NEWPORT, Ind. -- A military contractor hired to destroy a deadly nerve agent stored in western Indiana has sent Army officials a letter informing them that the complex is ready to begin eliminating the site's stockpile.

John Stewart, project site manager for contractor Parsons Technology, Inc. sent a letter to the Army last week seeking permission to begin chemically neutralizing the VX at the Newport Chemical Agent Disposal Facility.

Army project site manager Jeff Brubaker said the government has the letter from Parsons and will review it and its supporting documents.

When the government concurs with Parsons that the project is ready to start, he said a letter will be sent to the Army's Chemical Materials Agency headquarters seeking permission to start operations.

In his letter to the Army, Stewart wrote that the complex is complete, has proven during tests to be safe and effective, and that qualified personnel have been trained to operate it "in an environmentally compliant manner."

A slow startup plan allows the Army to verify plant performance during the initial operations before increasing destruction rate, Brubaker said earlier this month.

Parsons was hired by the Army to design, build and operate the nerve agent neutralization facility that will destroy 1,269 tons of the VX stockpiled at the Newport Chemical Depot since it was manufactured in the 1960s.

The byproduct of VX neutralization is expected to be 4 million gallons of a caustic chemical called hydrolysate that requires further treatment before disposal.

The Army wants to transport the hydrolysate to a DuPont Inc. plant in New Jersey for treatment and disposal in the Delaware River -- a plan that has sparked opposition in New Jersey and Delaware.

The Army is waiting for a report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and its review of the Army's plan to haul transport the hazardous waste from Newport to New Jersey for final treatment and disposal.

Brubaker said the letter from Parsons verifies that 190 recommendations made after tests were done in August are completed.

In a government review of operations that begins next week, Brubaker said inspectors with chemical-agent experience will be checking chemical-agent destruction safety, medical areas safety and physical security, among other things.

Last month, Brubaker said he expected neutralization to begin later this year.

The Army can store some of the hydrolysate onsite in special containers until an alternative treatment is selected by the Army.