The US military is a major force in San Diego County. It controls 47% of San Diego Bay tidelands, including the largest naval base on the west coast located between National City and Barrio Logan. Other military facilities range from the southern tip of the county in Imperial Beach to Camp Pendleton at its most northern portion, from Point Loma and Coronado on the Pacific Ocean to the Marine Air Base at Miramar at the eastern edge of the City.

The Department of Defense is also one the nation's leading polluters, yet they avoid full regulation and accountability via various exemptions. In 2000, EHC worked with Congressman Bob Filner to draft the Military Environmental Responsibility Act, federal legislation that would subject the military to the same federal, environmental, worker and public safety laws that govern all other industrial and commercial operation.

Although the MERA legislation was not enacted, it brought national attention to this issue of unjust exemptions. The military is increasingly being held to the same regulations as the private and other governmental sectors.