Trial begins that could stop depot burning

This story was published Thu, Oct 24, 2002

By Karen Zacharias
Oregon Herald bureau

PORTLAND -- Environmentalists accused the Army on Wednesday of "rigging a ruse" to obtain a state permit to burn dangerous chemical weapons stored at the Umatilla Chemical Depot near Hermiston.

A trial that could potentially result in revoking the incinerator burn permit began Wednesday in Multnomah County Circuit Court in Portland.

Three anti-incineration groups -- GASP, Oregon Wildlife Federation and the Sierra Club -- along with 20 Umatilla and Morrow county residents want to halt the burning of about 3,700 tons of deadly VX, sarin and mustard agent.

They also insist that burning the stockpiles of rockets, bombs and other munitions is a threat to the public and the environment.

Richard Condit, the Portland attorney representing the anti-incineration groups, told Judge Michael Marcus the Army's incineration program has been plagued with problems, putting workers and nearby communities at significant risk.

"There's been a grossly deficient assessment of the risks," Condit contended.

He also said the Army intentionally set out to deceive Oregon regulators when it applied for the permit. Condit pointed out that numerous parts of the incinerator don't work and that the Army knew about the problems, including issues dealing with hazardous waste water, when it applied.

By delaying decisions on how to deal with such problems, Condit said, "We cynically believe this has been done in order to ensure that the Army received the burn permit, not to ensure public safety and health."

The Army and state regulators have "failed miserably" to account for the toxic substances produced by the incineration process, he said.

The judge asked Condit if he conceded there was a risk to the public by continuing to store the Cold War chemical munitions, some of which have been leaking deadly nerve agent such as sarin.

"This risk of storage card has been heavily played and is grossly overstated," Condit replied. Storage problems should not be used by the state and Army as a "trump card" to approve a dangerous disposal method, he argued.

Stephen Bushong, an assistant attorney general for the state, said he plans to prove during the five-week trial that the state was not involved in any deception.

"The state agency is doing their job. They have given appropriate attention to the risks of public safety, health and the environment," Bushong argued.

He insisted Oregon's Department of Environmental Quality and the Environmental Quality Commission were diligent in reaching the decision to allow burning of the chemical weapons.

"There is a weighing of risks here," Bushong said. "Nobody is suggesting that with tons of chemical weapons stockpiled there isn't."

But, he added, "There are no risk-free answers" to the problem.

Michael Berringan, the Washington, D.C., attorney representing the Army, argued that incineration is the "only game in town" to destroy the stockpile in a timely and safe manner.

He insisted the Army has never lied about the risk factors of burning the weapons. Besides, he said, any means of destroying the stockpile has its own inherent flaws.

"There is no silver bullet" for destroying the stockpile, Berringan said.

But he added, "We can't return to Eden. We have a stockpile. We have to get rid of them."

 

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