Oregon judge rules depot questions can be asked

Published Oct. 20, 2001

Karen Zacharias
Herald Oregon bureau

HERMISTON - A Multnomah Circuit Court judge is being hailed as a hero by anti-incinerator activists for ruling that they can question the state in court about the safety of burning nerve agents at the Umatilla Chemical Depot.

Judge Michael H. Marcus said Thursday that a group of Umatilla and Morrow county citizens, known as GASP, could grill the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality in court about its decision to grant incineration permits to the Army.

"This is a huge, huge decision for Oregonians," said Stuart Sugarman, a Portland attorney representing GASP.

"This Portland judge has the power to shut down the incineration complex and order it to be disassembled," Sugarman said. "This is the first step toward doing just that."

Judge Marcus said the public has a right to raise concerns about "whether and how to permit the incineration of hundreds of tons of deadly waste."

However, Marcus said that without a court review he cannot determine the correctness of DEQ's conclusions about whether the Army intentionally misrepresented issues involving treating secondary waste on-site and calculating the number of people who might be at risk during incinerator operations.

Marcus based his decision on a recent Supreme Court ruling that allows a state agency's review process to be questioned before the courts. Marcus previously had denied GASP's petition twice.

Citing the 2000 Supreme Court case, Marcus said, "It now appears the petitioners were correct about many important issues in this controversy and about their right to make their record in this court."

Specifically, Marcus said, GASP appears to be correct that "secondary waste-disposal plans will never be employed as contemplated by the existing permits and that the utility of the carbon filters has yet to be determined with confidence."

His ruling is believed to be the first of its kind in the nation, said Karyn Jones, a board member for GASP.

She said the ruling has given anti-incinerator groups nationwide a "real hope that alternative technology will be implemented."

"Oregonians are not going to put up with incineration any more. We're going to take control, and we're going to win," Jones said.

Jones said the legal challenge is necessary because DEQ officials have maintained over the years that they have everything at the burn site under control.

"They keep telling us everything is fine. To trust them. Well, I don't trust them. And I don't trust the Army," she said.

Jones said the legal challenge will help ensure the public knows the risks of incineration.

"We want to be able to put these people under oath, where they will face the possibility of perjury, and then ask them about the safety of burning nerve agents," Jones said.

The DEQ always has provided the public with full disclosure, said Wayne Thomas, the agency's administrator for the Umatilla Chemical Demilitarization program.

"This is a public process. GASP knows that. There has never been any question of any improper disclosure here. Everything we have is public record," Thomas said.

Additionally, Thomas said the judge's ruling will not alter the incineration program.

"We are not taking the results of this judge's decision and slowing anything down. We are going to continue to do things as quickly, efficiently and successfully as we have been," he said. "We're not changing anything."

 

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