Inside the Pentagon’s Massive Environmental Effort

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The United States military controls an area of land bigger than Virginia. Across nearly 27 million acres, the Department of Defense runs what amounts to one of America’s largest environmental programs—a multi-billion dollar operation that most Americans know nothing about.

For the Pentagon, environmental stewardship directly supports military readiness. Healthy ecosystems mean realistic training grounds. Clean water and air protect military families. And sustainable operations create a more resilient fighting force.

The scale is staggering. The DoD spends billions annually on environmental programs, manages over 550 endangered species, and operates one of the largest toxic cleanup efforts in American history. It’s accidentally created some of the nation’s most important wildlife preserves while building buffer zones around bases to protect military training.

When Military Might Meets Environmental Stewardship

The Pentagon’s environmental mission isn’t an add-on to national defense—it’s built into the strategy itself. Military planners need access to diverse, realistic training environments that mirror potential battlefields worldwide. Soldiers must train in deserts, forests, wetlands, and coastal areas to prepare for global challenges.

Any threat to these training areas becomes a threat to military preparedness. Pollution, urban sprawl, species protection restrictions, or climate change impacts can all limit where and how forces can train.

This creates an unusual alignment of interests. To maintain combat readiness, the military must protect the land, air, and water on its installations. The result is a conservation program driven by national security needs rather than environmental ideology.

The Leadership Structure

Civilian leadership runs this environmental empire from the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Energy, Installations, and Environment. The Honorable Dale R. Marks currently holds this position, overseeing deputies who manage specific areas like environmental cleanup, infrastructure, energy, and housing.

This organizational structure ensures environmental considerations get woven into every aspect of military installation management, from energy strategy to infrastructure planning.

Five Strategic Pillars

The DoD historically organized its environmental work around five core areas:

Cleanup: Fixing contamination from past military activities, often dating back to World War II and the Cold War.

Compliance: Following current federal, state, and local environmental laws like the Clean Water Act and Clean Air Act.

Conservation: Managing the rich natural and cultural resources found on military lands, including endangered species and historic sites.

Pollution Prevention: Reducing or eliminating pollution at its source through better technology and processes.

Environmental Technology: Developing new tools to solve military-specific environmental challenges while cutting costs.

Major Environmental Programs

America’s Largest Toxic Cleanup

The Pentagon runs one of the biggest environmental cleanup operations in American history. This isn’t a short-term project—it’s a multi-generational commitment to fix contamination from decades of military activities.

The numbers tell the story. The DoD has already spent tens of billions of dollars on cleanup efforts, with an estimated $51 billion still needed to finish the job at remaining sites.

Legacy of Defense Activities

For much of the 20th century, military operations involving weapons development, fuel handling, and industrial processes happened without modern environmental laws or scientific understanding. These activities left behind contaminated soil and groundwater, along with ranges littered with unexploded ordnance.

Military bases, weapons factories, and test sites from World War II through the Cold War created thousands of contaminated locations across the country. The cleanup effort addresses this historical environmental debt.

Defense Environmental Restoration Program

Congress established the Defense Environmental Restoration Program (DERP) in 1986 to tackle this massive undertaking. The program follows the same rigorous cleanup standards that apply to private companies under the Superfund law.

DERP covers three types of locations:

Active Installations: Currently operating military bases where contamination exists alongside ongoing operations.

Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) Locations: Installations being closed and transferred to civilian use that need cleanup before transfer.

Formerly Used Defense Sites (FUDS): Properties once used by the military but now in public or private hands. The Army Corps of Engineers handles cleanup at these sites.

The Defense Environmental Network & Information eXchange (DENIX) serves as the central hub for information about DERP and other DoD environmental programs.

Two Types of Contamination

DERP splits its work between two distinct cleanup challenges:

Installation Restoration Program (IRP): The older program, dating to 1975, handles traditional contamination from hazardous substances and pollutants. This includes everything from old landfills and fuel spills to contaminated groundwater.

