East Oregonian
June 21,2002

Test burns at Depot now slated to begin July 24

By HEIDI SODERSTROM
of the East Oregonian

HERMISTON --The start date for incinerating chemical weapons at the Umatilla Chemical Depot just west of Hermiston likely will be delayed at least two months.

That's because test burns have been delayed by the same amount of time.

Don Barclay, Army site project manager, told the Citizens Advisory Committee Thursday he will continue to press workers to "mitigate" and "compress the schedule," but only if it can be done safely.

"As we move through the year, I'll be better able to hang a target date on that," he said.
Incineration was scheduled to begin in early 2003. But test burns at the four incinerators built by Washington Demilitarization Company have yet to start. May 25 was the initial target date to start that process.

A calibration problem with the Continuous Emissions Monitoring System (CEMS), which measures both carbon monoxide and oxygen levels at the incinerator, has to be worked out before the Army can begin tests. Barclay said an internal assessment also has to be completed before the process can be set in motion.

Barclay said Thursday the new target date for the test burn process is now July 24.
"So we're back on that moving train toward surrogate (test) burns," Barclay said.

Wayne C. Thomas of the state Department of Environmental Quality told commissioners that he doesn't see anything that will prevent authorization of a Hazardous Waste Storage and Treatment Permit from the DEQ needed by the Army before burns can begin. Thomas is the administrator for the DEQ's Chemical Demil Program.

The permit would allow the Army to use the incinerators to destroy the 3,717 tons of nerve agent and blister agents stored in liquid form at the depot since 1962.

All 55 requirements of a DEQ assessment that had to be completed for the permit have been filled, except for a letter from the DEQ to the Army giving permission to proceed.

On a separate issue, the Army and DEQ came out of a meeting Wednesday morning still in disagreement about the range of amount of secondary waste (also called legacy waste) the DEQ will allow. There are three ranges " Method, Reliable and Practical Quantitation " that are being "intensely discussed," Thomas said.

The decision is not pivotal to the burn schedule, however. Thomas said discussions will continue.