[CPEO-MEF] Missile Defense Environmental Impact Statement

[Lenny Siegel <lsiegel@cpeo.org>]

In October, 2004 I submitted comments to the Army's Missile Defense 
Agency on its Draft Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement for the 
Proposed Ballistic Missile Defense System. I (and others) warned of the 
environmental dangers of a massive increase in rocket launches using 
ammonium perchlorate-based propellant. See 
http://www.cpeo.org/pubs/BMDS-PEIS.doc.

Now the Agency has issued it Final Programmatic Environmental Impact 
Statement (January, 2007), containing replies to the multitude of 
comments. See http://www.mda.mil/peis/html/home.html.
Most pertinent to my concern is the response on page K-296 (page 301 of 
the Volume 3 PDF file). It states:

"The BMDS PEIS considers the use of a wide variety of propellants 
including three types of boosters, pre-fueled liquid propellant, 
non-pre-fueled liquid propellant, and solid propellant boosters. The 
environmental impacts of each of these three types of boosters are 
presented in Section 4.1.1.2 of the PEIS. In addition, Appendix M 
includes DoD-wide research initiatives under the Strategic Environmental 
Research and Development Program that have focused on the development of 
more environmentally-friendly launch technologies, such as missile 
propellants that do not use ammonium perchlorate as an oxidizer. While 
these alternate propellant formulations have showed promise, a 
significant amount of development remains to optimize the formulation 
for specific missile systems. In addition, these formulations will go 
through a lengthy and stringent performance and safety certification 
process.  Since these alternative technologies are in a research and 
development phase and are not yet advanced enough for their use to be 
reasonably foreseeable under NEPA, they are not analyzed in this PEIS. 
The MDA may consider the use of these alternative 
environmentally-friendly technologies as they become available in the 
future and meet the operational test requirements for the BMDS."

Lenny

--


Lenny Siegel
Director, Center for Public Environmental Oversight
c/o PSC, 278-A Hope St., Mountain View, CA 94041
Voice: 650/961-8918 or 650/969-1545
Fax: 650/961-8918
<lsiegel@cpeo.org>
http://www.cpeo.org

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