(September 22, 2026) — Last week, Congresswoman Maggie Goodlander (NH-02), alongside Congressman Chris Pappas (NH-01) and U.S. Senators Jeanne Shaheen (NH) and Maggie Hassan (NH), sent a letter to the Secretary of the Air Force requesting the Air Force provide a firm timeline for prompt funding and treatment of PFAS contamination in two municipal drinking water wells in Portsmouth before the water system falls out of compliance with the Safe Drinking Water Act.
In part, the delegation wrote, “Both wells draw from the same aquifer beneath the former Pease Air Force base that the Air Force has long known is contaminated with PFOA and PFOS. In June 2025, PFOS in the Portsmouth and Collins wells, and PFOA in the Portsmouth well averaged above the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) 4.0 ppt maximum contaminant level (MCL) for these chemicals. Together, the two wells supply approximately 1.3 million gallons of water a day – nearly a quarter of the community’s drinking water – with no alternative source if either is taken offline.”
The delegation wrote, “New Hampshire families should not have to wonder whether their drinking water is safe because the Air Force has not fulfilled its obligations to clean up PFAS contamination it caused. Treatment facilities to address PFAS contamination typically take about three years from design to construction, yet the City’s $586,400 design-cost request from June 2025 remains unfunded more than a year later. Absent immediate action and funding, Portsmouth risks falling out of compliance with the EPA’s April 2029 deadline under the Safe Drinking Water Act for contamination the Air Force has never denied causing.”
The delegation concluded, “We respectfully request the Air Force immediately contact the City of Portsmouth and enter into negotiations on an agreement to fund the design and construction of a PFAS treatment facility for the Portsmouth and Collins wells.”
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