4
8/14/2019 US Army: acwa bg rod http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/us-army-acwa-bg-rod 1/4 RECORD OF DECISION CHEMICAL STOCKPILE DISPOSAL PROJECT DESTRUCTION OF THE CHEMICAL AGENTS AND MUNITIONS STORED AT BLUE GRASS ARMY DEPOT, KENTUCKY Consistent with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and regulations promulgated pursuant thereto, this Record of Decision (ROD) documents and explains the Department of Defense's decision to approve neutralization (hydrolysis) followed by supercritical water oxidation (SCWO) as the technology for full-scale pilot-testing at the Blue Grass Army Depot (BGAD) in Richmond, Kentucky . The purpose of the pilot testing is to demonstrate that neutralization followed by SCWO, when operated at full-scale is capable of safely and efficiently destroying the chemical agents and munitions bodies stored at BGAD . The Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) adequately addresses the expected impacts of the Department's proposed actions relating to pilot-testing neutralization followed by SCWO at BGAD . In making this decision the Department of Defense has considered all oral and written comments received during the scoping meetings, public meetings and public comment period associated with the preparation of the FEIS . BACKGROUND Public Law (PL) 99-145, S ection 1412 (50 United States Code, Section 1521), req uired the Secretary of Defense to destroy the U .S . stockpile of lethal chemical agents and munitions while providing for maximum protection of the environment, the general public, and the personnel involved in the destruction effort . In addition, the United S tates is a state party to the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC), an international treaty that requires state parties to destroy their chemical warfare materiel by April 29, 2007, with a possible extension to this deadline of up to five years . To implement the congressional directive, the U .S . Army conducted a programmatic environmental review in accordance with NEPA and the governing Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) regulations (Title 40, Code of Federal Regulations, Parts 1500 through 1508) . A Final Programmatic EIS was issued in January 1988 . In its programmatic ROD (53 Federal Register 5816, February 26, 1988), the Department of the Army selected on-site incineration as the method to destroy the nation's unitary chemical stockpile . Site-specific EISs have been prepared for all nine of the stockpile sites and RODs have been issued for eight sites . PL 104-20 8 required the Department of Defense to identify and demonstrate not less than two alternative destruction technologies to i ncineration. PL 104-208 also prohibited the obligation of funds for the construction of incineration facilities at BGAD until 180 days after the Secretary of Defense submitted a report on the results of the demonstration effort . Initially, the Assembled Chemical Weapons Assessment (ACWA) Program identified three alternative t echnologies . P L 105-261 authorized the demonstration of three additional t echnologies . P L 106-398, Section 151, limited technologies that could be considered for destruction of the chemical stockpile stored at BGAD to incineration and those alternative technologies demonstrated on or before May 1, 2000 . The Draft EIS (DEIS) for the destruction of chemical agents and munitions stored at BGAD was released for public comment in May 2002 . It considered environmental impacts of no action, incineration, two neutralization technologies and electrochemical oxidation . The FEIS incorporated all comments received on the DEIS .

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Page 1: US Army: acwa bg rod

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http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/us-army-acwa-bg-rod 1/4

RECORD OF DECISIONCHEMICAL STOCKPILE DISPOSAL PROJECTDESTRUCTION OF THE CHEMICAL AGENTS AND MUNITIONSSTORED AT BLUE GRASS ARMY DEPOT, KENTUCKYC o n s i s t e n t w i t h t h e N a t i o n a l E n v i r o n m e n t a l P o l i c y A c t ( N E P A ) a n d r e g u l a t i o n s p r o m u l g a t e d

p u r s u a n t t h e r e t o , t h i s R e c o r d o f D e c i s i o n ( R O D ) d o c u m e n t s a n d e x p l a i n s t h e D e p a r t m e n t o f D e f e n s e ' s

d e c i s i o n t o a p p r o v e n e u t r a l i z a t i o n ( h y d r o l y s i s) f o l l o w e d b y s u p e r c r i t i c al w a t e r o x i d a t i o n ( S C W O ) a s t h e

t e c h n o l o g y f o r f u l l - s c a l e p i l o t - t e s t i n g a t t h e B l u e G r a s s A r m y D e p o t ( B G A D ) i n R i c h m o n d , K e n t u c k y .

