PAnews.com, Port Arthur, Texas

Local News

Discussion

February 9, 2009

Veolia completes Army hydrolysate disposal project

Project advances U.S. chemical weapons stockpile elimination program

Mary Meaux

Veolia Environmental Service, which grabbed the areas attention two years ago when it announced the facility would incinerate more than 1 million gallons of a caustic wastewater of the former nerve agent VX, has successfully completed the job.

Mitch Osborne, general manager, said Veolia employees are proud they lived up to the safety promise made several years ago. The safety extended from transportation from Indiana to the site in Port Arthur.

The project wasn’t exactly met with open arms. Local advocates questioned the safety of the process and last year, a federal court in Indianapolis, Ind. dismissed a lawsuit to stop the project, according to a story published in The News in September 2008.

Veolia ES Technical Solutions, the hazardous waste division of Veolia Environmental Services, along with officials from Tri-State Motor Transit and the U.S. Army Chemical Materials Agency, recently celebrated the successful transportation and destruction of more than 1.5 million gallons of hydrolysate as part of the CMA’s chemical stockpile elimination program. The hydrolysate wastewater was generated by the destruction of VX nerve agent and was transported without incident over an 18-month period from the Newport Chemical Agent Disposal Facility in Newport, Ind. to Veolia’s incineration facility in Port Arthur, where it was destroyed. The project was completed safely, on time and in accordance with all applicable regulations, the company said.

At a recent ceremony held at Veolia’s Port Arthur facility, Jim Bell, president and CEO of Veolia ES Technical Solutions, commented on the company’s dedication to the project’s mission.

“Throughout the project, our team remained committed to our initial promise to the Army: to safely transport and handle these materials without impact to the surrounding community or environment and in compliance with all regulations. In the end, our word was true. I am truly proud of our team here at Port Arthur and our partners at Tri-State Motor Transit.”

Conrad Whyne, director of the US Army Chemical Materials Agency, said Veolia’s effort to energize and inform the local, state and regional citizens, representatives and regulators early on in the process and often, was an important key to the overall success. Tri-State’s adherence to transportation regulations buttressed those efforts.

Glen Garrett, president and chairman of Tri-State, was equally enthusiastic. “This accomplishment is a testament to the ability of our drivers, the competence and knowledge of the Veolia staff and the partnership our team built with the CMA,” he said.

Destruction of the hydrolysate was part of a program to assist the U.S. government in accomplishing its treaty obligations under the International Chemical Weapons Convention.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.

Text Only
Local News