The Air Force and EPA reached an agreement on the clean-up of the McGuire AFB, N.J., Superfund Site, according to a Sept. 18 EPA release. George Pavlou, acting EPA Regional Coordinator, called the agreement “a significant milestone” since the base’s inclusion in 1999 on the EPA’s National Priorities List of most hazardous waste sites. Of course, McGuire will no longer be McGuire AFB after Oct. 1 with the official stand-up of Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, but the EPA says the agreement has established “a framework and detailed schedule for developing, implementing, and monitoring appropriate response actions” for McGuire proper. The agreement is out for public comment for 45 days, with input due at EPA by Nov. 2.
A provision in the fiscal 2025 defense policy bill will require the Defense Department to include the military occupational specialty of service members who die by suicide in its annual report on suicide deaths, though it remains to be seen how much data the department will actually disclose.