Washington, D.C. – Colorado U.S. Senators Michael Bennet (D) and Cory Gardner (R) today applauded the passage of their amendment to address water contamination near military bases. The amendment, which was included in the Department of Defense-Labor-Health and Human Services-Education Appropriations bill, provides funding for the Department of Defense to reimburse state and municipal water authorities for actions they took to cleanup and mitigate per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in drinking water.
“This is a significant step toward providing Colorado water authorities with the reimbursement they deserve, and we’ll continue working to ensure this provision makes it to the President’s desk,” Bennet said. “Tonight’s win in the Senate is the result of years of bipartisan work with the southwestern Colorado communities, but it is only a small part of the broader work needed to ensure Colorado residents have access to clean drinking water.”
“It is great news that the amendment Senator Bennet and I sponsored was included in the appropriations bill,” Gardner said. “We have been fighting together for the communities that have been impacted by PFAS. Our amendment will reimburse municipal water authorities that faced immediate and necessary cleanup costs from their work to ensure their community has clean drinking water.”