[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 20 (Tuesday, March 1, 1994)]
[Senate]
[Page S]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: March 1, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
   REPORT OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT REVIEW OF THE CHEMICAL WEAPONS 
             CONVENTION--MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT--PM 90

  The PRESIDING OFFICER laid before the Senate the following message 
from the President of the United States, together with an accompanying 
report; which was referred to the Committee on Environment and Public 
Works.

To the Senate of the United States:
  On November 23, 1993, I transmitted the Convention on the Prohibition 
of the Development, Production, Stockpiling and Use of Chemical Weapons 
and on Their Destruction (the ``Chemical Weapons Convention'' or CWC) 
to the Senate for its advice and consent to ratification. As stated in 
the transmittal message, I now submit herewith an Environmental Impact 
Review (EIR) of the Chemical Weapons Convention for the information of 
the Senate. This EIR summarizes the documented environmental effects 
that could result from the entry into force of the CWC for the United 
States. Considerable study has already been devoted under related 
Federal programs to examining and describing the environmental impacts 
of activities that are similar or identical to what the CWC will entail 
when it enters into force. This EIR is a review of published 
information and, as such, should not be considered an analysis of data 
or a verification of published conclusions.
  United States ratification of the CWC will result in a national 
commitment to the CWC requirements that will modify the existing 
chemical weapons stockpile demilitarization and non-stockpile programs, 
as well as create additional declaration, destruction, and verification 
requirements. The CWC ratification and entry into force will have both 
environmental and health benefits and adverse effects for the United 
States because of the actions the United States and other parties will 
need to take to meet the Convention's requirements.
  The report consists of six sections. Section 1 is the introduction. 
Section 2 provides an overview of the current U.S. chemical weapons 
destruction program, which can be thought of as the environmental 
baseline against which the potential environmental consequences of the 
CWC must be measured. It includes discussions of the Chemical Stockpile 
Disposal Program (CSDP), the Non-Stockpile Chemical Materiel Program 
(NSCMP), the environmental consequences of these programs, and the 
environmental monitoring program currently in place. Section 3 contains 
documentation on the possible environmental consequences of each 
component of the existing chemical weapons program--all of which would 
occur regardless of whether the United States ratifies the CWC. Section 
4 is a discussion of environmental consequences that could result from 
U.S. ratification of the CWC, including both the benefits and potential 
adverse consequences for the physical and human environment. Section 5 
contains a discussion of three options that could be selected by the 
United States instead of prompt ratification of the CWC and a 
discussion of the possible environmental consequences of each option. 
Finally, Section 6 contains the endnotes.
  I believe that the Chemical Weapons Convention is in the best 
interests of the United States. Its provisions will significantly 
strengthen U.S., allied and international security, environmental 
security, and enhance global and regional stability. I continue to urge 
the Senate to give early and favorable consideration to the Chemical 
Weapons Convention and to give advice and consent to its ratification 
as soon as possible in 1994.
                                                  William J. Clinton.  
  The White House, March 1, 1994.

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