T h e p u r p o s e o f t h e p i l o t t e s t i n g i s t o d e m o n s t r a t e t h a t n e u t r al i z a t i o n f o l l o w e d b y S C W O , w h e n o p e r a t e d

a t f u l l - s c a l e i s c a p a b l e o f s a f e l y a n d e f f i c i e n t l y d e s t r o y i n g t h e c h e m i c a l a g e n t s a n d m u n i t i o n s b o d i e s

stored at BGAD . T h e F i n a l E n v i r o n m e n t a l I m p a c t S t a t e m e n t ( F E I S ) a d e q u a t e l y a d d r e s s e s t h e e x p e c t e d

i m p a c t s o f t h e D e p a r t m e n t ' s p r o p o s e d a c t i o n s r e l a t i n g t o p i l o t - t e s t i n g n e u t r a l i z a ti o n f o l l o w e d b y S C W O

a t B G A D .

I n m a k i n g t h i s d e c i s i o n t h e D e p a r t m e n t o f D e f e n s e h a s c o n s i d e r e d a l l o r a l a n d w r i t t e n c o m m e n t s

r e c e i v e d d u r i n g t h e s c o p i n g m e e t i n g s , p u b l i c m e e t i n g s a n d p u b l i c c o m m e n t p e r i o d a s s o c i a t e d w i t h t h e

p r e p a r a t i o n o f t h e F E I S .

BACKGROUNDP u b l i c L a w ( P L ) 9 9 - 1 4 5 , S e c t i o n 1 4 1 2 ( 5 0 U n i t e d S t a t e s C o d e , S e c t i o n 1 5 2 1 ) , r e q u i r e d t h e

S e c r e t a r y o f D e f e n s e t o d e s t r o y t h e U . S . s t o c k p i l e o f l e t h a l c h e m i c a l a g e n t s a n d m u n i t i o n s w h i l e

p r o v i d i n g f o r m a x i m u m p r o t e c t i o n o f t h e e n v i r o n m e n t , t h e g e n e r a l p u b l i c , a n d t h e p e r s o n n e l i n v o l v e d i n

t h e d e s t r u c t i o n e f f o r t . I n a d d i t i o n , t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s i s a s t a t e p a r t y t o t h e C h e m i c a l W e a p o n s C o n v e n t i o n

( C W C ) , a n i n t e r n a t i o n a l t r e a t y t h a t r e q u i r e s s t a t e p a r t i e s t o d e s t r o y t h e i r c h e m i c a l w a r f a r e m a t e r i e l b y

A p r i l 2 9 , 2 0 0 7 , w i t h a p o s s i b l e e x t e n s i o n t o t h i s d e a d l i n e o f u p t o f i v e y e a r s .

T o i m p l e m e n t t h e c o n g r e s s i o n a l d i r e c t i v e , t h e U . S . A r m y c o n d u c t e d a p r o g r a m m a t i c

e n v i r o n m e n t a l r e v i e w i n a c c o r d a n c e w i t h N E P A a n d t h e g o v e r n i n g C o u n c i l o n E n v i r o n m e n t a l Q u a l i t y

( C E Q ) r e g u l a t i o n s ( T i t l e 4 0 , C o d e o f F e d e r a l R e g u l a t i o n s , P a r t s 1 5 0 0 t h r o u g h 1 5 0 8 ) . A F i n a l

P r o g r a m m a t i c E I S w a s i s s u e d i n J a n u a r y 1 9 8 8 . I n i ts p r o g r a mm a t i c R OD ( 5 3 F e de r a l R e g is t e r 5 8 1 6 ,

F e b r u a r y 2 6 , 1 9 8 8 ) , t h e D e p a r t m e n t o f t h e A r m y s e l e c t e d o n - s i t e i n c i n e r a t i o n a s t h e m e t h o d t o d e s t r o y t h e

n a t i o n ' s u n i t a r y c h e m i c a l s t o c k p i l e . S i t e - s p e c i f i c E I S s h a ve b e e n p r e p a r ed f o r a l l n i n e o f t h e s t o c k p i le

s i t e s a n d R O D s h a v e b e e n i s s u e d f o r e i g h t s i t e s .