Military Munitions Response Program (MMRP): Created in 2001 to address the unique dangers of military munitions. The program focuses on areas that may contain unexploded ordnance, discarded military munitions, or chemical residues from munitions.

Cleanup Progress by the Numbers

The DoD tracks its cleanup progress meticulously and reports annually to Congress through the Defense Environmental Programs Annual Report.

The latest data from Fiscal Year 2023 shows the enormous scale:

• Total sites: 40,695 contaminated locations across both programs
• Cleanup complete: More than 34,304 sites (84%) have reached “Response Complete” status
• Remaining cost: An estimated $51.05 billion needed to finish cleanup at remaining sites

Accidental Wildlife Preserves

Military bases have become some of America’s most important wildlife refuges, almost by accident. The need for large, secure, undeveloped areas for training has created ideal habitat for endangered species.

Restricted access and protection from urban development turned DoD installations into what experts call “accidental preserves.” These lands now harbor some of the finest remaining examples of rare ecosystems, like the longleaf pine forests of the Southeast.

Endangered Species Hotspots

The DoD manages more threatened and endangered species than any other federal land management agency. Across its installations, the military oversees:

• Over 550 federally listed threatened and endangered species
• An additional 523 species considered “at-risk” of future listing

This concentration of rare species creates both challenges and opportunities for military planners.

Integrated Natural Resources Management

The DoD Natural Resources Program provides policy and guidance for managing these diverse ecosystems. The cornerstone tool is the Integrated Natural Resources Management Plan (INRMP).

Required by the Sikes Act, an INRMP serves as a comprehensive blueprint for balancing military activities with conservation needs at each installation. These plans aren’t developed in isolation—they require cooperation with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and state wildlife agencies.

An INRMP addresses forest management, wetland protection, wildland fire control, and invasive species management. As of FY 2023, the DoD actively managed 341 INRMPs across its installations.

The Legacy Resource Management Program

The Legacy Program represents a unique approach to military conservation. Established by Congress in 1990, it provides competitive funding for innovative projects that protect and enhance the DoD’s natural and cultural heritage.

The program operates on three principles: Stewardship, Leadership, and Partnership. Rather than funding routine maintenance, Legacy supports creative conservation strategies with regional or DoD-wide significance.

Projects often involve collaboration across multiple installations or with outside partners. Examples include developing ecosystem-wide management plans, controlling invasive species across regions, or establishing systems for preserving historical artifacts.

Since 1990, the Legacy Program has funded over 3,400 projects, demonstrating how partnerships can achieve conservation goals that also support military readiness.

Protecting Training from Urban Sprawl

The Readiness and Environmental Protection Integration (REPI) Program tackles a growing threat to military training: encroachment from civilian development around bases.

As communities grow near military installations, conflicts inevitably arise over noise, dust, light, and other impacts from training activities. These conflicts can severely limit how the military uses its facilities.

The Encroachment Challenge

Military installations don’t exist in bubbles. External pressures from growing civilian communities include:

Urban Growth: New housing developments near base boundaries create conflicts over noise and other training impacts.

Regulatory Restrictions: Local ordinances about noise, endangered species, or air quality can limit when and how military training occurs.

Resource Competition: Increased civilian demand for airspace, radio frequencies, or water resources can interfere with military operations.

These pressures directly threaten military readiness by constraining realistic training.

Partnership-Based Buffer Zones

The REPI Program uses an innovative approach: voluntary partnerships with conservation organizations and local governments to create buffer zones around military installations.

Here’s how it works: REPI provides funding to military installations, which then partner with organizations like The Nature Conservancy or The Trust for Public Land. These partners work with willing private landowners near the installation to acquire conservation easements.

The military doesn’t take ownership of the land. Conservation partners hold the easements, which prevent incompatible development while keeping the land in private hands and on local tax rolls. Landowners can often continue compatible uses like agriculture, ranching, or forestry.

