WASHINGTON — The Defense Department, having won exemptions from three major environmental laws in the last two years, now is seeking to be excused from three more.
Requirements of the Endangered Species Act, the Marine Mammal Act and the Migratory Bird Treaty Act already do not apply to the Pentagon. Now it wants exemptions from the Clean Air Act and two toxic waste laws, which Congress has refused to grant in each of the past two years.
So last month, the Pentagon asked the White House to let it fight those battles once more, according to documents obtained by The Times.
Congressional opponents say that the proposed exemptions would cause more damage than the previous ones because they would jeopardize human health.
The military, however, argues that it needs the three exemptions so that pollution laws do not get in the way of training exercises and other war preparations. "We think those three are the three initiatives that would probably go forward this year," said Bruce Hill, a Defense Department contractor in the office of the deputy undersecretary for readiness.
Many state officials and congressional Democrats disagree.
"Once again, the Department of Defense is using the war on terrorism as an excuse and an opportunity to jam through Congress broad and unnecessary exemptions for itself from three of our most important public health and environmental protection laws," said Rep. John D. Dingell (D-Mich.).
The Clean Air Act proposal would extend by three years various deadlines for the Pentagon to comply with health-based standards for ozone and fine particulates. These air pollutants aggravate asthma, intensify heart and lung ailments and cause early deaths in thousands of Americans.
The other proposals would make it harder for the Environmental Protection Agency and state officials to regulate toxic substances, such as perchlorate, that seep into ground or surface water.
Opponents in Congress and the states argue that the Pentagon has not shown any examples of how these laws have hindered readiness.
"As former EPA Administrator [Christie] Whitman and numerous state officials have testified, there is no evidence or examples where these three laws have ever adversely impacted military readiness," said Dingell. "Never has a set of legislative proposals had so much audacity and so little merit."
So far, Pentagon officials agreed, the Clean Air Act has not thwarted military preparedness, but there have been some close calls.
