.
By Alisha Ashby, Jenna Roberts, Peter Riggs
Collection Overview
Scope and Contents of the Materials
The Kentucky Environmental Foundation (KEF) Records documents the community efforts of Madison County residents to encourage the safe disposal of chemical weapons in Madison County. This collection is largely yearly progress reports, chemical weapon risk reports prepared by the federal government, as well as reports prepared by private organizations regarding the safe disposal of chemical weapons. The collection also contains the meeting minutes, agendas, presentations, and advertisements for numerous citizen lead activist groups such as the ACWA, CWWG, and the CAC. Correspondence between community leaders and the federal government, newspapers and other media detailing the effort and risk of the disposal of chemical weapons can also be found in this collection. Finally, this collection contains various newsclippings and publicity materials related to the disposal of chemical weapons across the nine sites in the United States, centered on the work of CWWG and Kentucky disposal.
For more information, please see collections under the related subject headings.
List of Common Acronyms:
KEF - Kentucky Environmental Foundation CWWG- Chemical Weapons Working Group BGCAPP/BGAD - Blue Grass Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant/Blue Grass Army Depot PMCD - Program Manager for Chemical Demilitarization CSEPP - Chemical Stockpile Emergency Preparedness Program
Collection Historical Note
In 1984, the United States Army announced to the public in Richmond, Kentucky that they planned to eliminate the 523.4 U.S. Tons of chemical agent that they had stored at the Blue Grass Army Depot. There was immediate pushback from the community, with citizens in both Richmond and nearby Berea forming community action groups opposing the incineration of chemical weapons in Kentucky. However, community members were beginning to feel that they needed more pull if they were going to join other states/destruction sites in fighting against the U.S. Army to find alternative modes of disposal. In 1990, the Kentucky Environmental Foundation was formed as a state-wide non-profit that could focus on the safe disposal of chemical weapons. In 1991, a short year later, the Chemical Weapons Working Group coalition was formed. It began as a conference of concerned citizens and developed into an "effective grassroots force for change in the Army’s chemical weapons program."
From the KEF Website: "The decision to move forward with safer weapons disposal in Kentucky came in 2002; our chemical weapons will be destroyed in a “closed loop” neutralization and supercritical water oxidation process. In 2006, Craig Williams, then KEF Director, was awarded the prestigious Goldman Environmental Prize for his and the CWWG’s dedication to safe weapons disposal. Through KEF’s Chemical Weapons Working Group, KEF continues to ensure Kentuckians are protected from harmful pollutants during chemical weapons destruction processes. KEF was formed to protect Kentuckians’ health from the chemical exposure; we have since been an integral part of Kentucky’s environmental health and justice movement. For the past 25 years, KEF has participated in many state, regional and national environmental health and justice campaigns and in collaboration with others working to address air, water and soil pollution from both fossil fuels and hazardous waste manufacturing, storage and incineration."
For more infomation, please visit kyenvironmentalfoundation.org
Subject/Index Terms
Administrative Information
Repository:
Eastern Kentucky University - Special Collections and Archives
Acquisition Source:
Williams, Craig
Related Materials:
Nerve: How a Small Kentucky Town Led the Fight to Safely Dismantle The World’s Chemical Weapons For more information please see https://vimeo.com/254920643.
Box and Folder Listing
Browse by Series:
[
Series 1: Community Liasion Series],
[
Series 2: Correspondence],
[
Series 3: Organizations],
[
Series 4: Publications and Reports],
[
Series 5: Publicity],
[Series 6: Miscellaneous],
[
All]
- Series 6: Miscellaneous
- Box 16
- Folder 6: Johnston Atoll Chemical Agent Disposal System, 1993-2000
- Contains documents and reports evaluating the procedures and and safety of the Johnston Atoll Chemical Agent Disposal System
- Folder 7: Whistleblower: Trina Allen, 1997
- Contains legal correspondence between legal representatives for Trina Allen and EG&G Defense Materials INC. regarding clean drinking water violations
- Folder 8: Whistleblower: Gary Harris, 2000
- Contains articles and other publicity coverage on whistleblower Gary Harris, who reported on chemical weapon disposal violations
- Folder 9: Steve Jones: Publicity, 1995-2000
- Contains articles and other publicity coverage on whistleblower Steve Jones, who reported on chemical weapon disposal violations in Utah, and who later received nationwide attention for the lawsuit in which he attempted to get his job back
- Folder 10: Steve Jones Conflict, 1999-2000
- Contains articles, publicity coverage, correspondence, and records regarding whistleblower Steve Jones. After winning his lawsuit, Steve Jones denied having any association with Craig Williams or CWWG, stating that the materials that were leaked did not come from him or that the materials were fabricated. Craig responded by releasing the correspondence and evidence of the materials being sent to him, such as FedEx reciepts from Steve to Craig.
