Updated 06/18/2007 11:08:52 PM CDT

The U.S. Army stopped shipping the waste product created by VX nerve gas for disposal in Port Arthur for one day before a judicial procedure today.

Today's activity involves a conference call involving the U.S. Army, which began shipping the nerve gas waste water on April 16, and four citizens' groups opposed to shipping and disposal of the product in Port Arthur.

This is a prelude to a preliminary injunction hearing, said Craig Williams, director of Chemical Weapons Working Group, one of the organizations trying to stop the shipments.

The groups opposed to the local disposal of this product were going to file to get a temporary restraining order last week to stop the Army shipments.

Instead, they gave the Army the chance to voluntarily stand down, Williams said.

The Army agreed as long as the hearing was held today to set the conditions for the preliminary injunction hearing.

A preliminary injunction hearing comes before a trial when the complainant feels the defendant must stop doing whatever is at the heart of the trial for public safety until the full case is heard and the judge makes a decision, Williams said.

"It is an emergency petition to the court, saying: 'We want to have a full trial on this, but there is such a risk in what we are witnessing here that we asking you to stop this until we can have a full-blown trial,'" Williams said.

The Army might again begin its shipments of the nerve gas waste water between today's proceedings and the preliminary injunction hearing, Williams said.

"The real sticking point for the Army is a 'timely manner,'" Williams said. "If they say the injunction hearing will be held in three or four weeks, then I think the Army will hold off from more shipments. If the judge says, 'We don't have room in the docket until September,' then (the Army) will probably resume shipments," Williams said.

Army representatives would not comment on pending litigation, a spokesman said Monday.

The Army has shipped 101 truckloads of the nerve gas waste water to Veolia Environmental Services in Port Arthur since the middle of April.

The industrial disposal business has gotten rid of about 340,000 gallons of the product by incineration.

Veolia has a contract with the Army to destroy 1.8 million gallons of the nerve gas waste water.

This case is being heard before U.S. Judge Larry J. McKinney in Terre Haute, Ind.

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