P L 1 0 4 - 2 0 8 r e q u i r e d t h e D e p a r t m e n t o f D e f e n s e t o i d e n t i f y a n d d e m o n s t r a t e n o t l e s s t h a n t w o

a l t e r n a t i v e d e s t r u c t i o n t e c h n o l o g i e s t o i n c i n e r a t i o n . PL 1 0 4 - 2 0 8 a l s o p r o h i b i t e d t h e o b l i g a t i o n o f f u n d s

f o r t h e c o n s t r u c t i o n o f i n c i n e r a t i o n f a c i l i ti e s a t B G A D u n t i l 1 8 0 d a y s a f t e r t h e S e c r e t a r y o f D e f e n s e

s u b m i t t e d a r e p o r t o n t h e r e s u l t s o f t h e d e m o n s t r a t i o n e f f o r t . I n i t i a l l y , t h e A s s e m b l e d C h e m i c a l W e a p o n s

A s s e s s m e n t ( A C W A ) P r o g r a m i d e n t i f i e d t h r e e a l t e r n a t i v e t e c h n o l o g i e s . P L 1 0 5 - 2 6 1 a u t h o r i z e d t h e

d e m o n s t r a t i o n o f t h r e e a d d i t i o n a l t e c h n o l o g i e s . PL 1 0 6 - 3 9 8 , S e c t i o n 1 5 1 , l i m i t e d t e c h n o l o g i e s t h a t c o u l d

b e c o n s i d e r e d f o r d e s t r u c t i o n o f t h e c h e m i c a l s t o c k p i l e s t o r e d a t B G A D t o i n c i n e r a t i o n a n d t h o s e

a l t e r n a t i v e t e c h n o l o g i e s d e m o n s t r a t e d o n o r b e f o r e M a y 1 , 2 0 0 0 .

T h e D r a f t E I S ( D E I S ) f o r t h e d e s t r u c t i o n o f c h e m i c a l a g e n t s a n d m u n i t i o n s s t o r e d a t B G A D w a s

r e l e a s e d f o r p u b l i c c o m m e n t i n M a y 2 0 0 2 . I t c o n s i d e r e d e n v i r o n m e n t a l i m p a c t s o f n o a c t i o n ,

i n c i n e r a t i o n , t w o n e u t r a l i z a t i o n t e c h n o l o g i e s a n d e l e c t r o c h e m i c a l o x i d a t i o n . T h e F E I S i n c o r p o r a t e d a l l

c o m m e n t s r e c e i v e d o n t h e D E I S .

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THE DECISIONI n h i s 4 F e b r u a r y 2 0 0 3 A c q u i s i t i o n D e c i s i o n M e m o r a n d u m , t h e D e f e n s e A c q u i s i t i o n E x e c u t i v e

( D A E ) a p p r o v e d c h e m i c a l n e u t r a l i z a t i o n f o l l o w e d b y S C W O a s t h e t e c h n o l o g y f o r f u l l - s c a l e p i l o t t e s t i n g

at the BGAD . A v a r i e t y o f f a c t o r s w e r e c o n s i d e r e d i n m a k i n g t h i s d e c i s i o n , i n c l u d i n g , b u t n o t l i m i t e d t o ,

m i s s i o n n e e d s , c o s t , s c h e d u l e , e n v i r o n m e n t a l c o n s i d e r a t i o n s , p u b l i c a n d l o c a l c o m m u n i t y c o n c e r n s , a n d

compliance with the CWC .

D u e t o i n c r e a s e d s e c u r i t y c o n c e r n s a n d a d e s i r e t o i n c r e a s e t h e p r o b a b i l i t y o f t h e D e p a r t m e n t

m e e t i n g t h e e x t e n d e d C W C d e s t r u c t i o n d e a d l i n e , t h e D A E d i r e c t e d t h e A s s e m b l e d C h e m i c a l W e a p o n s

A s s e s s m e n t P r o g r a m ( A C W A ) t o i n v e s t i g a t e w a y s t o a c c e l e r a t e t h e d e s t r u c t i o n o f t h e c h e m i c a l s t o c k p i l e

stored at BGAD. The U . S . A r m y a n d A C W A w i l l e n s u r e t h a t t h e s e e f f o r t s a r e c a r r i e d o u t i n f u l l

compliance with NEPA .

