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Friday, October 20, 2006
Courier-Post Staff
South Jersey's congressional delegation Thursday hailed the approval of another study of the Army's controversial proposal to treat VX byproduct here, saying at the very least the study will postpone the Army's plan.
And the three congressmen -- Rob Andrews, D-Haddon Heights, Jim Saxton, R-Mount Holly, and Frank LoBiondo, R-Ventnor -- vowed to continue fighting the plan no matter what the study by the Government Accountability Office concludes.
The Army's plan is to neutralize VX, a deadly nerve agent, where it is stored in Newport, Ind., then ship the byproduct, in the form of wastewater, to DuPont's Chambers Works in Deepwater, where it would be further treated, then dumped into the Delaware River.
"I don't think there is any answer that will satisfy our concerns," LoBiondo said of the Army's proposal and the GAO study of it that was officially authorized Tuesday when President Bush signed the National Defense Authorization Act.
Included in that act was an amendment introduced by the three congressmen calling for suspension of the plan until the GAO completes its study.
A spokesman for DuPont said the company welcomes the GAO's involvement and is, in fact, already cooperating with the agency in its study.
The GAO is a bipartisan, investigative arm of Congress.
Its study comes in the wake of earlier studies by the federal Environmental Protection Agency and the federal Centers for Disease Control that concluded the Army's plan poses no unacceptable risks.
In a conference call Thursday, Andrews called those studies flawed -- "based on assumptions given them by the Army" -- and said "the GAO will test those assumptions."
"There are too many risks and too many unanswered questions," Andrews said, adding "the possibility of nerve agent coming even close to the Delaware River is unacceptable."
Anthony Farino, a spokesman for DuPont, said, "It's important to keep in mind what this proposal is and what it isn't," drawing the distinction between VX and the byproduct of neutralizing it.
"We're not going to be transporting VX," he said.
He added, "We have concerns about the wastewater too. That's why we're insisting that we have a role in Newport, to ensure that the wastewater is safe to be transported and treated."
The congressmen said they understand the nerve agent must be disposed of.
"We recognize our responsibility" under international treaties, Saxton said.
But they said there are more efficient ways to do so, including construction of a new plant in Newport, Ind., that would allow the entire process to take place at that site.
"There are seven or eight methods rated more efficient," Andrews contended. "The Army says they cost too much."
Gov. Jon S. Corzine weighed in Thursday in praise of the congressional delegation's efforts.
"The Army's persistent efforts to dump partially treated VX into the Delaware River are simply wrong and ill-advised," the governor said. "The Army should take note: New Jersey is no dumping ground."
Reach Richard Pearsall at (856) 486-2465 or rpearsall@courierpostonline.com