A legal dispute brought on by several national grassroots organizations, including the Berea-based Chemical Weapons Working Group (CWWG), was defeated last Monday in U.S. District Court allowing the Army to continue shipping caustic waste water created by the destruction of VX nerve agent.
The ruling issued by Chief U.S. District Judge Larry J. McKinney for the Southern District of Indiana in Indianapolis, was in favor of the Army and granted the Army’s motion for summary judgment.
The waste is being sent from an Indiana Army plant to a disposal facility in Texas.
The CWWG was just one of the many plaintiffs, which included similar organizations from New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Delaware.
The plaintiffs collectively filed suit in December 2006.
Their complaint was that the Army’s plans to transport the byproduct of neutralized VX nerve agent (also stored at the Blue Grass Army Depot in Richmond) from Indiana violates a federal law banning interstate movement of chemical weapons.
The Army does not consider caustic waste created from chemical weapon destruction to still be classified as a chemical weapon, therefore no federal laws are broken.
The court ruled Monday that the caustic waste water, known as hydrolysate, is a hazardous waste, not a munition or chemical agent, and that the Army adequately considered the other risks inherent in the transportation of the waste to Texas for ultimate disposal.
However, some watchdog organizations have not been convinced that the waste contains absolutely no nerve agent.
If the waste still contains traces of the lethal VX nerve agent, it should be destroyed on-site, said Craig Williams, director of Berea’s CWWG.
“You shouldn’t be sending this stuff across state lines in the first place,” Williams said. “Instead of treating the byproduct on-site, which was the original decision given to the community, they changed their mind and decided to send it off-site to a hazardous waste incineration facility in an area that is heavily populated by minorities.”
The co-plaintiffs in the lawsuit include the Delaware Riverkeeper Network, the American Littoral Society, Pennsylvania Clean Water Action, the Delaware and New Jersey Audubon societies and the New Jersey Environmental Foundation.
“We as a coalition of under-funded citizens groups tried to do what we felt was in the best interest of protecting the American public,” Williams said. “We did what we thought was right. If we had the resources and the playing field was level from a resource standpoint, I think we could have prevailed.”Conrad F. Whyne, director of the U.S. Army Chemical Materials Agency, said the court’s decision confirmed that the Army indeed was and will remain concerned about public risk.
“This ruling and summary judgment should demonstrate that the Army and its many partners in this program — Parsons, Veolia Environmental Services and Tri-State Motor Transit — conduct the program with every attention paid to safeguarding our workers, our communities and our environment,” Whyne said.
Changing the plan from destroying the waste on-site to transporting it off base was something done behind the community’s back, Williams said.
“That is no way for our government to operate when it comes to community involvement and the principles of democracy,” he said. “It’s another example of Goliath beating David, but we all know what happened in the end.”
Ronica Shannon can be reached at rshannon@richmondregister.com or 623-1669, Ext. 234.
Local News
Army prevails
Nerve agent waste shipment continues
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Friday at library : Lecturer to portray founder of Berea
John G. Fee, abolitionist and founder of both Berea and Berea College, will be portrayed Friday night by performer Obadiah Ewing-Roush as part of Kentucky Humanities Council Chautauqua performance series at the Madison County Public Library. There is no charge to attend the 7 p.m. event.
As the son of a slave-holding father, Fee witnessed firsthand the benefits of having slaves and the profits that could be made from their labor. When he graduated from college and enrolled in Lane Theological Seminary, he began to understand the inherent wrong and destructiveness of slavery. -
Berea woman dies Tuesday in Laurel County crash
A Berea woman, Tommie Johnson, 60, died Tuesday evening in a Laurel County crash, according to the the Laurel Sheriff’s Office.
The accident took place about 7 p.m. at the junction of Maple Grove Road and KY 363 south of London, as Johnson was attempting to turn onto the state highway.
Laurel County Chief Deputy Eddy Sizemore said Johnson’s Chevrolet Cavalier pulled out in front of a Dodge Durango driven by Charles Joseph, 19, that was traveling south on KY 363.
After being extricated from her vehicle, Johnson was transported to St. Joseph-London hospital, where she was pronounced dead.
Joseph also was transported to the hospital, where he was treated for minor injuries, according to the accident report. -
Finally February
Ian Rosser, an Eastern Kentucky University student from Lexington, clears snow from his car parked on campus Wednesday
morning after about an inch of snow fell in Richmond. Temperatures are forcast to be in the upper 40s today. Kentucky has seen a lot of rain in the past few months, as was predicted by the Farmer's Almanac, but very little snow has fallen. -
Volunteers needed for equine therapy
The Appalachian Foothills Therapeutic Equestrian Center will be hosting two, one-day volunteer training workshops for those interested in helping others with special needs.
The volunteer orientation days will be Friday and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., but only one day of training is required, according to Mark Martin who co-owns Appalachian Foothills Therapeutic Equestrian Center (AFTEC) with his wife Cheryl.
The all-volunteer organization, which is based in Jackson County, uses horses to help humans deal with physical and emotional challenges. -
Man accused of holding samurai sword to girlfriend’s throat
A Madison grand jury will hear the case of a man accused of threatening to cut his girlfriend’s head off, and attacking her father with a samurai sword.
Russell M. Masters, 42, of Richmond, is charged with two counts of first-degree wanton endangerment, which is a Class D felony, and fourth-degree assault (domestic violence with minor injury) and resisting arrest, which both are Class A misdemeanors. Masters could receive one to five years in prison on each wanton endangerment charge, and the misdemeanors both carry a maximum sentence of one year in jail. -
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Richmond police have made an arrest in connection with property stolen from two homes last fall.
A woman reported to police Monday that she had discovered several items that were missing from her home on South Killarney Drive and her grandmother’s home on Raintree Drive, according to Richmond Police Chief Larry Brock. The items were a set of gold hoop earrings, a white Sony Vaio laptop, a yellow gold heart pendant, a gold tennis bracelet and a ladies’ wedding band with a diamond setting.
The complainant said the belongings had gone missing sometime between August and October. -
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Voices of Berea business owners upset about upcoming construction on US 25 will be taken to the state level, according to city administrator Randy Stone.
Several people operating businesses along a section of US 25 gave comments Tuesday to the Berea City Council, asking them reconsider plans to widen the road to five lanes.
The design is a five-lane highway with a center turn lane and a 10-foot shared use path on one side and a 5-foot sidewalk on the other side. -
Grand jury to hear copper theft case
The attorney for a man accused of stealing copper from a handful of electric poles questioned his identification as the same person who took copper from 32 poles two days earlier.
Public defender Meena Mohanty questioned Richmond police officer Nicholas Duvall during a preliminary hearing Wednesday in Madison District Court. Her client, Jeffrey W. Nester, 46, of Fourth Street, was arrested in connection with a Jan. 23 copper theft. He is charged with second-degree criminal mischief, theft by unlawful taking, possession of burglary tools and failure to notify address change to the Department of Transportation. These charges are all misdemeanors that, at most, carry a sentence of one year in prison. -
Judge weighs constitutionality of legislative redistricting
Kentucky’s deadline for filing to run for legislative seats was in flux on Monday because a judge did not immediately rule on a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of newly redrawn district boundaries.
Franklin County Circuit Judge Phillip Shepherd said he expects to enter a ruling in the case by mid-week.
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Couple recovering from injuries suffered in weekend house fire
A couple was hospitalized after their home was set ablaze Sunday by a spark from a cigar, according to a county fire official.
County Fire Chief Jim Cox said the city and county fire departments were called to the home at 111 Concord Road in the early afternoon. Waco Volunteer Fire Department and the Richmond Fire Department also responded.
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