Section 211 of SARA (Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act of 1986) established the Defense Environmental Restoration Program (DERP), giving the Department of Defense (DoD) the authority, responsibility, and funding for environmental restoration at military facilities. These include active installations (like Travis Air Force Base) under the Installation Restoration Program (IRP), closing installations (like the Presidio of San Francisco) under the Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) Program, and former DoD facilities (such as NOLF, Cotati) under the FUDS program.

       The DERP operates under its own statute (10 USC 2701 et seq.) but program activities are carried out consistent with the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA) Section 120, which makes CERCLA applicable to federal facilities. DERP-FUDS was established to protect the environment and natural resources for present and future generations and to protect human health and safety by removing hazardous material from the environment. The focus for DERP-FUDS activities is on smarter, faster and less costly assessments and clean-ups of environmental contamination. This is done through the newest available technology and resourcefulness used by the project managers.

       Currently there are over 9,800 FUDS properties nationwide that have been reviewed for program eligibility and evidence of DoD contamination. Over 2,650 of these properties have been determined to require environmental cleanup action. Their estimated cost to cleanup is over $18 billion. Within the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Sacramento District (consisting of northern California, Utah and Nevada, see map), there are 428 properties alone with an estimated cost to clean up over $2 billion. The annual budget to clean up and closeout these sites vary every year. This extends the time for completion for each site being cleaned-up and prolongs the startup of sites that have yet to begin.