The federal Environmental Protection Agency and the Center for Disease Control would have to concur with military plans to ship a byproduct of the toxic nerve agent VX to Salem County for treatment and ultimate disposal into the Delaware River under legislation that has cleared the House of Representatives.
"I think this effectively vetoes the project," said U.S. Rep. Robert Andrews, D-1st Dist. of Haddon Heights, Thursday following House passage of the Defense Authorization Act of 2006. "I don't think they will ever agree with these plans."
According to Andrews, the act, which must now go before the U.S. Senate and be approved by President Bush, would seriously hamper the military's plans to transport the VX byproduct from Indiana to the DuPont Chambers Works for processing and disposal.The proposed legislation -- which cleared the House late Wednesday -- would
include a mandate that the military would have to gain the approval of both
the EPA and the CDC before going forward. According to Andrews, the two agencies
have both been "skeptical" of the project.
Andrews said that he worked with U.S. Reps. Frank LoBiondo, R-2nd Dist. and
Jim Saxton, R-3rd Dist. to negotiate the VX stipulations into the act.
"This was really a bipartisan effort," said Andrews. "I was very pleased with the help my neighbors gave me on this."
Anthony Farina, a DuPont spokesman, said the company is unfazed by the pending legislation.
"In fact, this is what we've been saying from day one," said Farina. "That our involvement with this proposal hinges on whether it can be done safely and effectively."
Farina added that DuPont has developed specialized phosphonate removal technology to treat the agent byproduct before it would be dumped into the Delaware River.
"We've been working with all the appropriate regulatory officials," Farina said. "More recently, we've been having meetings with the CDC and the EPA regarding our technology. That appears to address a lot of the concerns that have been raised regarding this project."
The CDC has said the plan should not go forward because it is unclear whether the VX could be neutralized before shipping and because of the dangers it could pose to the ecosystem of the Delaware River. New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Bradley Campbell has said he thinks the plan is flawed and should be abandoned.
"So many people draw their drinking water directly from the river," said Andrews. "I don't think we should ever take any significant risks with our drinking water."