[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 203 (Friday, October 18, 1996)]
[Notices]
[Pages 54421-54424]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-26343]


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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement: Destruction of Non-
Stockpile Chemical Warfare Materiel Containing Chemical Agent

AGENCY: Department of the Army, Department of Defense.

ACTION: Notice of Intent.

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SUMMARY: The Department of the Army announces its intent to prepare a 
Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (PEIS) on the destruction 
of chemical warfare materiel (CWM) containing chemical agent and to 
initiate the public scoping process for the PEIS. The PEIS is being 
prepared in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act 
(NEPA), as amended.
    The U. S. Army's Program Manager for Chemical Demilitarization has 
the responsibility for the destruction of the nation's chemical warfare 
materiel. The Program Manager has established project managers to 
accomplish this goal. The Project Manager for Chemical Stockpile 
Disposal is responsible for destroying the stockpile of unitary 
chemical weapons in the Department of Defense/Department of Army 
inventory (called stockpile). The PEIS for destroying the stockpile 
materiel was completed in 1988, and the destruction program is in 
progress at two locations--Johnston Island in the Pacific and Tooele, 
Utah. The Project Manager for Non-Stockpile Chemical Materiel (NSCM) 
analysis include: (1) on-site chemical treatment of CWM with off-site 
destruction of the resultant wastes either by thermal destruction or 
another disposal method; (2) on-site chemical treatment and on-site 
destruction/disposal of chemical treatment wastes (3) on-site thermal 
destruction; (4) off-site chemical treatment and/or thermal destruction 
or another disposal method; and (5) no action, which is defined as a 
continuation of the current methods for handling these types of CWM, 
including safely packing, shipping and storing CWM at permitted 
locations.

DATES: Written and oral comments on alternative strategies and their 
components (treatment, storage, transportation, and destruction/
disposal) and the important environmental issues that should be 
evaluated in the PEIS are invited. Comments should be provided by 
February 28, 1997, to ensure consideration. Comments received after 
this date will be considered to the extent practicable.
    To facilitate public participation and comment on the proposed 
scope of the PEIS, the Army will hold five regional public scoping 
meetings in the vicinity of Tampa, Florida; Newport, Indiana; 
Huntsville, Alabama; Salt Lake City, Utah; and San Antonio, Texas. The 
specific dates, times, and locations of these meetings will be 
announced in a separate Federal Register notice, by letter, and in 
appropriate news media. Repositories containing information on the NSCM 
Program and the PEIS will be established at these and other locations 
and will be identified in local media announcements.

ADDRESSES: Written comments on the scope of the PEIS should be sent to 
Program Manager for Chemical Demilitarization, ATTN: SFAE-CD-NP (Mr. 
Dragunas/PEIS), Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland 21010-5401. Comments 
on the scope of the PEIS may also be made by calling the toll-free 
telephone number 1-800-410-9901.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Program Manager for Chemical 
Demilitarization, ATTN: SFAE-CD-NP (Mr. Dragunas/PEIS), Aberdeen 
Proving Ground, Maryland 21010-5401. Requests for further information 
may also be made by calling the above listed toll-free telephone 
number.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    The Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production, 
Stockpiling, and Use of the Chemical Weapons and on Their Destruction, 
or Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC), requires the destruction of all 
CWM. The U.S. Army, as Executive Agent for the Department of Defense, 
is responsible for ensuring that NSCM is destroyed in a safe, 
environmentally sound and cost-effective manner. The U.S. and over 150 
nations signed the CWC on January 13, 1993, and they and the U.S. are 
working towards ratification.
    Buried CWM can be dated back to World War I. The practice of 
burying leaking or obsolete CWM in the past was an acceptable method of 
disposal. Often burial was accompanied by draining and decontamination. 
Therefore, the CWM is responsible for destroying all other CWM (called 
non-stockpile) within the United States and its territories.

