Citizens
File Suit to Stop Shipment of VX Waste across 8 States to Be Burned in
Texas
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:
Mick Harrison (859) 321-1586
Craig Williams (859) 986-7565
Hilton Kelley (409) 498-1088
Sara Morgan (765) 498-4472
Ross Vincent (719) 561-3117
Mick Harrison (859) 321-1586
Craig Williams (859) 986-7565
Hilton Kelley (409) 498-1088
Sara Morgan (765) 498-4472
Ross Vincent (719) 561-3117
Embargoed Until: 3:00 P.M. EDT Tuesday, May 8, 2007
CITIZENS GROUPS FILE
SUIT TO STOP SHIPMENT OF CHEMICAL WEAPONS WASTE ACROSS EIGHT STATES TO
BE BURNED IN TEXAS
Complaint Alleges Multiple Violations of State and Federal Laws Meant to Protect Human Health and the Environment
Complaint Alleges Multiple Violations of State and Federal Laws Meant to Protect Human Health and the Environment
After the Army, Indiana environmental regulators and even the Indiana State Police ignored repeated requests to require VX nerve agent by-products to be tested before being shipped from Newport, Indiana to a Port Arthur, Texas incinerator, citizens groups and individuals have been forced to file a lawsuit in order to have their concerns heard.
In a 60+ page complaint filed today in federal court in Terre Haute, citizens from both Indiana and Texas claim, among other things, that the untested shipments, which began three weeks ago, violate the federal Resource, Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) and pose "an imminent and substantial endangerment to the public health and the environment." Under RCRA, citizens are allowed to sue if they believe actions by anyone, including the U.S. Government may present such endangerment.
"Clearly the shipment and incineration of the materials in question cross that threshold," said Mick Harrison, the lead attorney representing the citizens. "Workers at the Indiana facility have alleged that the Army has intentionally characterized the waste as containing a lower percentage of VX than it actually does. Such misrepresentation not only violates the law, but increases the risk of harm to citizens in both states and all along the 900-mile transportation route. It's a real recipe for disaster," he added.
The complaint alleges that the shipments, in addition to violating RCRA imminent hazard provisions, also violate:
- Environmental justice provisions under the National Environmental Policy Act;
- Indiana hazardous waste laws;
- RCRA hazardous waste characterization requirements;
- RCRA hazardous waste manifests and release prevention requirements;
- A federal prohibition against interstate shipment of such materials; and
- A federal prohibition
against disposal of such agents unless they have been "detoxified or
made harmless to man and his environment"
Citizens at both ends of this 'pipeline' oppose shipping this material and, according to Sara Morgan of Indiana, "I bet most folks along the transportation route would also oppose the shipment if they knew it was coming through their town."
Unlike many instances where communities are eager to dump their waste elsewhere, citizens in Indiana have actively worked to keep the material in Newport where it is. "We wouldn't want to receive the same kind of toxic waste from Port Arthur, so why should we stand by and let the military dump on them?" Morgan asked.
The citizens' complaint addresses the Army's failure to adequately consider the ways in which incinerating this VX-contaminated waste would negatively impact the Port Arthur community. According to the suit, the military "failed to consider socio-economic and health impacts, including impacts on already highly polluted minority communities in Port Arthur, Texas, from the pollution resulting from the handling and incineration of CVXH (Caustic VX Hydrolysate) combined with other area air pollution sources."
Hilton Kelley, Director of Port Arthur's Communities In-Power Development Association said, "It is a sad state of affairs that, after trying to send this poison to two communities up north and getting rejected, the Army has targeted a poor southern minority community. I assume they thought we wouldn't have the capacity to resist - they were wrong."
The complaint also points out that safer alternatives to shipping and burning the VX by-products have been identified and approved by the Army and the community - even Indiana regulators who had issued permits to treat the material on-site.
Ross Vincent, a senior policy advisor for the Sierra Club said, "Frankly, we are baffled by the Army's continued struggle with reality at Newport. They have wasted at least four years and untold millions of taxpayer dollars by attempting to put VX hydrolysate on the public highways and force it down the throats of a succession of distant unwilling communities. They could have done it faster, safer and cheaper on-site , in a willing community, and enjoyed widespread public support. Instead, they have chosen to ignore multiple laws and to endanger public health and safety unnecessarily. I am confident that several of the issues raised in the suit address the Army's ignoring of these options, and it is my belief we will prevail once the Court has a chance to review these issues."
Indiana resident and plaintiff, Leonard Akers, who used to work at the Newport facility, noted the Army's referring to the CVXH as "Drano" said, "If the hydrolysate is only drain cleaner, why is it necessary to have International Chemical Weapons Treaty inspectors witness the final incineration before being able to declare the warfare agent destroyed?"
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Copies of the complaint are available upon request from the CWWG office.
Copies of the complaint are available upon request from the CWWG office.
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