Ammo plant burn rules will change

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Kentucky
THE COURIER JOURNAL
Ammo plant burn rules will change
State permit revisions to deal with wind speeds at the Charlestown site
By Alex Davis, alexdavis@courier-journal.com
February 11, 2004

An environmental permit that describes the wind conditions under which
vacant buildings at the former Indiana Army Ammunition Plant can be
burned is being revised, a state official said yesterday.

The changes are in response to an apparent violation of the permit that
is allowing the Army to burn 64 buildings over the next month on the
property near Charlestown.

A total of 327 structures are to be torched over the next five years.

Because the buildings contain gunpowder dust and other explosive
residue, the Army told environmental regulators that it would be unsafe
for humans to remove asbestos particles from the buildings' floors. But
when the first 10 buildings went up in smoke last Wednesday, a light
wind was blowing from the north toward Jeffersonville and metro
Louisville, contrary to the conditions of the permit.

That prompted the leader of an Evansville-based environmental group to
file a complaint with the Indiana Department of Environmental
Management. That agency, which issued the original permit, had required
that buildings be burned only when wind was coming from the south or
southwest.

"It does appear at this time that it was a violation," Amy Hartsock, a
department spokeswoman, said yesterday. In response, she said, her
agency is concentrating on establishing conditions and procedures that
will preclude further problems.

The terms are still being discussed. Hartsock said the process could be
completed next week.

One likely requirement, she said, will be that the Army check wind speed
before the burns with three sources: the National Weather Service, a
weather-monitoring station in Charlestown and another station at the
plant itself.

Burns also won't be allowed when there are high winds blowing from any
direction, and they could be postponed if the air is so stagnant that it
won't allow smoke to drift upward.

This article can be viewed at:
http://www.courier-journal.com/localnews/2004/02/11in/met-front-burn0211-6563.html

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