Updated 07/20/2007 12:04:46 AM CDT

A petition bearing the names of about 350 Port Arthur residents opposed to shipments of deactivated nerve agent to a Southeast Texas incinerator was presented to U.S. Rep. Ted Poe's Beaumont office Thursday.

"We want to send a clear message," Hilton Kelley of the Community In-power and Development Association said by phone.

Kelley has been a vocal opponent of the U.S. Army sending the caustic wastewater to the Veolia Environmental Services facility on Texas 73 to be burned.
"It's time for us to clean up Southeast Texas. It shouldn't be a toxic waste dump site," Kelley said.

The shipments started in April. Officials with the U.S. Army and Veolia maintain the shipping and incineration processes are safe.

The shipments stopped June 18, allowing time for an Indiana judge to rule on an injunction filed by Kelley, his association, an environmental group in Indiana and two national groups, the Chemical Weapons Working Group and the Sierra Club, according to The Enterprise archives.

These groups claim in their lawsuit that waste water could become VX nerve gas again under the correct conditions and that the interstate transport of such materials is against federal law.

A hearing is scheduled for this month, Kelley said.

"We will immediately contact the U.S. Army and make them aware of the petition and reiterate to them the concerns of area residents. I always appreciate constituents contacting me directly on matters of importance to our district," Poe, R-Humble, said in an e-mailed statement. "My office will continue to communicate with the U.S. Army so we can ensure that every environmental and safety regulation is followed to the letter of the law without exception," he added.

Poe was not at his Beaumont office and the petitions were given to his district manager by the six-member delegation, Kelley said.

Kelley said he also is planning to contact state Rep. Joe Deshotel, D-Beaumont, and Port Arthur Mayor-elect Deloris "Bobbie" Prince about the issue.

"It's not fair to our citizens or our kids," Kelley said of area pollution.

rappleye@beaumontenterprise.com
(409) 880-0727

paulsmartinez@beaumontenterprise.com
(409) 880-0737