Summary: Destroying the stockpile of U.S. chemical munitions will exceed the Army's estimate of nearly $25 billion and will take longer than planned because of public concerns over the safety of incineration, compliance with environmental laws, and the introduction of alternative disposal technologies. The costs and schedule of the disposal program are largely driven by whether states and local communities agree with the proposed disposal method at the remaining stockpile sites. Reaching agreement has consistently taken longer than the Army had anticipated. Recognizing the difficulty of satisfying public concerns about specific disposal locations, suggestions have been made by Congress, the Defense Department (DOD), and others to change the program's basic approach to destruction. However, these proposals entail trade-offs and would require changes in existing legal requirements. These suggestions have included deferring plans for additional disposal facilities until an acceptable alternative to incineration is developed, consolidating disposal operations at a national or regional site, destroying selected nonstockpile chemical warfare materiel in stockpile disposal facilities, establishing a centralized disposal facility for nonstockpile materiel, and changing existing laws to standardize environmental requirements. Notwithstanding these overarching issues, DOD and the Army have taken steps to improve program management.