[[Page 54422]]

    The PEIS is specifically concerned with the following CWM 
containing chemical agent under the auspices of the Project Manager for 
Non-Stockpile Materiel: (1) CWM from former test ranges and burial 
sites once it is recovered; (2) CWM that has already been recovered and 
is currently in storage; and (3) research, development, test and 
evaluation (RDT&E) materiel used in CWM development and pre-production 
processes. Presently, materiel are either known to exist or possibly 
exist at 68 locations in 31 states, the Virgin Islands, and Johnston 
Island in the Pacific Ocean.
    To achieve the destruction of chemical agent contained in the CWM 
considered in this PEIS, the Army proposes to select one or more 
strategies that (1) provide protection for human health, safety, and 
the environment and (2) enable the U. S. to comply with the 
requirements of the Chemical Weapons Convention. The selection of one 
or more strategies is needed by the Army in order to focus resources 
on, and provide for, a future destruction capability. The Non-Stockpile 
PEIS will analyze the potential environmental consequences of various 
alternative strategies that will meet these objectives.
    Strategy components that could be used in alternative development 
may include any or all of the following: treatment, transportation and/
or destruction/disposal. The preliminary alternatives that the Army is 
considering for analysis include: (1) on-site chemical treatment of CWM 
with off-site destruction of the resultant wastes either by thermal 
destruction or another disposal method; (2) on-site chemical treatment 
and on-site destruction/disposal of chemical treatment wastes (3) on-
site thermal destruction; (4) off-site chemical treatment and/or 
thermal destruction or another disposal method; and (5) no action, 
which is defined as a continuation of the current methods for handling 
these types of CWM, including safely packing, shipping and storing CWM 
at permitted locations.

DATES: Written and oral comments on alternative strategies and their 
components (treatment, storage, transportation, and destruction/
disposal) and the important environmental issues that should be 
evaluated in the PEIS are invited. Comments should be provided by 
February 28, 1997, to ensure consideration. Comments received after 
this date will be considered to the extent practicable.
    To facilitate public participation and comment on the proposed 
scope of the PEIS, the Army will hold five regional public scoping 
meetings in the vicinity of Tampa, Florida; Newport, Indiana; 
Huntsville, Alabama; Salt Lake City, Utah; and San Antonio, Texas. The 
specific dates, times, and locations of these meetings will be 
announced in a separate Federal Register notice, by letter, and in 
appropriate news media. Repositories containing information on the NSCM 
Program and the PEIS will be established at these and other locations 
and will be identified in local media announcements.

ADDRESSES: Written comments on the scope of the PEIS should be sent to 
Program Manager for Chemical Demilitarization, ATTN: SFAE-CD-NP (Mr. 
Dragunas/PEIS), Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland 21010-5401. Comments 
on the scope of the PEIS may also be made by calling the toll-free 
telephone number 1-800-410-9901.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Program Manager for Chemical 
Demilitarization, ATTN: SFAE-CD-NP (Mr. Dragunas/PEIS), Aberdeen 
Proving Ground, Maryland 21010-5401. Requests for further information 
may also be made by calling the above listed toll-free telephone 
number.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Background: The Convention on the 
Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling, and Use of the 
Chemical Weapons and on Their Destruction, or Chemical Weapons 
Convention (CWC), requires the destruction of all CWM. The U.S. Army, 
as Executive Agent for the Department of Defense, is responsible for 
ensuring that NSCM is destroyed in a safe, environmentally sound and 
cost-effective manner. The U.S. and over 150 nations signed the CWC on 
January 13, 1993, and they and the U. S. are working towards 
ratification.
    Buried CWM can be dated back to World War I. The practice of 
burying leaking or obsolete CWM in the past was an acceptable method of 
disposal. Often burial was accompanied by draining and decontamination. 
Therefore, the CWM underwent a form of destruction. In other cases, 
intact munitions were simply buried. These techniques reduced the risk 
to the public. These approaches sometimes resulted in incomplete and/or 
partial destruction. However, in certain situations, based on site-
specific determinations, current technological limitations and 
stakeholder input, leaving the buried CWM in the ground may be 
preferable to excavation and destruction.