REPI’s Track Record

The program has proven highly successful and cost-effective by leveraging partner contributions. According to the 2025 REPI Report to Congress, from FY 2003 through FY 2024:

• DoD Investment: $1.5 billion from the Pentagon
• Partner Contributions: Nearly $1.4 billion from conservation partners
• Acres Protected: Over 1.3 million acres around 140 military installations

This creates a “win-win-win” scenario: the military preserves critical training capabilities, conservation partners achieve habitat protection goals, and private landowners receive financial compensation for voluntary conservation.

The success led to the Sentinel Landscapes Partnership, a coalition between the DoD, Department of Agriculture, and Department of Interior that works at landscape scale to align national defense, agricultural productivity, and environmental conservation goals.

Building a Sustainable Force

For the Pentagon, sustainability equals readiness. A military base that generates its own power is less vulnerable to grid attacks. Forces that reduce reliance on long fuel and water supply chains are more agile in conflict zones. Infrastructure hardened against climate change effects is better prepared for 21st-century security challenges.

This pragmatic approach frames sustainability not as a cost, but as a critical investment in a more robust and effective fighting force.

The DoD Sustainability Plan

The Pentagon’s comprehensive strategy appears in its 2022 Department of Defense Sustainability Plan. This plan aligns with ambitious government-wide goals and establishes clear targets:

• 100% Carbon Pollution-Free Electricity: All facilities powered by clean electricity annually by 2030
• 100% Zero-Emission Vehicle Fleet: Complete ZEV acquisitions for non-tactical vehicles
• Net-Zero Emissions Buildings: New buildings net-zero starting in 2030, entire portfolio by 2045
• Net-Zero Procurement: Using purchasing power to achieve net-zero emissions from federal procurement by 2050

Waste, Water, and Energy in Action

These high-level goals translate into concrete actions at installations worldwide.

Waste Reduction: The Integrated Solid Waste Management program focuses on diverting solid waste from landfills through robust recycling programs for paper, plastic, and scrap metal, plus composting of yard waste. In FY 2021, the DoD diverted 53% of non-hazardous solid waste and 79% of construction debris from landfills.

Water Conservation: Recognizing water scarcity as a growing security risk, the DoD implements water efficiency measures and develops comprehensive methodologies to assess and build water resilience at installations, particularly in arid and water-stressed regions.

Energy Resilience: Top priority goes to ensuring installations can continue critical missions even if commercial power grids fail. This happens through on-site renewable energy deployment, installation-level microgrids, and performance-based contracts like Energy Savings Performance Contracts (ESPCs) and Utility Energy Service Contracts (UESCs).

Sustainable Procurement

As one of the world’s largest consumers of goods and services, the DoD’s purchasing decisions shape entire markets. The department actively uses this leverage to promote sustainability throughout its supply chain.

The Sustainable Technology Evaluation and Demonstration (STED) Program field-tests and validates greener products to ensure they meet military performance standards. A recent success story involves adopting a bio-based cleaner, lubricant, and preservative (CLP) for small arms.

The new bio-based CLP reduced weapon cleaning time by 50%, performed better than traditional products, and is projected to save the DoD $1.74 million annually. It demonstrates that sustainable alternatives can benefit both the environment and warfighters.

Following Environmental Laws

For the Pentagon, compliance with environmental laws isn’t about following rules—it’s critical risk management. Adherence to laws like the National Environmental Policy Act, Clean Water Act, and Endangered Species Act is essential for avoiding costly litigation, project delays, and operational shutdowns that would directly impair military readiness.

The initial conflict over the red-cockaded woodpecker at Fort Bragg, which nearly halted training, serves as a powerful example of the mission-critical consequences of non-compliance. The DoD invests heavily in compliance programs because the cost of failure—measured in mission disruption, legal fees, and loss of public trust—is far higher.

National Environmental Policy Act

The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969 requires all federal agencies, including the DoD, to analyze potential environmental impacts of proposed actions before making final decisions. This ensures environmental values get integrated into agency planning and decision-making.

