Court rules Army can keep incinerator open

WASHINGTON - One of the final legal challenges to the chemical weapons incinerator in Anniston ended Monday when a federal court ruled the Army could keep the facility open and operating as it has been.

The coalition of citizen, civil rights and environmental groups that filed the lawsuit in 2002 said it will appeal the decision, arguing the public's health and the environment could still be in danger.

All of the work at the incinerator - from how the deadly substances are destroyed to how the hazardous waste is disposed of - has been reviewed by government regulators and approved in the facility's permit to operate, U.S. District Judge David Proctor found.

"We've always felt all along that no matter the site, incinerators are safe and proven technology," said Greg Mahall, spokesman for the Army Chemical Materials Agency. "I think (the ruling) vindicates our thinking on this."

In his 48-page opinion, Proctor said the allegations of inadequate protections for nearby residents and the environment "are nothing more than a thinly veiled effort to collaterally challenge the conditions of the permit."

In one example of the dispute, the permit does not require continual sampling for mercury emissions. Proctor found that because additional sampling is not prohibited does not mean that the incinerator operators "have an obligation to sample."

Proctor's decision was a summary judgment, meaning he ruled in favor of the defendants before the case went to trial. Although their case was originally intended to prevent the incinerator from starting up, the case has become more about enforcing the laws governing its operation, said Craig Williams, the leader of the Chemical Weapons Working Group, an incineration opponent.

"Our primary objective is to make sure the thing is operating in the best interest of protecting the public health and environment," Williams said.

The Anniston incinerator opened in August 2003 and so far has destroyed more than 42,000 sarin-filled rockets, 11,500 sarin-filled projectiles and 65,000 gallons of liquid sarin.

The Alabama Department of Environmental Management cited the Army in August for 10 violations of its permit, including failure to check nerve gas monitors, spilling hazardous waste across a floor and keeping what appeared to be part of an M55 rocket in a bin.

E-mail: morndorff@bhamnews.com