VX plan has new
booster on bay
By DANIEL
WALSH Staff Writer, (856)
794-5111
Published:
Saturday, November 18, 2006
Maurice River Town-ship's three-man Town-ship Committee decided Thursday that not only does the plan to treat the lethal chemical weapon's wastewater at a DuPont plant in Salem County make sense, but it also could get the town a public boardwalk near the Delaware Bay.
"We've looked at this VX project more closely and now believe it is the best way to rid our nation of a dangerous terrorist target," Mayor Ron Riggins said in a written statement.
Riggins said he thinks DuPont and the Army should partner with the township in constructing a boardwalk from an isolated nature observation tower down to Thompsons Beach.
At a Township Committee meeting in March, township officials and
local
fishermen expressed concerns that dumping VX byproduct into the
Delaware just 30 miles upriver of the Bay's oyster beds could hurt the
area's fragile oyster industry.
On Thursday, however, Township Committeeman Norm
Frankel said the possibility of a boardwalk, along with lobbying from
local fishermen and the DuPont-Army team, contributed to the change of
heart. A new boardwalk was suggested during discussions with the
latter, Frankel said. It would open new access through the marshes for
hikers, birdwatchers, fishermen and others, according to Riggins.
"The Army is offering different bonuses for going along with that,"
Frankel said. DuPont spokesman Anthony Farina said he was familiar with the
discussions but that no deal was done. Jeff Lindblad, a spokesman for the Army's Chemical Materials Agency,
was clearly surprised when hearing this. He said his agency made no
such offer. DuPont and Army representatives have, however, spoken with
more than 80 southern New Jersey community groups about the project. "We don't lobby," Lindblad said. "We've just been going out and
presenting information. That's not what we do. I'm not aware of
anything in regards to a boardwalk." The Army's plan calls for chemically neutralizing the liquid nerve
agent in Newport, Ind., and trucking its caustic wastewater byproduct
to New Jersey for treatment and eventual disposal in the Delaware
River. The Army has been turned down in this effort before, when government
officials in Dayton, Ohio, rejected a plan for treatment there. The Army began destroying the agent last year after being directed
to
eliminate the nation's chemical stockpiles to comply with a 1997
international treaty. Critics have questioned whether trace amounts of VX or its toxic
byproducts could slip through the treatment process and into the
Delaware estuary. Delaware Bay fishermen have been particularly
concerned that DuPont's discharges could affect marine life. The Maurice River change in heart was largely driven by two
commercial
fishermen, George Kumor, of Heislerville, and Scott Sheppard, of Port
Norris. The two were among the most outspoken critics of the plan
earlier this year. After reading federal reports by the Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention and the Environmental Protection Agency,
Kumor and Sheppard changed their minds.
To e-mail Daniel Walsh at The Press:
DWalsh@pressofac.com