Opponents of a plan to ship wastewater from a Cold War nerve agent to South Jersey on Thursday again called on the Army to treat the material at its chemical weapons depot in Indiana.

Representatives from environmental groups, boaters' groups and the DuPont's workers' union rallied in opposition to the proposal at the RiverWinds community complex, while activists met at the Indiana capitol building in Indianapolis to decry the plan.

They argued that the Army should avoid the risks of transporting the wastewater by truck to DuPont in Carneys Point, where it will receive final treatment and be discharged into the Delaware River.

Members argued that the Army should use a treatment process known as super-critical water oxidation at the Newport Chemical Weapons Depot in west-central Indiana.

"The time is to . . . avoid all the unnecessary risks of transporting it and deal with it in the most environmentally safe manner that exposes the less people to risks," said Tracy Carluccio of the Delaware Riverkeeper Network.

In a statement, Sara Morgan, a retired schoolteacher from Newport, said that residents of her area do not want the wastewater shipped across the country.

"I don't know about other places in the country, but in west-central Indiana we care about being good neighbors," she said. "In this case, our neighbors stretch all the way to New Jersey and we don't want this material dumped on them when it can be treated safely right here."

The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention this month is expected to release a supplemental report that could clear the way for the Army's VX nerve agent disposal plan.

The Army's Chemical Material Agency, responsible for destroying the nation's chemical weapons stockpile, maintains DuPont has a wastewater treatment plant, the Secure Environmental Treatment facility, that is capable of safely treating the waste, a corrosive material likened to household drain cleaner.

While the Army is investigating using the super-critical water oxidation process at another depot in Kentucky, it would be much smaller than one needed at Newport and would not be designed to handle the more corrosive VX wastewater Newport is producing, CMA spokesman Jeff Lindblad said.

Construction and operation of a similar unit in Indiana would cost more than $300 million and delay destruction of the VX nerve agent by at least two years, Lindblad added.

Jim Rowe is president of United Steel Workers Local 943, which represents DuPont workers. While he said plant workers feel confident in their ability to work with the material, they are concerned that problems with testing equipment could put the river at risk.

"Along with all the communities and everybody here, we don't feel safe, we don't feel good about the fact that they want to put it into the Delaware River," he said.

In a statement, DuPont spokesman Anthony Farina said: "Safety is first and foremost for DuPont. Our pledge regarding the Army's proposal has been clear: We would only be involved in the project if it can be accomplished safely and effectively without any adverse impact on the community, our employees or the environment."

Reach Lawrence Hajna at (856) 486-2466 or lhajna@courierpostonline.com