The DoD’s NEPA process has three main levels:

Categorical Exclusion (CX): Used for routine actions determined to have no significant environmental impact, such as minor facility repairs.

Environmental Assessment (EA): More detailed analysis when environmental impacts are uncertain. Results in either a “Finding of No Significant Impact” (FONSI) or a decision to prepare a full Environmental Impact Statement.

Environmental Impact Statement (EIS): The most intensive review, required for major federal actions expected to significantly impact the environment. Involves thorough analysis of alternatives and extensive public comment periods.

The NEPA process, with its emphasis on public involvement, provides government transparency and helps the DoD identify and mitigate potential environmental conflicts before they escalate.

Clean Water Act

The DoD complies with the Clean Water Act (CWA) to protect the quality of rivers, lakes, and coastal waters. A central component involves the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit program.

Installations must obtain NPDES permits to regulate discharges from “point sources” such as wastewater treatment plants and industrial stormwater systems. The DoD holds thousands of such permits and maintains a strong compliance record. Recent data shows a 97.7% compliance rate for DoD-operated drinking water systems.

Endangered Species Act

The relationship between the DoD and the Endangered Species Act (ESA) is complex and critical. DoD lands provide vital habitat for hundreds of federally protected species. The primary mechanism for ensuring military activities don’t jeopardize these species is the Integrated Natural Resources Management Plan (INRMP).

A crucial aspect of ESA compliance allows a robust, FWS-approved INRMP to serve as a substitute for formal “critical habitat” designation. If the Fish and Wildlife Service determines that an installation’s INRMP provides tangible “benefit to the species,” it can exempt that land from critical habitat designation, which carries more stringent land use restrictions.

This provision creates a powerful incentive for the DoD to engage in proactive, high-quality conservation management, as doing so preserves greater flexibility for conducting military missions. It’s a cornerstone of partnership between the DoD and FWS, turning potential conflict into collaboration.

Success Stories in Action

The Pentagon’s environmental policies translate into tangible results across the country. These success stories demonstrate how the strategic imperatives of readiness, restoration, and resilience work in practice at the installation level, often through innovative partnerships and technologies.

Species Recovery at Fort Liberty

Perhaps no story better illustrates the symbiotic relationship between military readiness and conservation than that of the red-cockaded woodpecker (RCW) at Fort Liberty, North Carolina.

In the 1990s, the installation faced a crisis: the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, citing the woodpecker’s endangered status under the ESA, threatened to halt critical live-fire training, an action that “almost shut down” the base.

What followed was an “improbable alliance” born from a surprising discovery. Scientists realized that the low-grade, frequent fires sparked by artillery training inadvertently created ideal habitat for the RCW: open, park-like longleaf pine forests free of dense undergrowth.

This realization transformed the relationship between the Army and conservationists from adversarial to collaborative.

Fort Liberty’s Endangered Species Branch embraced this understanding, implementing an aggressive habitat management program that included prescribed burning and installation of thousands of artificial nesting cavities. The results were dramatic.

The RCW population on the base thrived, surpassing its federally mandated recovery goal in 2005, five years ahead of schedule. This success allowed training restrictions to be eased, proving that proactive environmental stewardship can directly enhance mission readiness.

Renewable Energy Leadership at Edwards Air Force Base

At Edwards Air Force Base in California, the DoD showcases its commitment to energy resilience and climate goals on a massive scale. The Edwards & Sanborn Solar + Energy Storage project is the largest private-public collaboration in DoD history and one of the largest solar-plus-storage projects in North America.

Developed in partnership with Terra-Gen LLC, the project is built on both private and leased Air Force land. Its scale is staggering:

• 1.9 million solar panels generating 864 megawatts (MW) of solar power
• Battery system capable of storing 3,287 megawatt-hours (MWh) of energy
• Supplies California grid with enough power for over 238,000 homes
• Displaces more than 320,000 tons of carbon dioxide emissions annually

This project provides a significant new source of clean energy for California, enhances energy security for the base and region, and generates substantial revenue for the Air Force, which anticipates over $75.8 million in cash rent over the 35-year lease.

