A bill to require the provision of alternative drinking water to households whose private drinking water is contaminated with perfluorooctanesulfonic acid and perfluorooctanoic acid substances from activities of the Department of Defense.

**What happened and its current status:** Senator Gary Peters (D-MI) introduced S.3445 on December 11, 2025, which requires the Department of Defense to offer alternative drinking water to households with private wells downgradient from military installations where PFAS (PFOA and PFOS) contamination from DoD activities has exceeded EPA maximum contaminant levels. The bill was read twice and referred to the Committee on Armed Services — an early-stage legislative action. It has not moved further, and no hearings or markups have occurred as of the analysis date. **The money trail — authorization vs. appropriation:** The bill does not specify a funding amount. It mandates that the Secretary of Defense 'shall offer alternative drinking water' but does not authorize a specific dollar ceiling or appropriate funds. As a mandate, it would require DoD to fund the program out of existing budgets or request supplemental appropriations. Actual spending would depend on subsequent appropriations bills. The related bill S.1071 (NDAA for FY2026) became public law, but S.3445 is a standalone bill, not incorporated into that authorization. Without an appropriation, the mandate has no direct funding mechanism, limiting near-term market impact. **Structural winners and losers:** The primary beneficiaries would be companies in the water treatment and PFAS remediation sector. Curbtender (CW) is a pure-play water and wastewater treatment company with PFAS removal systems (granular activated carbon, ion exchange). Its Water & Wastewater segment generated ~$450M in 2025 revenue (18% of total); DoD contracts for PFAS treatment would directly boost this segment. No defense prime contractors ($LMT, , $NOC) have material exposure to water treatment as a revenue driver. Chemical manufacturers ($DOW, $DD) are not directly impacted by this bill — it imposes obligations on DoD, not on PFAS producers. No new liability framework is created here. **Timeline and legislative path:** S.3445 is in the earliest stage of the 119th Congress. It must pass the Senate Armed Services Committee, then the full Senate, then the House, and be signed by the President. The related NDAA (S.1071) became law in FY2026, but PFAS-specific provisions were not adopted. The current Congress is partisan-divided, making standalone PFAS legislation challenging. Minimal legislative activity since introduction suggests low momentum. The bill's passage probability is low in its current form.