Non-Stockpile Chemical Materiel Program

    The Project Manager for NSCM is responsible for the destruction of 
all CWM containing chemical agent in the U.S. and its territories not 
included in the nation's unitary stockpile of chemical weapons and 
chemical agent. Different types of NSCM include: (1) CWM from former 
test ranges and burial sites once it is recovered; (2) CWM that has 
already been recovered and is in storage: (3) binary chemical weapons 
and components; (4) former chemical weapon production facilities; (5) 
miscellaneous chemical warfare materiel.
    This PEIS will focus on those specific types of NSCM that require 
similar decisions as to their destruction strategies. These include (a) 
CWM from former test ranges and burial sites once it is recovered; (b) 
CWM that has already been recovered and is in storage and (c) the RDT&E 
materiel portion of the miscellaneous materiel. Decisions concerning 
destruction strategies for binary chemical weapons and components; 
former production facilities; and the remainder of the miscellaneous 
materiel are independent of this PEIS and undergo appropriate levels of 
environmental review. These latter actions are independent because they 
consist mainly of demolition, recycling and/or disposal operations that 
use completely different destruction strategies than those under 
consideration in this PEIS and they do not contain chemical agent.
    In accordance with Section 176 of 1993 Defense Authorization Act, 
the NSCMP has prepared a Survey and Analysis Report (1993), that 
identifies the locations, types, and quantities of NSCM. Since the 
issuance of the Report, the number of locations, types, and quantities 
of NSCM continue to be updated. The tables included with this notice 
lists the sites where CWM is presently known or could possibly exist. 
The Army continues to review historical documents and data to assess 
sites where past actions may have resulted in disposal of CWM by 
burial.

   Table 1.--Locations With Known or Possible Buried Chemical Warfare   
                               Materiel\1\                              
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                        
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Alabama:                                                                
  Camp Sibert                                                           
  Fort McClellan                                                        
  Redstone Arsenal                                                      
Alaska:                                                                 
  Cape Yakak Radio Station                                              
  Chicagof Harbor                                                       
  Fort Wainwright                                                       
  Gerstle River Expansion Area                                          

[[Page 54423]]

                                                                        
  Gerstle River Test Site                                               
  Unalaska Island                                                       
Arizona:                                                                
  Camp Navajo                                                           
  Yuma Proving Ground                                                   
Arkansas:                                                               
  Fort Chaffee                                                          
  Pine Bluff Arsenal                                                    
  Southwestern Proving Ground                                           
California:                                                             
  Edwards Air Force Base                                                
  Fort Ord                                                              
  Santa Rosa Army Air Field                                             
Colorado:                                                               
  Pueblo Army Activity                                                  
  Rocky Mountain Arsenal                                                
Florida:                                                                
  Brooksville Army Air Field                                            
  MacDill Air Force Base                                                
  Withlacoochee                                                         
Georgia:                                                                
  Fort Benning                                                          
  Fort Gillem                                                           
Hawaii:                                                                 
  Kipapa Ammunition Storage                                             
  Schofield Army Barracks                                               
Illinois:                                                               
  Fort Sheridan                                                         
  Savanna Army Depot Activity                                           
Indiana:                                                                
  Camp Atterbury Naval Surface Warfare Center, Crane Division           
  Newport Chemical Activity                                             
Iowa:                                                                   
  Camp Dodge                                                            
Kentucky:                                                               
  Blue Grass Army Depot                                                 
  Fort Knox                                                             
Louisiana:                                                              
  Camp Claiborne                                                        
  England Air Force Base                                                
  Fort Polk                                                             
Maryland:                                                               
  Aberdeen Proving Ground                                               
  Fort Meade                                                            
Massachusetts:                                                          
  Fort Devens                                                           
Michigan:                                                               
  Chemical Warfare Development Division                                 
Mississippi:                                                            
  Camp Van Dorn                                                         
  Columbus Army Airfield                                                
Missouri:                                                               
  Camp Crowder                                                          
Nevada:                                                                 
  Hawthorne Army Depot                                                  
New Jersey:                                                             
  Fort Hancock Naval Air Warfare Center, Lakehurst                      
  Raritan Arsenal                                                       
New Mexico:                                                             
  Fort Wingate Depot Activity                                           
New York:                                                               
  Camp Hero                                                             
North Carolina:                                                         
  Camp Lejeune                                                          
  Laurinburg-Maxton Army Air Base                                       
Ohio:                                                                   
  Cleveland Plant                                                       
  Raven Army Ammunition Plant                                           
Oregon:                                                                 
  Umatilla Depot Activity                                               
South Carolina:                                                         
  Charleston Naval Weapons Station                                      
South Dakota:                                                           
  Black Hills Ordnance Depot                                            
Tennessee:                                                              
  Defense Depot Memphis                                                 
Texas:                                                                  
  Camp Bullis                                                           
  Camp Stanley Storage Activity                                         
U.S. Virgin Islands:                                                    
  Water Island                                                          
Utah:                                                                   
  Dugway Proving Ground (Formerly Used Defense Site)                    
  Dugway Proving Ground                                                 
  Tooele Army Depot                                                     
  Wendover Bombing and Gunnery Range                                    
------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Based on a U.S. Army Non-Stockpile Chemical Materiel Program Survey 
  and Analysis Report, November 1993 updated data base which is         
  unpublished.                                                          


