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Program Executive Office, Assembled Chemical Weapons Alternatives (PEO ACWA)Program Executive Office, Assembled Chemical Weapons Alternatives (PEO ACWA)Program Executive Office, Assembled Chemical Weapons Alternatives (PEO ACWA)Program Executive Office, Assembled Chemical Weapons Alternatives (PEO ACWA)
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      Program Executive Office, Assembled Chemical Weapons Alternatives (PEO ACWA)


      Mission: The safe elimination of chemical weapons at Pueblo and Blue Grass by Sept. 30, 2023

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      Blue Grass Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant (BGCAPP)

      BGCAPP is safely destroying the chemical weapons stockpile currently in storage at the Blue Grass Army Depot near Richmond, Kentucky.

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      Pueblo Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant (PCAPP)

      PCAPP is safely destroying the chemical weapons stockpile currently in storage at the U.S. Army Pueblo Chemical Depot in Colorado.

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Protecting Human Health and Environment is Top Priority

Published: July 15, 2015 | Category: BGCAPP News, Environment
The Blue Grass plant partners with Kentucky Department for Environmental Protection personnel, seen here on an inspection tour of the construction site, to ensure the project meets or exceeds all of the commonwealth’s environmental regulations.

The Blue Grass plant partners with Kentucky Department for Environmental Protection personnel, seen here on an inspection tour of the construction site, to ensure the project meets or exceeds all of the commonwealth’s environmental regulations.

Keeping Kentucky’s air, water and land clean is extremely important to Blue Grass plant personnel. To that end, the project partners with the Kentucky Department for Environmental Protection (KDEP) to ensure the project meets or exceeds all of the commonwealth’s environmental regulations.

In Kentucky, every facility that manages hazardous waste is regulated through state permits. KDEP’s overarching goals are to protect human health and the state’s air, land and water resources. They work to achieve this goal through issuing permits to the projects or facilities that require them, and conducting inspections to ensure the regulations are being followed.

“With the complexity of this plant and the regulations applied to it, it’s helpful for us to work together to enhance our protection of the environment,” said Todd Williams, environmental manager. “As we work together, we gain a better understanding of each other’s expectations, which benefits us for our ultimate goal of safe and environmentally protective chemical weapons destruction.”

Because KDEP’s interaction with the project is so involved, they have set up a branch office in the Richmond Mall to be closer to project headquarters and the construction site. KDEP personnel can be found on site performing inspections, in project meetings consulting with engineers and project leadership and poring over documents.

“We have the same goals,” said Bill Buchanan, environmental engineer. “We live, work and play in the same communities and are all invested in our environmental health.”

The relationship between KDEP and the Blue Grass project began in 2003 and has only grown since. It will continue until the last munition is destroyed, the project’s mission is complete and the final permits are closed.

“Our goal is to leave the project site as good as or better than we found it,” said Buchanan. “We have made, and will continue to make, great efforts to ensure that happens.”

More BGCAPP Environment Articles

  • Workers remove used carbon filters from the Blue Grass Explosive Destruction Technology air filtration system for disposal as hazardous waste.

    Teamwork Key to Removing Used Carbon Filters

    Published: April 19, 2022
  • Workers pass a piece of plywood up the Static Detonation Chamber 1200 stairs in preparation for opening the roof to allow a new piece of equipment to be lowered into the building. The building passed decontamination verification testing in January, which means workers do not have to wear chemical protective gear as they prepare for the system’s next activity.

    Former Mustard Destruction Facility Passes Crucial Test

    Published: March 1, 2022
  • Workers drill holes for structural steel placement on the Static Detonation Chamber 1200 Off-gas Treatment System Building foundation at the Blue Grass Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant. A public comment period is open through March 16 for a permit modification request for this system.

    Comment Period Open for Public Input on Draft Environmental Permit

    Published: February 23, 2022
  • A worker guides a crane after its placement of the thermal oxidizer for the Static Detonation Chamber (SDC) 1200 unit at the Blue Grass Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant. The SDC 1200 requires a completely new off-gas treatment system in order to process drained, containerized VX nerve-agent warheads.

    New Pollution Abatement System Under Construction

    Published: August 30, 2021
  • A forklift operator is guided by spotters as he loads a crate of non-contaminated rocket motors onto a truck at the Blue Grass Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant July 20. The Kentucky Department for Environmental Protection has opened a public comment period for plant modification requests that include additional storage space for the motors.

    Public Comment Period Open for Hydrolysate Shipment, Rocket Motor Storage

    Published: July 29, 2021
  • A truck and tank trailer sit in the tanker loading station at the Blue Grass Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant.

    Project Managers to Discuss Hydrolysate Shipment at June 9 Public Meeting

    Published: June 3, 2021
  • A deer browses in an experimental plot of American chestnut trees on the Blue Grass Army Depot near the Blue Grass Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant. The depot is a partner in a conservation project to propagate blight-resistant versions of the American chestnut tree.

    Blue Grass Partner Assists with Conservation Effort

    Published: April 30, 2021
  • Technicians program a Rocket Warhead Containerization System robot inside the Blue Grass Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant in February. This equipment is the subject of one of four Kentucky Department for Environmental Protection permit modification requests currently in a public comment period.

    Public Involvement Opportunities for Permit Modification Requests

    Published: April 5, 2021
  • Comment Period Open for Plant Permit Modification Requests

    Comment Period Open for Plant Permit Modification Requests

    Published: January 28, 2021
  • First-Time Filter Change Activity

    First-Time Filter Change Activity

    Published: December 29, 2020
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Related News

  • Blue Grass Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant Monthly Recap – April 2022

    Blue Grass Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant Monthly Recap – April 2022

    May 2, 2022
  • Entire U.S. Stockpile of VX Nerve Agent Eliminated

    Entire U.S. Stockpile of VX Nerve Agent Eliminated

    April 20, 2022
  • Teamwork Key to Removing Used Carbon Filters

    Teamwork Key to Removing Used Carbon Filters

    April 19, 2022
  • U.S. Chemical Demilitarization Transparency Event Held for International Organization

    U.S. Chemical Demilitarization Transparency Event Held for International Organization

    March 31, 2022
  • BGCAPP Monthly Recap – March 2022

    BGCAPP Monthly Recap – March 2022

    March 31, 2022

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Program Executive Office, Assembled Chemical Weapons Alternatives (PEO ACWA)