Installation-Level Excellence at Naval Base Kitsap

Naval Base (NB) Kitsap in Washington state provides a powerful example of how multiple environmental programs come together at a single installation to achieve award-winning results.

Pollution Cleanup: The base has been a leader in environmental restoration. A multi-year partnership with the EPA, state agencies, and the Suquamish Tribe led to successful cleanup of Gorst Creek, a former landfill site. The project removed 10,000 truckloads of debris and restored over 1,000 feet of the creek, returning it to a healthy state capable of supporting salmon runs.

In another innovative project, NB Kitsap uses bioremediation to treat groundwater contaminated with explosives. Scientists inject corn syrup into the ground to feed naturally occurring bacteria, which then break down harmful contaminants into harmless byproducts like nitrogen gas and carbon dioxide.

Sustainability and Waste Reduction: NB Kitsap’s efforts earned it the 2020 Secretary of Defense Environmental Award for Sustainability. The base has aggressively reduced its reliance on fossil fuels by using alternative fuels like E-85 in its vehicle fleet.

It has also implemented a robust recycling program for medical devices, diverting nearly a ton of “single-use” surgical instruments from landfills each year, and switched to eco-friendly food containers in its dining facilities.

In a creative pollution prevention effort, the base deployed crates of oyster shells in stormwater vaults, using the shells’ natural properties to absorb and filter harmful metals like zinc from runoff before it enters Puget Sound.

Budget and Federal Context

The Department of Defense operates one of the largest, most complex, and best-funded environmental and conservation programs in the federal government. However, because this work is nested within the massive national security apparatus, its scale is often invisible to the public when compared to more familiar civilian agencies like the National Park Service or U.S. Forest Service.

Funding the Mission

The financial commitment to DoD environmental programs is substantial. In FY2010, the department invested approximately $4.2 billion across its portfolio of conservation, compliance, cleanup, and pollution prevention programs. This level of spending represents a consistent, long-term investment required to manage vast responsibilities.

These funds are allocated within the DoD’s overall budget, which for FY2025 has a requested total of $849.8 billion. Detailed budget justifications and historical data are made public through the Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller) website, particularly in the annual Defense Budget Overview.

A Major Federal Steward

To fully appreciate the scale of the DoD’s environmental role, it’s useful to compare it to the federal agencies the public most closely associates with land management and conservation.

Land Holdings: The federal government owns roughly 640 million acres of land in the United States. The four major land management agencies in the Departments of Interior and Agriculture (Bureau of Land Management, Forest Service, Fish and Wildlife Service, and National Park Service) administer about 607 million of those acres. The Department of Defense administers another 8.8 million acres within the U.S., an area larger than Maryland.

Budget Comparison: The DoD’s annual environmental spending is comparable to the entire discretionary budgets of well-known civilian agencies. The President’s FY2025 budget request for the National Park Service was approximately $3.6 billion. The request for the U.S. Forest Service was approximately $8.9 billion, including substantial wildfire suppression funding.

The DoD’s environmental program spending, exemplified by the $4.2 billion figure from FY2010, fits squarely within this range. This demonstrates that resources dedicated to environmental stewardship within the DoD are on a scale equivalent to those of a major federal conservation agency.

This comparison highlights that while the DoD manages fewer acres than primary civilian agencies, its annual investment in environmental programs is comparable to the entire budgets of agencies like the National Park Service, underscoring the massive scale of its stewardship responsibilities.

The Pentagon’s environmental empire operates largely out of public view, but its scope and impact rival the most visible federal conservation agencies. From cleaning up Cold War contamination to protecting endangered species to building renewable energy infrastructure, the military’s environmental mission continues to evolve alongside America’s defense needs.

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