Message to the Senate on the Chemical Weapons Convention

To the Senate of the United States:

On November 23, 1993, I transmitted the Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling and Use of Chemical Weapons and on Their Destruction (the "Chemical Weapons Convention" or CWC) to the Senate for its advice and consent to ratification. As stated in the transmittal message, I now submit herewith an Environmental Impact Review (EIR) of the Chemical Weapons Convention for the information of the Senate. This EIR summarizes the documented environmental effects that could result from the entry into force of the CWC for the United States. Considerable study has already been devoted under related Federal programs to examining and describing the environmental impacts of activities that are similar or identical to what the CWC will entail when it enters into force. This EIR is a review of published information and, as such, should not be considered an analysis of data or a verification of published conclusions.

United States ratification of the CWC will result in a national commitment to the CWC requirements that will modify the existing chemical weapons stockpile demilitarization and nonstockpile programs, as well as create additional declaration, destruction, and verification requirements. The CWC ratification and entry into force will have both environmental and health benefits and adverse effects for the United States because of the actions the United States and other parties will need to take to meet the Convention's requirements.

The report consists of six sections. Section 1 is the introduction. Section 2 provides an overview of the current U.S. chemical weapons destruction program, which can be thought of as the environmental baseline against which the potential environmental consequences of the CWC must be measured. It includes discussions of the Chemical Stockpile Disposal Program (CSDP), the Non-Stockpile Chemical Materiel Program (NSCMP), the environmental consequences of these programs, and the environmental monitoring program currently in place. Section 3 contains documentation on the possible environmental consequences of each component of the existing chemical weapons program—all of which would occur regardless of whether the United States ratifies the CWC. Section 4 is a discussion of environmental consequences that could result from U.S. ratification of the CWC, including both the benefits and potential adverse consequences for the physical and human environment. Section 5 contains a discussion of three options that could be selected by the United States instead of prompt ratification of the CWC and a discussion of the possible environmental consequences of each option. Finally, Section 6 contains the endnotes.

I believe that the Chemical Weapons Convention is in the best interests of the United States. Its provisions will significantly strengthen U.S., allied and international security, environmental security, and enhance global and regional stability. I continue to urge the Senate to give early and favorable consideration to the Chemical Weapons Convention and to give advice and consent to its ratification as soon as possible in 1994.

WILLIAM J. CLINTON

The White House, March 1, 1994.