,wewelcomeanopportunitytodiscussthisrequestwithyoubeforeyouundertakeyoursearchorincursearchorduplicationcosts.Byworkingtogetherattheoutset,wecandecreasethelikelihoodofcostlyandtime-consuminglitigationinthefuture.PerourconversationonApril25,2019,EWGexpectsaresponsetothisrequestwithin90days.Wherepossible,pleaseprovideresponsivematerialinelectronicformat,preferablyasanExcelspreadsheet,byemailtombenesh@ewg.orgoronaUSBdrive.PleasesendanyresponsivematerialbeingsentbypostalmailtoEnvironmentalWorkingGroup,1436USt.NW,Suite100,Washington,DC20009.FeeWaiverRequestEWG’sfeewaiverrequestwasgrantedbytheOfficeoftheArmyGeneralCounselonMarch25,2019.ConclusionEWGlooksforwardtocontinuingtoworkwiththeSecretaryoftheArmyonthisrequest.Ifyouhaveanyquestions,orforeseeanyproblemsinfullyreleasingtherequestedrecords,pleasecontactMelanieBeneshatmbenesh@ewg.orgor202.939.0120.

42SeeCompetitiveEnter.Inst.v.OfficeofSci.&Tech.Policy,No.14-cv-765,slipop.at8(D.D.C.Dec.12,2016)(“Atthisstageofthecase,theCourtcannotassumethateachandeveryworkrelatedemailinthe[personal]accountwasduplicatedin[theofficial’s]workemailaccount.”(citationsomitted)).