[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1994, Book I)]
[March 1, 1994]
[Page 353]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



[[Page 353]]


Message to the Senate on the Chemical Weapons Convention
March 1, 1994

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.