A plan to treat the byproduct of VX, a deadly nerve agent, at a DuPont plant in South Jersey has been abandoned, the company concluding that the opposition was too stiff and the regulatory hurdles too high to proceed.

The company's announcement Friday afternoon that it was dropping its plans ended a three-year battle with opponents of the project and ignited celebrations among the environmentalists and political leaders who contended it was too risky to dump anything into the Delaware River that might contain even a trace of the deadly nerve agent.

"I commend DuPont for making the right decision," said Rep. Rob Andrews, D-Haddon Heights, who led the fight in the South Jersey congressional delegation against the plan.

For its part, DuPont continued to maintain that the project was safe, citing two federal studies as confirmation, and noted that the project had attracted support as well as opposition in South Jersey.

"But even with support and validation," said Anthony Farina, a company spokesman, "it became clear to us that the permitting process would be a lengthy one and that it was in the best interest of DuPont and New Jersey not to proceed."

"We've got a long-standing relationship in the state of New Jersey," said Nick Fanandakis, vice president and general manager of DuPont Chemical Solutions Enterprises. "It's an important state to DuPont."

The Army stores and neutralizes VX at a plant in Newport, Ind.

The proposal advanced by DuPont and the Army was to take the byproduct of neutralization, wastewater called hydrolysate, and ship it from Indiana to DuPont's Chambers Works in Deepwater.

There it was to be further treated before being dumped in the Delaware.

Studies done by the federal Centers for Disease Control and the Environmental Protection Agency concluded that the project was sound, but another federal study -- this one by the Government Accountability Office, an arm of Congress -- was under way.

"I believe that report, which is expected before the end of the month, will confirm our objections," said Andrews.

The congressman said he believes anticipation of that report may have been the "pivotal moment" in DuPont's decision to withdraw.

Gov. Jon S. Corzine called DuPont's announcement "a decisive victory for the people of New Jersey."

Jeff Tittel, the head of the New Jersey chapter of the Sierra Club, an environmental organization, said the plan never made sense but that it was a relief nonetheless to hear of its demise.

"If it had been allowed to happen, the next thing you know we'd become the toxin capital of the world," Tittel said.

Rep. Jim Saxton, R-Mount Holly, and Rep. Frank LoBiondo, R-Ventnor, joined Andrews in presenting a united front against the VX proposal and joined him Friday in applauding DuPont's withdrawal.

"There was no way to convince me that there was a safe way to treat VX and dump it into the Delaware," LoBiondo said.

What happens next with the VX byproduct is not clear, but Andrews said he and his colleagues will work to advance a solution.

Reach Richard Pearsall at (856) 486-2465 or rpearsall@courierpostonline.com