The Navy and Marine Corps are requesting property owner permission to address per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, in private drinking water wells near Marine Corps Outlying Landing Field (MCOLF) Atlantic and conduct additional sampling of certain private drinking water wells.
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Property owners with a drinking water well in the sampling areas may call 1-877-MCOLF17 (1-877-626-5317) to schedule a sampling appointment.
If you have questions about the drinking water sampling, please email: NavyAtlanticWater@usmc.mil or call and leave a detailed message at 1-877-MCOLF17 (1-877-656-5317). A Navy or Marine Corps representative will return your call.
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Introduction
PFAS are a family of thousands of different compounds that have been used since the 1950s in many household and industrial products because of their stain- and water-repellent properties. PFAS are now present virtually everywhere in the world because of the large amounts that have been manufactured and used. Once these compounds are released, many of them do not degrade easily. The Navy, Marine Corps, and Department of Defense (DoD) have developed policies to address past releases of PFAS at installations nationwide.
The most common activity that could have resulted in the historical release of PFAS to the environment at MCOLF Atlantic (Figure 1) is the use of firefighting foam (specifically, aqueous film-forming foam, or AFFF) for testing, training, firefighting, and other life-saving emergency responses. Because of this historical use, PFAS are present in the groundwater at MCOLF Atlantic.
Figure 1 – Marine Corps Outlying Landing Field Atlantic
On April 26, 2024, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published a final National Primary Drinking Water Regulation (NPDWR) establishing nationwide drinking water standards under the Safe Drinking Water Act for certain PFAS. The regulation applies to public drinking water systems. Operators of public drinking water systems regulated by the NPDWR have until April 2029 to meet these standards. In September 2024, the Department of Defense (DoD) published “Prioritization of Department of Defense Cleanup Actions to Implement the Federal Drinking Water Standards for Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances under the Defense Environmental Restoration Program,” which describes DoD’s plans to incorporate the EPA’s drinking water regulation into DoD’s ongoing PFAS responses and prioritize actions to address private drinking water wells with the highest levels of PFAS from DoD activities. Table 1 shows the levels that all of DoD, including the Navy, is authorized to use to address PFAS in private drinking water wells.
Table 1 presents the DoD PFAS Interim Action Levels for Private Drinking Water Wells. The DoD’s September 2024 policy memorandum can be found here.
Table 1. DoD PFAS Interim Action Levels for Private Drinking Water Wells
| PFAS |
Level |
| perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) |
12 parts per trillion (ppt) |
| perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS) |
12 ppt |
| perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA) |
30 ppt |
| perfluorohexane sulfonic acid (PFHxS) |
30 ppt |
| hexafluoropropylene oxide dimer acid (HFPO-DA or GenX) |
30 ppt |
| hazard index for mixture of at least two of PFHxS, PFNA, HFPO-DA, and perfluorobutane sulfonic acid (PFBS) |
3 (no units) |
These levels are based on current EPA NPDWR levels. If EPA updates applicable requirements, DoD will review and update its policy as appropriate.
Private Drinking Water Well Sampling near MCOLF Atlantic
Certain PFAS have been detected in groundwater at MCOLF Atlantic. As a result, a sampling area has been established 1 mile in the direction that groundwater flows away from the locations of these detections (Figure 2). The Navy and Marine Corps sampled 280 private drinking water wells near MCOLF Atlantic from 2017 through 2020. PFOA and/or PFOS were detected in 4 private drinking water wells above the DoD PFAS Interim Action Levels for Private Drinking Water Wells, and the Navy and Marine Corps are implementing enduring solutions for those properties. Beginning in May 2025, additional private drinking water well sampling occurred near MCOLF Atlantic. Sampling included new wells based on additional information collected about groundwater flow at MCOLF Atlantic and the resampling of wells sampled from 2017 through 2020. During this sampling, there were no additional detections at or above the DoD PFAS Interim Action Levels for Private Drinking Water Wells.
Table 2 presents a summary of the results of the private drinking water well sampling to date. Table 3 presents the individual results to date.
