Updated 04/27/2007 11:04:40 PM CDT


Four environmental groups are banding together to stop more truckloads of neutralized VX wastewater from leaving Indiana to be destroyed at an incinerator just outside of Port Arthur.

Officials with the Sierra Club, Kentucky-based Chemical Weapons Weapons Working Group, the Newport, Ind.,-based Citizens Against Incineration and Port Arthur's Community In-Power Development Association announced Friday their plan to file in Indiana Monday for a federal injunction, based on confidential information received this week about the wastewater.

Community In-Power Development Association officials are planning another protest today outside Veolia Environmental Services near Port Arthur.

They also want the caustic wastewater kept where it is and an on-site treatment called "supercritical water oxidation" used rather than having wastewater shipped through eight states, according to the notice of intent e-mailed to The Enterprise.

"We don't want to ship our problem elsewhere," said Sara Morgan of Citizens Against Incineration.

The U.S. Army, which oversees the disposal of chemical weapons, has contracted with Veolia Environmental Services outside of Port Arthur to incinerate about 2 million gallons of the deactivated nerve agent.

Several groups have protested the agreement, saying the community wasn't notified in a timely manner and voicing concerns about the environmental impact.

Army officials had tried unsuccessfully to dispose of the wastewater in New Jersey and Ohio, but met with opposition and permitting problems, according to The Enterprise archives.

The Veolia site has the proper permits to dispose of the neutralized chemical agent and opened up for public tours this past week to reassure Southeast Texans about its capabilities.

Army officials maintain the process is safe and has been reviewed by several agencies including the National Research Center, the Centers for Disease Control and Texas Commission for Environmental Quality, said Mickey Morales, spokesman for the Army's chemical materials agency .

Morales said as per Army policy, he couldn't comment on pending litigation.

Williams said he has been told by people he wouldn't name who are working in the Indiana facility that the VX nerve agent isn't as deactivated as it's thought to be because of how the wastewater separates when it's stored. In a further explanation, Mich Harrison, attorney for the opposition groups, said the nerve agent and another chemical rise to the surface.

Also, the treatment to make the wastewater less flammable is being skipped, Williams added.

Harrison said this makes the wastewater "too dangerous to transport" and that a chemical analysis need to be done on the concentrated portion to determine its potential impact.

"We believe the Army is in violation of Indiana law," Harrison said during the conference call.

"These are serious allegations and we felt it is our responsibility to bring them forward," said Craig Williams, Chemical Weapons Working Group director, in a conference call Friday.

rappleye@beaumontenterprise.com

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