ALTERNATIVES CONSIDEREDI n a d d i t i o n t o t h e n o a c t i o n a l t e r n a t i v e , w h i c h i s b e i n g c o n s i d e r e d i n a c c o r d a n c e w i t h C E Q

r e g u l a t i o n s , t h e F E I S a d d r e s s e s f o u r a l t e r n a t i v e t e c h n o l o g i e s t h a t c o u l d b e e m p l o y e d t o d e s t r o y t h e

c h e m i c a l a g e n t s a n d m u n i t i o n s s t o r e d a t B G A D . T h e s e i n c l u d e ( 1 ) t h e b a s e l i n e i n c i n e r a t i o n p r o c e s s t h a t

w a s u s e d b y t h e U . S . A r m y a t t h e J o h n s t o n A t o l l C h e m i c a l A g e n t D i s p o s a l S y s t e m ( J A C A D S ) t o d e s t r o y

t h e c h e m i c a l s t o c k p i l e o n J o h n s t o n I s l a n d , t h e s a m e p r o c e s s c u r r e n t l y b e i n g u s e d i n t h e T o o e l e C h e m i c a l

A g e n t D i s p o s a l F a c i l i t y t o d e s t r o y t h e c h e m i c a l s t o c k p i l e s t o r e d a t D e s e r e t C h e m i c a l D e p o t , U t a h ; ( 2 )

c h e m i c a l n e u t r a l i z a t i o n f o l l o w e d b y S C W O ; ( 3 ) c h e m i c a l n e u t r a l i z a t io n f o l lo w e d b y S C W O a n d g a s

p h a s e c h e m i c a l r e d u c t i o n a n d ( 4 ) e l e c t r o c h e m i c a l o x i d a t i o n .

T h e n o a c t i o n a l t e r n a t i v e w a s d e t e r m i n e d t o b e u n a c c e p t a b l e d u e t o h a z a r d s a s s o c i a t e d w i t h

c o n t i n u e d s t o r a g e i n c l u d i n g t h e p o s s i b i l i t y o f e x t e r n a l h a z a r d o u s e v e n t s ( e . g . , e a r t h q u a k e , l i g h t n i n g s t r i k e ,

a i r p l a n e c r a s h ) a s w e l l a s t h e r e q u i r e m e n t s o f P L 9 9 - 1 4 5 ( t h e D e p a r t m e n t o f D e f e n s e A u t h o r i z a t i o n A c t o f

1 9 8 6 ) a n d i n t e r n a t i o n a l t r e a t y r e q u i r e m e n t s t h a t r e q u i r e t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s t o d e s t r o y t h e s t o c k p i l e .

F o r a n y o f t h e f o u r t e c h n o l o g i c a l a l te r n a t i ve s , t h e U . S . A r m y w o u l d e r e c t s t r u c t u r e s d e s i g n e d t o

p r e v e n t r e l e a s e o f c h e m i c a l a g e n t t o t h e e n v i r o n m e n t . T h i s i n c l u d e s a n e x p l o s i v e c o n t a i n m e n t a r e a f o r

d i s a s s e m b l y , h a n d l i n g , a n d d e s t r u c t i o n o f t h e e n e r g e t i c p a r t s o f m u n i t i o n s c o n t a i n i n g e x p l o s i v e s .

A l t e r n a t i v e 1 , b a s e l i n e i n c i n e r a t i o n , i n v o l v e s r e v e r s e - a s s e m b l y o f m u n i t i o n s , i n c l u d i n g t h e

s e p a r a t i o n o f e n e r g e t i c s a n d d r a i n i n g o f c h e m i c a l a g e n t f r o m t h e m u n i t i o n b o d i e s . T h e t h r e e m u n i t i o n

components, i . e . , e n e r g e t i c s , a g e n t , a n d m u n i t i o n b o d y a r e t h e n i n c i n e r a t e d i n s e p a r a t e f u r n a c e s .

