BRAC Renewal for ED

For the past 65 years, Newport, IN (population 578) has been the site of the Newport Chemical Depot for the U. S. Army. The facility produced and stored RDX explosives and heavy water for the atomic bomb during WWII, TNT and the chemical agent VX after that war.

In the late 60s, President Nixon halted all production and transportation of chemical weapons. For almost the past half century, a stockpile of 1,690 one-ton containers of VX has been housed at Newport. As you would expect, there is a lot of security that makes the place look like a true military base. I made sure that I didn’t make any quick moves and did as I was instructed, as I presumed that the guns everyone held were real.

Earlier this year, Newport was informed that the base would be closing and a production system has been set up to destroy the VX. It will take about 3 years to complete the process.

The Vermillion County EDC hopes to take possession of the facility and views it as a diamond in the rough. The plant has over 7,000 acres of land, numerous older buildings, six huge water wells, a seven million gallon indoor reservoir, two water towers, a sewage treatment plant, roads, etc. It has tremendous potential for some large industrial projects.

Newport and Vermillion County have the potential to turn this plant closing “lemons” into lemonade. They are proactively approaching the problem in a very positive manner.