Westinghouse will turn $7,500 fine to $15,000 benefit for area

By Rob Jordan
Star Staff Writer
01-26-2005

Instead of paying a fine for some environmental violations at the Anniston chemical weapons incinerator, the company that operates the facility will pay for an environmental project in the area, plant officials say. Officials at Westinghouse Anniston are working with the Calhoun County Commission to identify a potential project, valued at about $15,000, that will comply with a state consent order. Company and Army officials Tuesday declined to discuss what the project might be, saying only that they are looking into the possibilities. The Alabama Department of Environmental Management (ADEM) fined the company $7,500 in August 2004 for 10 violations of its operating contract and the federal Clean Air Act. Two of the violations involved a trial burn of so-called gelled rockets filled with sarin, in which incinerator workers mistakenly monitored emissions with a device not approved by ADEM. Other violations included acid and base waste drums placed too close together, waste bins that were not emptied as required, improperly calibrated equipment, a broken gasket, cracked concrete, and spilled brine, all in the main furnace's pollution abatement system area. Instead of paying the fine outright, Westinghouse was given the option of paying for a $15,000 “supplemental environmental project,” within certain guidelines. Although it will cost the company more, company officials opted for the project because of the perceived benefit to the community, said Ken Ankrom, the company’s plant manager at Anniston. Army officials encouraged the decision, said Tim Garrett, the Army’s project site manager. “Our position was, collectively, we’d rather see (the money for the fine) go back into the community,” Garrett said. Pending ADEM approval, Westinghouse officials hope to begin work on the selected project by March. Westinghouse Anniston’s parent company, Washington Group, also manages chemical weapons demilitarization facilities in Oregon and Arkansas and is involved in building two more, in Colorado and Kentucky.

About Rob Jordan

Rob Jordan covers Oxford for The Star.