A l t e r n a t i v e 2 , c h e m i c a l n e u t r a l i z a t i o n f o l l o w e d b y S C W O , i n v o l v e s s e p a r a t i o n o f t h e e n e r g e t i c s

s i m i l a r t o t h e b a s e l i n e i n c i n e r a t i o n p r o c e s s t o a c c e s s c h e m i c a l a g e n t . A l l m u n i t i o n s c o m p o n e n t s u n d e r g o

a c h e m i c a l n e u t r a l i z a t i o n / h y d r o l y s i s p r o c e s s . T h e n e u t r a l i z a t i o n p r o d u c t s ( h y d r o l y s a t e ) a r e b r o k e n d o w n

b y h i g h t e m p e r a t u r e a n d p r e s s u r e i n S C W O u n i t s . D u n n a g e is s h r e d d e d , m i c r o ni z e d , h y d r o p u l p e d a n d

n e u t r a l i z e d / hy d r o l y z e d . T h e r m a l t r e a t m e n t i s u s e d t o t r e a t m e t a l p a r t s .

A l t e r n a t i v e 3 , c h e m i c a l n e u t r a l i z a t i o n f o l l o w e d b y S C W O a n d g a s p h a s e c h e m i c a l r e d u c t i o n

i n v o l v e s s e p a r a t i o n o f t h e e n e r g e t i c s s i m i l a r t o t h e b a s e l i n e i n c i n e r a t i o n p r o c e s s t o a c c e s s c h e m i c a l a g e n t .

T h e c h e m i c a l a g e n t s a n d e n e r g e t i c s u n d e r g o a c h e m i c a l n e u t r a l i z a t i o n / h yd r o l y s i s p r o c e s s . The

n e u t r a l i z a t io n p r o d u c t s ( h y d r o l y s a t e ) a r e b r o k e n d o w n i n S C W O u n i t s . D u n n a g e a n d m e t a l p a r t s a r e

t r e a t e d u s i n g g a s p h a s e c h e m i c a l r e d u c t i o n .

2

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A l t e r n a t i v e 4 , e l e c t r o c h e m i c a l o x i d a t i o n , i n v o l v e s s e p a r a t i o n o f t h e e n e r g e t i c s s i m i l a r t o t h e

b a s e l i n e i n c i n e r a t i o n p r o c e s s t o a c c e s s c h e m i c a l a g e n t . F u s e s a n d s u p p l e m e n t a r y c h a r g e s a r e d e t o n a t e d i n

a d e t o n a t i o n c h a m b e r . C h e m i c a l a g e n t s a n d e x p l o s i v e s a r e t r e a t e d i n s e p a r a t e S I L V E R I I r e a c t o r s . M e t a l

p a r t s a n d d u n n a g e a r e t h e r m a l l y t r e a t e d .

ENVIRONMENTAL CONSEQUENCESI m p a c t s t o t h e e n v i r o n m e n t s u r r o u n d i n g B G A D f r o m t h e d e c i s i o n t o p i l o t - t e s t n e u t r a l i z a t i o n

followed by SCWO are summarized below .

P i l o t t e s t i n g i s n o t e x p e c t e d t o s i g n i f i c a n t l y i m p a c t o n - p o s t l a n d u s e b e c a u s e l a n d d i s t u r b a n c e

w o u l d b e l i m i t e d t o a r e l a t i v e l y s m a l l a r e a w i t h i n t h e l a r g e r a r e a o f B G A D t h a t h a s b e e n r e s e r v e d f o r

c h e m i c a l s t o r a g e a n d d e m i l i t a r i z a t i o n a c t i v i t i e s .

