Craig Williams addressed the International Forum on Chemical Weapons Destruction in The Hague.
On July 7, the last remaining chemical weapons stored at the Bluegrass Army Depot in Richmond, Kentucky, were safely destroyed. This achievement, in compliance with the international treaty Chemical Weapons Convention, signifies the culmination of a multi-decade endeavor aimed at eradicating a substantial stockpile of chemical weapons developed and stored in the United States since World War II.
They asked, “‘Did anyone have any questions?’ And, of course, in the interest of making sure that the community, public health, and the environment were adequately protected, I had several questions, along with many other people,” Williams said.
Williams and fellow citizens organized into two groups to effectively channel and address their concerns: the “Concerned Citizens of Madison County” and “Common Ground.” These grassroots organizations collaborated to establish the inaugural National Citizens Conference on Chemical Weapons in 1990. Hosted in Richmond, the landmark event welcomed representatives from other U.S. sites where chemical weapons were stored, the Pacific islands, and the Russian Federation. The conference culminated in the creation of the “Citizens’ Accords on Chemical Weapons Disposal,” which emphasized prioritizing environmental and public health protections and community involvement in decisions related to disposal methods.
In 1988, the Army issued its Record of Decision to incinerate chemical weapons across U.S. and Pacific sites. The citizen groups of the Bluegrass and beyond continued pressing for changes to the chemical weapons destruction program, securing funding to enlist experts to testify regarding the dangers posed by incineration and the promise of safer “closed-loop” technologies. “We were proven correct in our apprehension when we got documents that showed 14 live agent releases from the stacks of their incinerators in the Pacific and in the Utah desert,” Williams said. In 1997, the Army instituted the Assembled Chemical Weapons Assessment program to study alternative technologies. Six technologies capable of closed-loop chemical destruction ultimately passed screening, and neutralization programs were initiated in Kentucky, Colorado, Indiana, and Maryland.
Williams has worked to bring an environmentally secure conclusion to the chemical weapons issue for almost four decades. He is a founding member and current president of the Kentucky Environmental Foundation (KEF). He participated in the International Forum on Chemical Weapons Destruction in The Hague, where he delivered presentations to representatives of the 193 signatory nations of the international treaty under which the Richmond stockpiles were eliminated. Williams is also a charter member of the Kentucky Governor’s Chemical Material Demilitarization Citizen’s Advisory Commission and is a cofounder and secretary of the Vietnam Veterans of America Foundation, which received the 1997 Nobel Peace Prize for its work to ban landmines. He has received several tributes in the U.S. Congress and was presented the John O’Connor Citizens Achievement Award in 2003. In 2006, he was the North American recipient of the prestigious Goldman Environmental Prize.
Craig lives on a small farm in Berea with his wife, Teri, near their two children and seven grandchildren. We spoke with him about his advocacy work.
What lessons in leadership would you like to share from your experiences?
You have to have an open mind about what you’re trying to do and how long and complicated a task may be. If you expect to have a significant impact and reap results that are very big in their scope, you have to realize that and not try to make things happen in a period of time that’s unrealistic.
The biggest rule of thumb that I espouse is the importance of credibility. A mistake that many groups make is exaggerating risks or exaggerating solutions before they are mature. That can lead to credibility issues with people, organizations, and agencies that you need help from to get across the finish line.
The activist community doesn’t have the luxury of making false claims or exaggerations. And to get credibility back can take a long time — if ever. We have to be able to prove we’re right every time we say something.
If you get diverse groups all advocating for your position — because you have shown them that you are demonstrably accurate in your position — you can go a long way. If you lose that credibility, you have created a tough situation to accomplish your objective.
Another thing: If you can’t laugh, it isn’t worth it. I’ve always managed to keep a sense of humor and try to impart that to others. If you can get folks laughing who normally disagree with you, you’ve made a significant step toward reaching consensus. Our early dialog groups in the program included the Pentagon, Army, technology corporations, environmentalists, indigenous groups, civil rights groups, business organizations, and some regulatory agencies we were in court with — we had some real distance between our positions. But when we would have the dialogue conferences, the facilitator would always rely on me to open the session with some sort of joke. It loosens up the atmosphere. People don’t tend to be as hostile towards one another if they share a laugh before you get into the details.
Where do things at the Bluegrass Army Depot stand now?
Richmond, Kentucky, got rid of the last stockpile of chemical weapons associated with the international treaty. It was a great moment. On October 11, there will be an event to celebrate it at the Army Reserves Center at the Bluegrass Army Depot.
The program is in its closure phase, which will last about two years. Any structures exposed to chemical agents will be decontaminated and razed. The remaining buildings and infrastructure are valued at about $1.5 billion. So, what do you do with all that stuff? The answer has yet to be determined.
The workers — close to 1,500 people — have done an amazing job, safely destroying 523 tons of chemical warfare agents contained in 101,000 live munitions, with explosives and launchers. It’s a unique and highly skilled workforce becoming available over the next two years and has a big economic impact on our area. The Bluegrass Area Development District, the Army’s retraining center, Kentucky Environmental Foundation, and others are working together to attract new industries and place as many of these folks into the local industrial and services economy as they can.
What will you be doing now that the destruction program is winding down?
Beyond working with the matters of the closure of the chemical weapons program, well, I’m supposed to be semi-retired. But, the Kentucky Environmental Foundation is still very active. We’re working to make our model of meaningful community engagement available to others facing environmental challenges.