Washington ? The Defense Department wants the government to ease environmental laws to avoid costly cleanups of military ranges and give states more time to handle air pollution from training exercises.

The proposed changes were submitted to Congress on Tuesday, part of the Pentagon’s renewed drive to ease several environmental laws in the name of military readiness.

Since 2002, the Bush administration has sought more flexibility in complying with the laws, claiming that environmental restrictions are compromising military training and readiness.

Congress has approved five of the eight changes sought by the Pentagon so far.

Defense officials told reporters Tuesday at the Pentagon that lawsuits from environmental groups could cripple training exercises on 525 operational range complexes nationwide.

For example, environmentalists routinely sue to force the government to designate more “critical habitat” — lands needed for endangered species to recover.

“We as a department cannot wait for a train wreck,” Paul Mayberry, deputy undersecretary of defense for readiness, said, explaining the need for a third consecutive year of requests from Congress.

But environmentalists said the military has been trying to solve a problem that doesn’t exist, seeking changes to laws that would undermine the nation’s natural resources under the pretext of national security.

“They’re asking for blanket exemptions here, and they’re asking for exemptions even in cases where there’s no problems,” said Karen Wayland, legislative director for Natural Resources Defense Council, an environmental group.

Congressional investigators in 2002 found little evidence to support the Bush administration’s claims that environmental laws hamper military training.