W a t e r u s e a t B G A D w i l l i n c r e a s e s u b s t a n t i a l l y d u r i n g p i l o t t e s t o p e r a t i o n s d u e t o t h e a m o u n t o f

p r o c e s s w a t e r r e q u i r e d . A 5 0 0 , 0 0 0 - g a l l o n w a t e r s t o r a g e t a n k w o u l d b e c o n s t ru c t e d t o p r o v i d e a d d i t i on a l

c a p a c i t y a n d e n s u r e a d e q u a t e s u p p l y w o u l d b e a v a i l a b l e d u r i n g p e a k d e m a n d p e r i o d s , f i r e s o r o t h e r

emergency response demands . G r o u n d w a t e r i s n e i t h e r c u r r e n t l y u s e d a t B G A D n o r w o u l d i t b e r e q u i r e d

f o r d e s t r u c t i o n o f t h e c h e m i c a l w e a p o n s s t o c k p i l e .

A l l o f t h e f o u r t e c h n o l o g i c a l a l t e r n a t i v e s e v a l u a t e d w o u l d p r o d u c e p r o c e s s w a s t e s . H a z a r d o u s

s o l i d w a s t e s r e s u l t i n g f r o m n o r m a l o p e r a t i o n s o f a n o n - i n c i n e r a t i o n f a c i l i t y w o u l d c o n s i s t m a i n l y o f b r i n e

s a l t s , a l u m i n u m o x i de , a n d a n o l y t e - c a t h ol y t e w a s t e s . H a z a r d o u s s o l i d w a s t e s w o u l d b e t r a n s p o r t e d t o a n

o f f - s i t e p e r m i t t e d h a z a r d o u s w a s t e d i s p o s a l f a c i l i t y . T h e l a r g e s t q u a n t i t y o f s o l i d h a z a r d o u s w a s t e s

s h o u l d b e g e n e r a t e d b y t h e n e u t r a l i z a t i o n t e c h n o l o g i e s , w i t h b a s e l i n e i n c i n e r a t i o n e x p e c t e d t o g e n e r a t e

a p p r o x i m a t e l y 2 5 % l e s s a n d e l e c t r o c h e m i c a l o x i d a t i o n a p p r o x i m a t e l y 8 0 % l e s s . T h e q u a n t i t y o f

h a z a r d o u s l i q u i d w a s t e s i s e x p e c t e d t o b e s m a l l t o n o n - e x i s t e n t ( t h r o u g h r e c y c l i n g ) f o r a l l a l t e r n a t i v e s .

L i q u i d h a z a r d o u s w a s t e s w o u l d b e t a k e n t o a n o f f - s i t e p e r m i t t e d t r e a t m e n t , a n d d i s p o s a l f a c i l i t y . Non-

h a z a r d o u s l i q u i d a n d s o l i d w a s t e s w o u l d c o n s i s t o f s e w a g e a n d u n c o n t a m i n a t e d m e t a l s a n d s o l i d s .

S e w a g e w o u l d b e t r e a t e d o n - s i t e a n d t h e l i q u i d e f f l u e n t d i s c h a r g e d t o M u d d y C r e e k . S o l i d w a s t e s w o u l d

b e d i s p o s e d o f i n a n o f f - s i t e p e r m i t t e d l a n d f i l l .

A i r q u a l i t y i m p a c t s o f c o n d u c t i n g a p i l o t t e s t a r e e x p e c t e d t o b e l o w e r t h a n N a t i o n a l A m b i e n t A i r

Q u a l i t y S t a n d a r d s ( N A A Q S ) e x c e p t f o r p a r t i c u l a t e m a t t e r w i t h a m a s s m e a n d i a m e t e r o f l e s s t h a n 2 . 5

m i c r o n s , f o r w h i c h b a c k g r o u n d c o n c e n t r a t i o n s a l r e a d y e x c e e d t h e N A A Q S . O p e r a t i o n o f a b a s e l i n e

i n c i n e r a t i o n f a c i l i t y w o u l d i n v o l v e l o w e m i s s i o n l e v e l s w i t h n o e x c e e d a n c e s o f N A A Q S e x p e c t e d .

I m p a c t s o f a n o n - i n c i n e r a t i o n p i l o t t e s t w o u l d b e s i m i l a r t o b u t l e s s t h a n t h o s e f r o m a b a s e l i n e

i n c i n e r a t i o n f a c i l i t y .

