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By Jodi Whitaker
Register News Editor
As the contractor works to destroy 523 tons of
chemical weapons stored at the Blue Grass Army Depot, Craig Williams, executive
director of the Chemical Weapons Working Group, says it is important for
the community to be aware of what is happening.
“Information is critical if people want to have
a long-term meaningful role in the execution of this program,” Williams said.
“They need to be involved.”
The community will have an opportunity to get involved
Thursday as the program manager for Assembled Chemical Weapons Alternatives,
Bechtel Parsons Blue Grass and the Blue Grass Army Depot host a public meeting
to share information about the program’s permitting process.
“This is one dimension of a very complicated process,
but it’s a very important one. It has to do with the permitting that allows
this facility to be operated. This community is going to be dramatically
affected by this whole program, and clearly the permitting is an important
piece. People need to understand what the permitting process means and how
it’s proposed to be fulfilled, so that if they have concerns or issues or
questions about how it is going to work, they can articulate them.”
Kevin Regan, the environmental permitting manager
for Bechtel Parsons Blue Grass — the contractor for the chemical weapons
destruction — said the first step is applying for a Research Development
and Demonstration Permit, which will allow Bechtel Parsons Blue Grass to
develop an integrated process for using the selected technology to destroying
the chemical weapons stored at the depot.
The chemical munitions stored at the Blue Grass
Army Depot
include nerve agents VX and GB in projectiles and rockets, and a blister
agent — mustard — in projectiles.
Because that exact combination of agents and munitions
have not been destroyed before in the same facility, the process will be
done in steps, with the first steps — permitted under the Research Development
and Demonstration permit — being a way to assure the safety of the process
before a final Kentucky Hazardous Waste Part B permit is issued. The Part
B permit will allow for the destruction of the majority of the chemical weapons
once the method is proven to the state to be a safe one.
“Although the unit processes have been proven to
destroy the weapons, the whole process has never been integrated,” Regan
said.
For example, a rocket shear machine has been proven
as a safe method of cutting rockets, and the supercritical water oxidation
process has been proven to destroy chemicals, but the two have not been used
together.
“We need the (Research Development and Demonstration)
permit to build this facility and conduct research to figure out the best
way to put it all together,” Regan said.
Getting the final permit can only happen if the
research process is done, Regan said.
“There’s no way we can get to that point unless
we have a facility and figure out the safest way to make it work together
as one unit,” he said.
Regan said the state has not committed to any timeframe
for issuing the permits necessary before a demilitarization facility can
be built. He said the latest projection from the contractor’s standpoint
has the facility being constructed beginning in the fall of 2005.
“We don’t know how long it will take,” Regan said
of the permitting process.
The Commonwealth of Kentucky’s Department of Environmental
Protection will issue the permits to the contractor only after specific conditions
are met and the commonwealth is confident the project is going to be completed
as safely as possible.
In the meantime, the contractor wants to make sure
the public has every possible opportunity to express their thoughts and concerns
about the work taking place in their community.
“The public meeting will provide the public the
opportunity to give comments and input before we formally apply for the permit
with the state, said Mickey Morales, public outreach manager for Bechtel
Parsons Blue Grass. “The whole purpose of this is to address any issues or
concerns before the permit is submitted. We’re trying to go beyond what’s
required as much as possible.”
For instance, Morales said Bechtel Parsons Blue
Grass has sent flyers out to the community, advertised, and used other media
outlets to encourage people to attend Thursday’s meeting.
“We went out to find ways of getting the word out,”
Morales said. “We didn’t just do the required legal announcement.”
Morales said the entire project came about because of the public’s input into
a preferred method of destroying the chemical weapons — neutralization using
supercritical water oxidation. Thursday’s meeting is another way to make
sure the community stays involved, he said.
“One of the cornerstones of the program is to involve
the public in the decision making process so they can be part of it,” Morales
said. “It’s been a hallmark of this program from the beginning, and we plan
to expand it as soon as possible.”
Another way Bechtel Parsons Blue Grass is expanding
their public outreach is through the public outreach office. The company
was recently awarded a contract to operate the outreach office, which will
be moving into their Highland Park facility by the end of the month.
“This will help the public have a one-stop shop
for information,” Morales said of the outreach office’s move.
Morales said community involvement is key in the entire process.
“We have a commitment to involving the public as
much as possible and to be as open and transparent as possible, and to provide
timely and accurate information to the public,” he said.
Jodi Whitaker can be reached at jwhitaker@richmondregister.com.
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