Anniston Star
November 20, 2002

Lawsuit seeks to halt incineration

By Sara Clemence
Star Staff Writer

BIRMINGHAM

A coalition of diverse anti-incinerator groups filed a federal lawsuit Tuesday to stop the Army from burning chemical weapons stored in Anniston.

A dozen anti-incineration, environmental, civil rights and veterans' groups are pushing for a chemical-based neutralization technique rather than incineration.

The groups gathered on the steps of the U.S. Courthouse in Birmingham to announce the legal action.

"The Army has relatively safer non-incineration technologies for Maryland, Indiana, and Colorado," said Brenda Lindell of the Anniston-based Families Concerned About Nerve Gas Incineration. "If it's safe for these sites, it should be implemented in Alabama also."

The Army plans to begin using an incinerator at Anniston Army Depot early next year to destroy more than 2,000 tons of nerve and blister agents. The weapons are stored in concrete igloos at the Depot.

The plaintiffs say neutralization is a safer, more efficient method of disposal, and will save money in the long run.

"The bottom line is that this facility could be retrofitted," said Craig Williams, executive director of the Chemical Weapons Working Group, an anti-incineration organization.

The coalition estimates retrofitting the incinerator for neutralization would cost between $50 million and $75 million. That method would shorten the destruction process by three years, saving $300 to $400 million in operating costs, the coalition says.

The lawsuit presents three main arguments, Williams said:

First, it alleges the Army has not properly assessed alternatives such as neutralization, as required by the National Environmental Policy Act.

Second, it claims Alabama's hazardous-waste laws forbid the operation of facilities that "create an imminent and substantial danger to the environment and people in the population," Williams said.

Third, it alleges the Army is discriminating against minorities by placing the incinerator in a community where nearly half the population is black.

"In our community, where there's a higher population of minorities, they are using outdated
technology," said the Rev. Abraham Woods of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference.

The groups are asking the court to halt activities at the incinerator, fine the defendants for violating hazardous-waste laws, and "provide all other just and proper relief."

The groups said they are acting to protect communities in addition to Anniston. Incineration will generate about 60 million pounds of hazardous waste, which will be transported to disposal sites in Alabama and other states, they said.

The defendants named in the lawsuit are: the Army; the Army's program manager for chemical demilitarization; the Anniston Army Depot; the Department of Defense; Washington Demilitarization Company; Alabama Department of Environmental Management and ADEM Director James Warr.

The plaintiffs are: Alabama Environmental Council; Calhoun County Chapter of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference; Chemical Weapons Working Group; Citizens for Environmental Justice; of Terrapin Creek; Friends of Rural Alabama; Serving Alabama's Future Environment; Sierra Club; Vietnam Veterans of America Foundation, and Wild Alabama.