T w o f e d e r a l l y l i s t e d t h r e a t e n e d o r e n d a n g e r e d s p e c i e s a r e k n o w n t o o c c u r a t B G A D , t h e b a l d

e a g l e a n d r u n n i n g b u f f a l o c l o v e r . T h e b a l d e a g l e , a f e d e r a l l i s t e d t h r e a t e n e d s p e c i e s o c c u r s a s a w i n t e r

m i g r a n t . R u n n i n g b u f f a l o c l o v e r o c c u r s m o s t c o m m o n l y o n r i c h s o i l s i n h a b i t a t s w i t h f i l t e r e d l i g h t s u c h

a s o p e n w o o d l a n d s , s a v a n n a s , f l o o d p l a i n s , a n d m e s i c s t r e a m t e r r a c e s o n w e l l - d r a i n e d s i t e s . B a s e d o n t h is

F E I S a n d t h e Supplemental Biological Assessment Addressing Operations Impacts for the Proposed

Program Manager for Chemical Demilitarization Agent Des truction Facility at Blue Grass Army Depot,

Richmond, Kentucky, d a t e d N o v e m b e r 2 0 0 2 , w e c o n c l u d e t h a t t h e i m p a c t s t o t h e r u n n i n g b u f f a l o c l o v e r a t

B G A D f r o m o p e r a t i o n o f t h e s e l e c t e d t e c h n o l o g y w i l l n o t b e s i g n i f i c a n t .

B a s e d o n t h e r e s u l t s o f t h e a n a l y s e s i n t h e I { b I S , n o n e o f t h e f o u r a l t e r n a t i v e s c a n b e i d e n t i f i e d a s

e n v i r o n m e n ta l l y p r e f e r a b l e . O v e r a l l i m p a c t s f r o m c h e m i c a l d e m i l i t a r i z a t i o n a c t i v i t i e s a r e c o n s i d e r e d t o

b e m i n o r .

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MITIGATIONM i t i g a t i o n a n d m o n i t o r i n g h e l p e n s u r e t h a t s t o r a g e , h a n d l i n g a n d p i l o t - t e s t d e s t r u c t i o n o f t h e

c h e m i c a l m u n i t i o n s a r e c a r r i e d o u t i n a s a f e a n d e f f i c i e n t m a n n e r . S i m i l a r l y , p i l o t f a c i l i t y e n v i r o n m e n t a l

p e r m i t t i n g c a n b e c o n s i d e r e d p a r t o f t h e m i t i g a t i o n m e a s u r e s . T h e p e r m i t t i n g p r o c e s s r e q u i r e s a d v a n c e

c o n s i d e r a t i o n o f p o t e n t i a l h e a l t h , e c o l o g i c a l , a n d a g r i c u l t u r a l r i s k s , a n d p r o o f o f c a p a b i l i t y t o o p e r a t e

w i t h i n l i m i t s t h a t h a v e b e e n st u d i e d a n d s e t c o n s e r v a t i v e ly b y r e g u l a t o r y : a g e n c i e s t o p r o v i d e a n a d e q u a t e

m a r g i n o f s a f e t y f o r t h e p r o t e c t i o n o f w o r k e r s , t h e p u b l i c a n d t h e e n v i r o n m e n t . The U . S . A r m y w i l l a d o p t

a l l p r a c t i c a b l e m e a n s t o a v o i d o r m i n i m i z e e n v i r o n m e n t a l i m p a c t s f r o m p i l o t f a c i l i t y o p e r a t i o n s u s i n g t h e

s e l e c t e d a l t e r n a t i v e . M e a s u r e s t o m i t i g a t e p o t e n t i a l i m p a c t s i n c l u d e o p e r a t i o n a l c o n s t r a i n t s , s a f e t y

e n h a n c e m e n t s , a n d e m e r g e n c y p l a n n i n g .

T h e U . S . A r m y w i l l m a i n t a i n s t r i c t o p e r a t i o n a l c o n s t r a i n t s t o e n s u r e t h a t p o l l u t a n t l e v e l s i n a l l

e f f l u e n t s w i l l b e c o n t r o l l e d t o l e v e l s b e l o w r e g u l a t o r y r e q u i r e m e n ts . A p p r o p r i a t e e n g i n e e r i n g m e a s u r e s

w i l l b e u n d e r t a k e n t o e n s u r e c o m p l i a n c e w i t h a l l F e d e r a l , S t a t e , a n d l o c a l e n v i r o n m e n t a l p e r m i t

c o n d i t i o n s , l a w s a n d r e g u l a t i o n s d u r i n g p i l o t f a c i l i t y o p e r a t i o n s .