    Table 2.--Locations With Recovered Chemical Warfare Materiel and    
      Research, Demonstration, Testing, and Evaluation Materiel\1\      
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                        
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Alabama:                                                                
  Anniston Army Depot                                                   
  Redstone Arsenal                                                      
Alaska:                                                                 
  Fort Richardson                                                       
Arkansas:                                                               
  Pine Bluff Arsenal                                                    
Colorado:                                                               
  Pueblo Army Activity                                                  
  Rocky Mountain Arsenal                                                
  Johnston Island                                                       
Kentucky:                                                               
  Blue Grass Army Depot                                                 
Maryland:                                                               
  Aberdeen Proving Ground                                               
Oregon:                                                                 
  Umatilla Depot Activity                                               
Texas:                                                                  
  Camp Bullis                                                           
Utah:                                                                   
  Dugway Proving Ground                                                 
  Tooele Army Depot                                                     
------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Based on a U.S. Army Non-Stockpile Chemical Materiel Program Survey 
  and Analysis Report, November 1993 updated data base which is         
  unpublished.                                                          

    To achieve the destruction of certain types of CWM, the Army 
proposes to select and implement strategies that (1) provide the 
highest levels of protection for human health, safety, and the 
environment and (2) enable the U.S. to comply with the requirements of 
the Chemical Warfare Convention. The PEIS will analyze the potential 
environ-mental consequences of various alternative strategies that will 
meet this need.
    Components of a strategy could include any or all of the following: 
treatment, transportation, and/or destruction/disposal. The 
alternatives that the Army is considering at this time for analysis 
include: (1) on-site chemical treatment of CWM with off-site 
destruction of the resultant wastes either by thermal destruction or 
another disposal method; (2) on-site chemical treatment and destruction 
of chemical treatment wastes (3) on-site thermal destruction; (4) off-
site chemical treatment and/or thermal destruction or another disposal 
method; and (5) no action, which is defined as a continuation of the 
storage of recovered and RDT&E materiel, and the packaging, 
transportation and storage of future recovered buried CWM at permitted 
locations.
    Decisions concerning whether sites should be excavated to recover 
possible CWM and how sites should be cleaned up are the responsibility 
of installation/site authorities. These site-specific decisions will 
determine whether a selected strategy is appropriate for each specific 
location.
    The preliminary strategies that have been identified for evaluation 
in the PEIS are:
    On-site Chemical Treatment and Off-site Destruction of Chemical 
Treatment Waste--Chemical agents in CWM would be chemically treated on 
site. Waste from chemical treatment and any other wastes such as metal 
body parts would be packaged in accordance with appropriate 
transportation regulations and the waste would then be transported off 
site for thermal destruction or another disposal method.
    On-site Chemical Treatment and On-site Destruction/Disposal of 
Chemical Treatment Waste--Chemical agents in CWM would be chemically 
treated on site. Waste from chemical treatment would also be destroyed/
disposed of on site. Any other waste such as metal body parts from the 
on-site treatment would be packaged in accordance with appropriate 
transportation regulations and then transported off site for disposal.
    On-site Thermal Destruction--Chemical agents in CWM would be 
thermally destroyed on site. Any waste from thermal destruction such as 
ash and/or metal body parts would be packaged in accordance with 
appropriate transportation regulations and the waste would then be 
transported off site for disposal.
    Off-site Chemical Treatment and/or Off-site Thermal Destruction--
CWM containing chemical agents would be packaged in accordance with 
appropriate transport regulations and