Table 2. MCOLF Atlantic – Private Drinking Water Well Results Summary as of August 20, 2025
| Dates of Sampling |
Number of Wells Sampled |
Number of wells with no detections of DoD PFAS with Interim Action Levels for private drinking water wells |
Number of wells with detections of PFAS below the DoD PFAS Interim Action Levels for private drinking water wells |
Number of wells with detections of PFAS at or above the DoD PFAS Interim Action Levels for private drinking water wells |
Number of wells with detections of PFOA and/or PFOS above 70 ppt* |
| 2017-2020 |
280 |
253 |
23 |
4 |
1 |
| 2025 |
164 |
132 |
31 |
1 |
0 |
*For any drinking water wells with PFOA and/or PFOS individually or combined above 70 ppt, the Navy can provide bottled water for drinking and cooking until a more enduring solution is implemented.
Table 3. MCOLF Atlantic – 2017-Present Private Drinking Water Well Results
At this time, the Navy and Marine Corps are requesting permission to sample private drinking water wells located in the sampling area (Figure 2). The Navy and Marine Corps are also requesting property owner permission to resample private drinking water wells located in the sampling area that were previously sampled by the Navy and Marine Corps in 2017-2020.
Figure 2 – Sampling Areas near MCOLF Atlantic
Actions Based on Private Drinking Water Sampling Results
The preliminary results from the private drinking water well sampling are expected approximately 30 days after collecting the samples. The Navy and Marine Corps will notify the property owners and tenants of their drinking water results and any follow-up actions, if needed.
The Navy and Marine Corps will address PFAS in private drinking water wells in keeping with the DoD policy.
PFAS at or above the DoD PFAS Interim Actions Levels for private drinking water wells (Table 1). The Navy and Marine Corps will work with property owners to implement an enduring solution. Individual options for enduring solutions may include installation of a drinking water treatment system. For any drinking water wells with PFOA and PFOS, individually or combined, above 70 ppt, the Navy and Marine Corps will provide bottled water for drinking and cooking to property owners or tenants until more enduring solutions are implemented.
PFAS below the DoD PFAS Interim Action Levels for private drinking water wells (Table 1). For final remedial actions, the Navy and Marine Corps will address drinking water down to EPA NPDWR or background levels in accordance with applicable Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) requirements.
Identification of PFAS Releases at Marine Corps Outlying Landing Field Atlantic
The Navy and Marine Corps finalized a PFAS Preliminary Assessment (PA) in 2019 that identified areas where releases of PFAS may have occurred. Based on the results of the PFAS PA, the Navy and Marine Corps completed a PFAS Site Inspection (SI). Sample collection and analyses of soil, groundwater, surface water, and sediment were conducted from August 2019 to July 2021. PFAS were found in soil, groundwater, surface water, and sediment at MCOLF Atlantic. The PFAS release areas investigated at MCOLF Atlantic are shown on Figure 3. The following PFAS release areas were identified during the SI:
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CH-46 Helicopter Fire Response
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2000-2002 Forest Fire – Area #1
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2000-2002 Forest Fire – Area #2
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Wastewater Treatment Plant (includes the Sewage Treatment Lagoons, Building 7023, Original Wastewater Treatment Plant Effluent Spray Area, and Wastewater Treatment Plant Effluent Spray Area Expansion)
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Historical Crash Crew Staging Area #2
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Historical Crash Crew Staging Area #3
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M151 Jeep Emergency Response
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Historical South Runway Forward Arming and Refueling Point (FARP) Activities
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Historical Crash Crew Staging Area #1
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Current FARP Activities (2010-present) including the Current FARP Emergency Response Parking Areas #1 and #2
The Navy and Marine Corps will continue investigating PFAS at MCOLF Atlantic following the CERCLA process and will evaluate if actions are needed. To find out more about the environmental investigation at MCOLF Atlantic, visit the Administrative Record.
Figure 3 – PFAS Release Areas
MCOLF Atlantic Private Drinking Water Well Sampling Documents
Additional Resources
Links
To learn more about the DoD’s response to PFAS in private drinking water wells, the November 19, 2024 DoD PFAS Outreach Event recording can be found here.