Defense Environment Alert 09/07/04

Defense Environment Alert

an exclusive biweekly report on defense policies for cleanup, compliance and pollution prevention

Vol. 12, No. 18--September 7, 2004

ARMY SAYS ANNISTON INCINERATOR PERMIT VIOLATIONS BEING ADDRESSED

The Army says it has already corrected most of the permit violations cited in an Aug. 26 notice from Alabama regulators, and is working to resolve the remaining issues. This is the second time this year the state has issued a notice of violation to the Anniston Chemical Agent Disposal Facility (ANCDF).

"We have cleared up most of these issues. It is our goal to ensure that they do not occur again," ANCDF site project manager Timothy Garrett said in an Aug. 27 statement.

The Alabama Department of Environmental Management (ADEM) notes 10 violations, some of which were self-reported by ANCDF, occurred between April 4 and July 29. The violations include improperly calibrating certain instruments, changing air monitoring tubes on a schedule different than originally planned, leaving part of a rocket in a waste container, storing barrels of acid and base wastes too close to one another, having cracked concrete and a broken 0-ring in a pollution abatement system area, and spilling liquid waste. The notice of violation is available on InsideEPA. com. See page 2 for details.

An Army spokesman says ANCDF consulted with the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention before modifying how often it changed the air monitoring tubes, but this was not changed in a laboratory analysis and monitoring plan or in a trial bum plan, and therefore the state considers it a violation.

ANCDF has already changed its procedures for when alarms for the heated discharge conveyor bin enclosure will sound. Previously, this was triggered through a set procedure, but now it is done automatically, the spokesman says. It will take longer to fix the problems with the cracked concrete and spillage of waste brine, he says.

The Army has 30 days to respond to the notice and at press time was still crafting its official response. In April, ADEM issued a notice for 17 permit violations, although the Army said the issues were predominantly administrative (Defense Environment Alert, April 20, p 11).