Birmingham News
July 17, 2003

Decision closer for Army incinerator

07/17/03
KATHERINE BOUMA
News staff writer

Alabama's environmental agency has notified Gov. Bob Riley that it is nearly ready to make a final decision on approval of the Anniston chemical weapons incinerator, a spokesman said Wednesday.

"At this point in the review process we have not documented any issues we're concerned about," said Scott Hughes, a spokesman for the Alabama Department of Environmental Management. "But that review is still going on at this time and we will continue to review information up until a final decision is made."

Officials for the state and the Army would not estimate when the Army would begin to incinerate nerve gas weapons at Anniston Army Depot. However, the Calhoun County Commission chairman said he has been told unofficially that work will not begin before the end of September or the beginning of October.

Opponents said they will file for a temporary restraining order today or Friday to prevent the incinerator's start-up.

"As we've been planning to do, we still intend to file a motion for an injunction and a temporary restraining order in federal court in Washington, D.C., and hopefully the Army will agree to not fire up until the judge rules on that particular motion," said Craig Williams, executive director of Chemical Weapons Working Group, a Kentucky-based coalition of groups opposing incineration at eight sites around the country.

He said the lawyer for his group, which filed its lawsuit against the Army in March, is in talks with lawyers for the U.S. Department of Justice.

When it receives a final permit modification from the state, the Army intends to incinerate 661,529 artillery shells, rockets and mines stored in earthen bunkers at the Anniston depot. The operation is expected to extend nine to 10 years and cost about $2.3 billion, including costs of building and operating the plant.

Anniston's base is one of eight around the country where the Army has stored Cold War-era weapons containing nerve agents or mustard gas. Under an international treaty, the United States has agreed to destroy the weapons.

At four sites, the Army has agreed to neutralize the weapons using warm water or other low-tech solutions that do not involve combustion or fire. Williams' group and a local Anniston group have advocated use of a similar technique at Anniston.

However, the Army has said that would not be cost-effective since the incinerator complex is already complete. Furthermore, officials say the risk of storing aging, deteriorating chemical weapons is 200 times greater than the risk of burning them.

Community protection:

A spokesman for Gov. Bob Riley said he had not seen the letter from ADEM, but that the governor has not decided whether he is ready to approve the final permit modification.

"We are assessing the situation to ensure that all our concerns and the county's concerns are resolved," said spokesman David Azbell. "We are in close consultation with the congressional delegation."

The governor's approval is not legally required to fire up the incinerator. However, the governor's office has said in the past that it would halt the ADEM permit approval if he was not satisfied with protections offered. In return, ADEM has assured the governor and his predecessor that they would be notified before the final paperwork was complete.

Calhoun County Commission Chairman James A. "Pappy" Dunn said he is satisfied that the federal government is progressing toward fulfilling its promise of protecting the community before beginning to incinerate deadly nerve agents in Anniston.

"We all seem to be singing the same verse out of the same hymnal," he said. "Whenever they are ready I think we can easily accept it."