State of New Jersey
OFFICE OF THE GOVERNOR
125 WEST STATE STREET
PO BOX  001
TRENTON NJ 08625-0001

RICHARD J. CODEY        
Acting Governor        


May 20, 2005

The Honorable Francis J. Harvey
Secretary of the United States Army
United States Department of Defense
The Pentagon
Washington, DC 20310

Dear Secretary Harvey:

I am writing to express New Jersey’s continuing opposition to the United States Army’s proposal to transport nerve agent waste from the Newport Chemical Depot in Indiana to DuPont’s Chambers Works environmental treatment facility in New Jersey.  

For several years, the Army has explored the possibility of neutralizing chemical munitions containing the VX nerve agent at Newport, shipping several million gallons of caustic wastewater generated by the neutralization to the DuPont Secure Environmental Treatment facility, and treating the wastewater at DuPont for discharge into the Delaware River.  The State of New Jersey and the State of Delaware have explained at length that we oppose this plan because of its potential to affect a river that is not only a precious natural resource, but also an important part of our states’ economies.  

At my direction, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP)has issued a new draft permit for the facility that precludes acceptance of the nerve agent waste unless and until the proposal is subject to rigorous and independent review.  I am asking the Delaware River Basin Commission to take similar action.

An April 6, 2005 report issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) confirmed the basis for this action and validates the concerns that Governor Minner and I have raised.  Specifically, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) advised the CDC that "DuPont has not demonstrated that the disposal of material as presented in the ecological risk assessment is acceptable.”  The CDC stated that it could not recommend proceeding with the treatment and disposal of wastewater at the DuPont facility unless and until the USEPA's concerns, which Delaware and New Jersey had raised previously, were addressed.

I am particularly troubled by the CDC’s inability to conclude that the wastewater leaving the Newport facility will be free of VX, or even that the wastewater will contain no detectable amount of VX.  Apparently, the Army had planned to certify that there is no detectable VX in the wastewater as long as VX concentrations are below 20 parts per billion (ppb).    The USEPA has pointed out that a 20 ppb threshold "may not be protective of aquatic organisms through ingestion or dermal exposure.”  For example, studies have shown that VX is acutely toxic to striped bass and white perch at a concentration of 20 ppb.  Even if the 20 ppb threshold is found to be adequate to protect human health, it continues to be inadequate to protect our fisheries.

New Jersey is also deeply concerned about the plans to transport thousands of truckloads of the VX wastewater through New Jersey.  The Army has favored a route that would take those trucks through downtown Newark and through some of the most densely populated areas of the nation's most densely populated state.  Concern over transportation routes, as well as the concern over the likely effects of treating the VX wastewater and discharging it to the Delaware River, could be rendered moot if the Army were to have the wastewater treated at a site much closer to the Newport facility or at the facility itself.

I recognize that the neutralization and safe disposal of chemical munitions are critical objectives for the Nation’s security and foreign policy.  The Army should recognize that pursuit of the flawed Chambers Works plan, initiated without adequate public discussion and defended on the basis of assumptions that CDC now has found misleading, is unlikely to achieve that important objective.  In the absence of a change in position by the Army, I am directing my agency leaders to use all appropriate regulatory authority to oppose the proposal, and I shall urge that neighboring states and the Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC) do the same.  

New Jersey’s position has been reinforced by the recent announcement that on-site treatment of the VX nerve agent and its byproducts is technically practicable in Newport.  The Army should focus on this on-site technology, available from Perma-Fix Environmental Services, Inc.  This approach would obviate further review or consideration of the flawed Chambers Works proposal.

More importantly, this approach would avoid the risks inherent in transporting enormous volumes of waste thousands of miles, and would safeguard the precious resources of the Delaware River.

Sincerely,


Acting Governor Richard J. Codey