Citizens
Give Notice to State and Federal Agencies of Intent to Sue over
Shipment of VX Waste
CHEMICAL WEAPONS
WORKING GROUP
128 Main St. Berea KY 40403
859-986-0868 859-986-2695 (F)
www.cwwg.org kefcwwg@cwwg.org
128 Main St. Berea KY 40403
859-986-0868 859-986-2695 (F)
www.cwwg.org kefcwwg@cwwg.org
for
more information contact:
Hilton Kelley (409) 498-1088
Sara Morgan (765) 498-4472
Mick Harrison (859) 321-1586
Ross Vincent (719) 561-3117
Craig Williams (859) 986-7565
Hilton Kelley (409) 498-1088
Sara Morgan (765) 498-4472
Mick Harrison (859) 321-1586
Ross Vincent (719) 561-3117
Craig Williams (859) 986-7565
for immediate release: Friday, April 27, 2007
CITIZENS GROUPS NOTICE STATE AND
FEDERAL AGENCIES OF INTENT TO SUE OVER SHIPMENT OF CHEMICAL WEAPONS
WASTE
NGOs in Texas
and Indiana Are Joined by National Organizations in Effort to Keep VX
By-products Off U.S. Highways and From Being Burned in Minority
Community
Today, notices were received at state and federal offices in Washington, Indiana and Texas spelling out citizens' plans to sue the Army over shipments of VX waste from a chemical weapons disposal facility in Newport, Indiana through eight states to ultimately be burned in the predominantly poor and minority community of Port Arthur, Texas. In the Notice of Intent to Sue (NOI), citizen groups and individuals in Texas and Indiana, joined by the Sierra Club and the Chemical Weapons Working Group (CWWG), cite violations of Indiana state law and federal regulations under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) and the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).
The NOI stresses the dangers of transporting VX-contaminated waste across the U.S. and notes that workers at the Army's Indiana facility have made allegations claiming the concentrations of VX nerve agent and other very toxic chemicals in the waste are being misrepresented by the Army. VX is one of the most lethal chemicals on the planet.
Attorney Mick Harrison of Bloomington, Indiana says his clients wish to stop the shipments as soon as possible and that under RCRA, "it is appropriate to grant preliminary injunctive relief as a precautionary and preventive measure."
Regarding the methods the Army used to surreptitiously sign the contract with the incineration firm, Veolia Environmental Services in Texas, Sara Morgan of Parke County, Indiana says, "We have been on the receiving end of secrecy, deception, half-truths and untruths."
An example of such duplicity is Colonel Jesse Barber who, when meeting with the Port Arthur City Council April 24 in order to quell citizen concerns over not having been notified of the shipments, claimed that the reason the community was not told in advance of the incoming waste was due to a "snafu" in communications. But just the week before in a meeting in Indiana Barber claimed that Port Arthur citizens had been informed, that the contractor Veolia had "met with their elected officials, their local governing officials, and local citizens’Ķthey did extensive outreach."
Barber also told citizens in Indiana that the Army had no duty to communicate directly with the public, when just last year the U.S. Congress instructed the Army to "gain the support of the affected communities" before attempting to ship any such material. Furthermore, at the meeting Barber did not fully or accurately explain why the shipments have already been refused in two states.
Hilton Kelley of Port Arthur notes that earlier attempts to ship this same material to Ohio and New Jersey were stopped due to citizen opposition, concerns about pollution and unresolved questions regarding the waste. "Ohio and New Jersey wouldn't take it, so now the Army wants to dump it on Texas," he said.
In the NOI, issues associated with emergency response capabilities along the transportation corridor are also raised, along with the fact that U.S. law prohibits interstate transportation of chemical warfare material. The Army doesn't consider the VX by-product to be barred from shipment by law, but, as Craig Williams, director of the CWWG points out, "The Chemical Weapons Convention inspectors are watching every drop of this material and are not declaring it 'destroyed' until after it is incinerated in Texas. If it's not a chemical weapon, why are they monitoring the Port Arthur process?"
Harrison expects to file the suit against shipment on Monday in Indiana and hopes to have a hearing as quickly thereafter as possible.
"It depends on the court's schedule," he said, "but I would expect the court to recognize the serious nature of our petition and hear it expeditiously."
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Copies of the NOI are available from the CWWG upon request.
Copies of the NOI are available from the CWWG upon request.
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