[[Page 54424]]

then transported to an off site location. The CWM containing chemical 
agents would then be either chemically treated or thermally destroyed 
or disposed of by another method at the off-site location.
    No Action--CWM containing chemical agent already in storage and 
RDT&E materiel would continue to be stored. CWM containing chemical 
agent recovered in the future would be packaged in accordance with 
appropriate transport regulations and then transported to an off-site 
location for long term storage at a permitted location.
    For all disposal alternatives, treated residual metal parts would 
likely be recycled or disposed of in accordance with applicable 
environmental regulations.
    The PEIS, as currently envisioned, will not evaluate specific off-
site/on-site treatment and/or destruction/disposal locations under 
these strategies. Should the Army select an off-site destruction/
disposal strategy, further environmental review would be required to 
determine the potential environmental consequences of implementing that 
strategy at that specific location. The PEIS will also not evaluate on-
site contamination. This contamination will be handled under 
established environmental remediation/restoration procedures and 
regulations.
    The important environmental issues that have been identified on a 
preliminary basis for evaluation and analysis in the PEIS are: (1) The 
potential impacts of the alternative strategies on air quality, water 
resources, and land resources; (2) the potential impacts to public 
health from the implementation of the destruction technologies; (3) the 
potential impacts to public health and safety from accidents that could 
occur during the handling, transport, storage, and destruction of CWM; 
and (4) the potential socioeconomic impacts of the alternative 
strategies.

Scoping Process

    Scoping, which is integral to the NEPA process, is a procedure that 
solicits input to the EIS process to ensure that issues are identified 
early and properly studied. Scoping commences after a decision is made 
to prepare an EIS in order to provide an early and open process for 
determining the scope of issues to be addressed and for identifying the 
significant issues related to a proposed action. The scope of issues to 
be addressed in the draft PEIS will be determined, in part, from 
written comments received by mail and oral comments received and 
recorded by phone and at the public meetings. The preliminary 
identification of alternatives and environmental issues is not meant to 
be exhaustive or final. The Army considers the scoping process to be 
open and dynamic in the sense that alternatives other than those given 
above may warrant study and new matters may be identified for potential 
evaluation.
    The scoping process will include both interagency and public 
scoping. The public is invited to submit written comments or provide 
oral comments at a meeting or by phone to the addresses and phone 
numbers listed under the DATES section of this notice and/or attend a 
public meeting that will be announced in area news media.
    The Army will use the public input received during scoping to 
develop a Statement of Scope to guide preparation of the PEIS. After 
completion, the Statement of Scope will be made available to scoping 
participants and the public upon request. The draft PEIS prepared from 
the scoping process will be made available for public review and 
comment. Notice of availability of the draft PEIS will be announced, 
written comments on the draft solicited, and information about a 
possible public meeting to comment on the draft will be published at a 
future date. The Army expects to release a final PEIS by mid-1999.
Richard E. Newsome,
Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Army (Environment, Safety and 
Occupational Health) OASA(I,L&E).
[FR Doc. 96-26343 Filed 10-17-96; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3710-08-P