- Folder 11: Steve Jones: Correspondence and Information, 1999-2000
- Contains continued proof from Craig that Steve had corresponded with him in the past about chemical weapon disposal violations
- Box 17
- Folder 1: Congressional Hearing, Jul-86
- Contains "Hearing Before the Investigations Subcommittee of the Committee on Armed Services, House of Representatives, Nine-Ninth Congres, Second Session"
- Folder 2: Committee Hearings, 1992
- Contains stenographic minutes for House of Representatives Committee Hearings regarding disposal of chemicals
- Folder 3: Hearing: CWWG vs. U.S. Army, 1996
- Contains the decision in the case of CWWG vs. U.S. Army
- Folder 4: CWWG/Sierra Club/Vietnam Vet. Foundation vs. U.S. Army, 1996
- Contains the decision in the case of CWWG/Sierra Club/Vietnam Vet. Foundation vs. U.S. Army
- Folder 5: EQC Statement, Apr-91
- Contains the Environmental Quality Commission's statement on the Site-Specfici Environmental Impact Statement CSDP Lexington Bluegrass Army Depot
- Folder 6: Record Statements: Susan Livingstone, 1990-1992
- Contains statements by Susan Livingstone, the assistant secretary of the Army, on the disposal of chemicals
- Folder 7: Record Statements, 1990-1997
- Contains various statements from officials involved in the progress of the disposal of chemicals
- Folder 8: Questions and Comments from Statements: PMCD, Sep-86
- Contains a copy of questions and comments compiled from the Project Manager for Chemical Demilitarization - questions and comments taken from Kentucky on Chemical Stockpile Disposal Program Draft Programatic Environmental Impact Statement
- Box 18
- Folder 1: Miscellaneous Statements, 1986, 2002
- Contains three miscellaneous statements. Includes: "Statement on the U.S. Army Stockpile Disposal Program Draft Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement", "Statement of Douglas Hindman", and "'How Should Environmental Justice Be Addressed In Indian Country?' A Statement to the Environmental Forum XI"
- Folder 2: Public Hearing Transcript, Jan-88
- Contains the transcript of an early Chemical Stockpile Disposal Program Public Hearing
- Folder 3: Public Hearing Transcript, Apr-91
- Contains the transcript of Public Scoping Meeting for Site-Specific Environmental Impact Analysis for Proposed Incinerator
- Folder 4: Public Hearing Transcript, Apr-91
- Contains the transcript of Public Scoping Meeting for Site-Specific Environmental Impact Analysis for Proposed Incinerator
- Folder 5: Comments Compiled, Jun-05
- Contains comments and concerns organized by state, sent to Douglas Hindman
- Folder 6: Permit Violation Notices, 1995-2005
- Contains notices sent to various sites regarding void or misused permits
- Folder 7: Office Files, Undated
- Contains 'office files' related to KEF, CWWG, and chemical weapon destruction - city ordinances, fact sheets, bumper stickers, miscellaneous handwritten notes, notes from Craig's trip to Moscow, other professional development notes, and materials related to how to properly organize within a community
- Folder 8: Office Files, Undated
- Contains 'office files' related to KEF, CWWG, and chemical weapon destruction - city ordinances, fact sheets, bumper stickers, miscellaneous handwritten notes, notes from Craig's trip to Moscow, other professional development notes, and materials related to how to properly organize within a community
- Folder 9: Office Files, Undated
- Contains 'office files' related to KEF, CWWG, and chemical weapon destruction - city ordinances, fact sheets, bumper stickers, miscellaneous handwritten notes, notes from Craig's trip to Moscow, other professional development notes, and materials related to how to properly organize within a community. Also includes a DVD copy of NERVE: How a Small Kentucky Town Led the Fight to Safely Dismantle the World's Chemical Weapons
Browse by Series:
[
Series 1: Community Liasion Series],
[
Series 2: Correspondence],
[
Series 3: Organizations],
[
Series 4: Publications and Reports],
[
Series 5: Publicity],
[Series 6: Miscellaneous],
[
All]
