EPA Officials Visit Wyoming and Colorado to Strengthen Military Environmental Compliance

EPA Officials Visit Missile Silos to Address Environmental Compliance and Military Readiness

EPA Assistant Administrator for Enforcement and Compliance Assurance Jeffrey A. Hall and Principal Deputy Craig Pritzlaff traveled through Wyoming and Colorado this week to focus on the intersection of environmental law and national security. According to a report from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the mission involved visiting sensitive military installations to ensure that aging infrastructure does not compromise the health of service members or the effectiveness of the nation’s nuclear deterrent.

In Wyoming, the delegation visited a Minuteman launch control center and a missile silo. The visit aimed to address the specific hurdles faced by the Air Force Global Strike Command as it manages missileers stationed within aging facilities. The EPA is working to assist the Air Force in meeting indoor environmental standards, ensuring that these high-stakes environments remain safe for the personnel tasked with defending the country.

“We are keeping the airmen stationed in missile alert facilities safe by helping the Air Force comply with toxic substances regulations, and that allows our warfighters to focus on defending our country,” Assistant Administrator Hall said.

The visit to F.E. Warren Air Force Base—the home of the Twentieth Air Force, which manages U.S. intercontinental ballistic missiles—was part of a broader commitment by the EPA to partner with the Department of War (DoW). The agency is prioritizing the identification and mitigation of environmental hazards that could impact homeland defense operations.

Criminal Enforcement Focuses on Foreign Toxins and National Priorities

Beyond the tactical visits to missile sites, the EPA leadership moved to Colorado to lead a biannual training program for the agency’s criminal enforcement attorneys. This training session served as a platform to outline the current administration’s enforcement priorities, specifically the use of environmental statutes to defend against the influx of foreign toxins.

This initiative aligns with Administrator Zeldin’s “Powering the Great American Comeback” program. A central pillar of this strategy involves pursuing entities that intentionally pollute or seek to profit by introducing harmful chemicals and products into the United States. The training program is designed to sharpen the investigative and prosecutorial skills of EPA attorneys, covering several critical legal and operational areas:

New developments in the investigation of environmental crimes.
Coordination between civil and criminal enforcement divisions.
Fourth Amendment issues regarding search and seizure.
Trial strategies and significant appellate court decisions.

The agency is emphasizing a dual-track approach: maintaining rigorous oversight of domestic industrial compliance while simultaneously treating the illegal importation of toxic substances as a matter of national interest. By fostering collaborative relationships through these training programs, the EPA aims to ensure its legal teams can prosecute environmental crimes effectively while adhering strictly to the rule of law.

“Our highest priority for our criminal program is that it holds the worst environmental criminals accountable while being true to the Constitution and the rule of law,” Hall stated.

As the EPA continues to integrate environmental compliance into the framework of military readiness, the focus remains on the technicalities of toxic substance regulation within the specialized, often isolated, environments of the Air Force Global Strike Command.