M e a s u r e s t o e n s u r e m a x i m u m p r o t e c t i o n o f f a c i l i t y p e r s o n n e l i n c l u d e v a r i o u s f a c i l i t y d e s i g n

f e a t u r e s , a d m i n i s t r a t i v e p r o c e d u r e s , i n d i v i d u a l p e r s o n a l p r o t e c t i ve c l o t h i n g a n d e q u i p m e n t , a s w e l l a s

r e g u l a r t r a i n i n g a n d s t r i c t a d h e r e n c e t o o c c u p a t i o n a l s a f e t y a n d h e a l t h p r o c e d u r e s . N o s i g n i f i c a n t a d v e r s e

i m p a c t t o w o r k e r h e a l t h i s a n t i c i p a t e d .

E f f e c t i v e e m e r g e n c y p l a n n i n g a n d m a n a g e m e n t t h r o u g h t h e C h e m i c a l S t o c k p i l e E m e r g e n c y

P r e p a r e d n e ss P r o g r a m a r e d e s i g n e d t o m i t i g a t e t h e c o n s e q u e n c e s o f a c c i d e n t a l c h e m i c a l a g e n t r e l e a s e s f o r

t h e p o p u l a t i o n l i v i n g n e a r B G A D . E m e r g e n c y p l a n n i n g a n d r e s p o n s e c a p a b i l i t i e s h a v e b e e n u p g r a d e d i n

t h e B G A D v i c i n i t y , w i t h A r m y a s s i s t a n c e . E m e r g e n c y p l a n n i n g a n d p r e p a r e d n e s s a r e d e s i g n e d t o

m i t i g a t e i m p a c t s f r o m a c c i d e n t s d u r i n g c o n t i n u e d s t o r a g e ( n o a c t i o n ) , a s w e l l a s f r o m a c c i d e n t s d u r i n g

o p e r a t i o n o f t h e p r o p o s e d p i l o t t e s t f a c i l i t y .

CONCLUSIONW e h a v e c a r e f u l l y c o n s i d e r e d t h e F E I S a n d a l l c o m m e n t s p r o v i d e d d u r i n g f o r m a l c o m m e n t a n d

w a i t i n g p e r i o d s t h r o u g h o u t t h e N E P A p r o c e s s .

T h e D e f e n s e A c q u i s i t i o n E x e c u t i v e ( D A E ) a p p r o v e d c h e m i c a l n e u t r a l i z a t i o n f o l l o w e d b y S C W O

a s t h e t e c h n o l o g y f o r f u l l - s c a l e p i l o t t e s t i n g a t t h e B G A D , K e n t u c k y . T h e p u r p o s e o f t h e p i l o t t e s t i s t o

d e m o n s t r a t e t h a t n e u t r a l i z a t i o n f o l l o w e d b y S C W O , w h e n o p e r a t e d a t f u l l - s c a l e , i s c a p a b l e o f s a f e l y a n d

e f f i c i e n t l y d e s t r o y i n g t h e c h e m i c a l a g e n t s a n d m u n i t i o n b o d i e s s t o r e d a t B G A D . A v a r i e t y o f f a c t o r s

w e r e c o n s i d e r e d i n m a k i n g t h i s d e c i s i o n , i n c l u d i n g , b u t n o t l i m i t e d t o , m i s s i o n n e e d s , c o s t , s c h e d u l e ,

e n v i r o n m e n t a l c o n s i d e r a t i o n s , p u b l i c a n d l o c a l c o m m u n i t y c o n c e r n s , a n d c o m p l i a n c e w i t h t h e C W C .

Raymond J . a t z

D e p u t y A s s i s t a n t S e c r e t a r y o f t h e A r m y

( E n v i r o n m e n t , S a f e t y , a n d O c c u p a t i o n a l H e a l t h )

OAS A(I&E)

Date : February 27, 2003

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