Defense Environment Alert
August 12, 2003

OREGON REGULATORS OK SOME OFF-SITE TREATMENT OF LIQUID WASTE

Oregon regulators will allow the Army to send some processed chemical weapons waste from its Umatilla plant to an off-site treatment facility, backing away from a previous stance that would have prohibited any off-site treatment of the wastes. The state's Environmental Quality Commission (EQC) consented last month to the change as a way to prevent delays in the destruction of stockpiled chemical weapons at the site,

The Army's commitment not to send liquid waste off site, and instead process it through a brine reduction area, was one of the factors regulators weighed when they issued the facility's hazardous waste permit in 1997, Oregon's Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) says in a recent notice. But the Army pressed for allowing shipments of brine off site for treatment and disposal in cases where the capacity of the brine processing unit limits the chemical agent destruction rate, the notice says.

"The DEQ and EQC strongly believe that the Army should fulfill its original commitments, but also do not want to needlessly slow down the destruction of highly toxic chemical agent by placing a higher priority on the processing of brines that have a relatively lower toxicity," DEQ says in the notice.

The revised permit defines what conditions will permit off-site treatment, it says. A DEQ official says that such shipments are only expected to occur when the brine reduction area is down for maintenance or repairs. Otherwise, this work could curtail or shut down agent operations, the source says. In such cases, the Army has to notify the state in advance and explain why off-site shipment to a permitted hazardous waste facility is necessary, the source says.

Based on limited experience with the unit, the Army expects to process all brine during normal operations, the source adds. The state is hopeful that all brines will be processed on site, the source says.

In related news, the Army is preparing to begin surrogate trial burns for the facility's deactivation furnace later this month, the source says. Agent destruction operations will likely begin next year, the source says. The state continues to face a court challenge by citizens over its granting the Army a permit for the facility.