Groups sue to stop Army nerve agent disposal plan
Seven environmental groups have asked the federal courts to stop a
U.S. Army plan to have a Delaware River plant treat millions of gallons
of wastes from a VX nerve agent disposal site in Indiana.
The
Delaware Riverkeeper Network and six other national and state groups
filed the action in the U .S. District Court for Washington, D.C.
Details of the complaint include a claim that federal law bans the
transportation of chemical weapons across state lines, and accusations
that the Army failed to complete a required environmental impact study.
Under
the Army proposal, the DuPont Co. would treat caustic wastewater from a
VX disposal plant at an Army weapons depot in Newport, Ind. Contractors
already have neutralized about a third of the 1,269-ton stockpile in an
operation prompted by an international treaty. Wastes from the plant
have been held in storage pending final reviews and approval of federal
and state permits, however.
"The law is very clear that all
chemical weapons are supposed to be destroyed in the state where they
are located," said Tracy Carluccio, a member of the Delaware
Riverkeeper Network. "They're not supposed to be transported out of
state."
Other parties in the case include: The American Littoral
Society; Chemical Weapons Working Group, Pennsylvania Clean Water
Action, Delaware Audubon Society, New Jersey Environmental Federation
and New Jersey Audubon Society.
DuPont and Army officials have
said the process poses little risk either during transport or
treatment. The company overhauled its treatment process last year after
Delaware officials pointed out that DuPont's commercial wastewater
plant would have little effect on some potentially hazardous chemicals
left by the breakdown of VX liquids. Those chemicals would have passed
virtually untreated into the Delaware River.
Contact Jeff Montgomery at 678-4277 or jmontgomery@delawareonline.com.