美軍同意暫停由印第安那州運送VX化武廢棄物至德州，以配合目前印第安那州泰瑞豪特（Terre Haute）聯邦法庭審理要求中止此項運輸的訴訟。
德州及印第安那州的公民團體與山巒協會（Sierra Club）及化武工作小組（Chemical Weapons Working Group）兩大組織聯合提出訴訟，向法庭申請暫時限制令，但首先要求美軍自行停止運送。
美軍已於上星期的電話會議中有條件同意暫停運輸。聽證會預定於7月16日召開，未來3週內雙方必須針對此案向法院提交書面報告。
引發爭議的有毒廢物是VX水解物（VX hydrolysate，簡稱VXH）。美軍於印州新港（Newport）化學庫銷毀VX神經毒氣時，將VX與氫氧化鈉及水混合，便會產生含VXH的腐蝕性廢水。
劇毒的VX只要一滴便可瞬間致死，聯合國禁止化學武器公約（The Chemical Weapons Convention）已禁止其使用或持有，並要求所有國家於期限內予以銷毀。
於2003年6月完工的印州新港化學庫是美國境內8座儲存化學物質的軍事設施之一，為銷毀其中儲存的1千公噸VX毒氣而建造，以遵守禁止化武公約。
美軍於2007年4月與達和環保服務公司（Veolia Environmental Services）簽下4900萬美元的合約，將腐蝕性廢水送至德州阿瑟港（Port Arthur）的工廠進行最終處理。美軍表示，將中和VX過程產生的廢水運送至達和公司做最終處理，就能計入美國銷毀化武的總量，以符合公約的要求。
公民團體曾向印州環境管理部與警方、印州及德州的聯邦與州政府官員要求能停止運輸，但均未獲理會，因此決定於5月8日提告。
化武工作小組主席威廉斯（Williams）表示，此次對簿公堂在所難免，因為美軍早先試圖將同批廢棄物送往俄亥俄州與紐澤西州，「當地市民不斷希望由第三方對整個流程進行採樣分析檢查，但都被忽略或拒絕。因此公民唯有尋法律途徑，以盡力保護家園免受VXH運輸與銷毀所影響。」
The U.S. Army has agreed to temporarily suspend shipments of VX chemical weapons disposal by-products from Indiana to Texas while a federal court in Terre Haute hears evidence in a lawsuit seeking a halt to the shipments.
Texas and Indiana citizens groups, joined by two national organizations - the Sierra Club and the Chemical Weapons Working Group - were poised to file a temporary restraining order motion to stop the shipments but opted to request a voluntary "stand-down" from the Army first.
The Army accepted under conditions that were met during a conference call last week.
Over the next three weeks, leading to an evidentiary hearing July 16, both sides will submit their cases in writing to the court.
The toxic by-product at issue is VX hydrolysate, caustic wastewater created when VX nerve agent is destroyed by mixing it with sodium hydroxide and water at the U.S. Army's Newport Indiana Chemical Depot.
VX is so deadly that one drop can kill in moments and its possession and use is prohibited by international treaty, The Chemical Weapons Convention, which requires destruction of these agents by all nations by specified target dates.
The Newport Indiana Depot is one of eight Army installations in the United States with a chemical agent stockpile. Completed in June 2003, was built to destroy the 1,152 metric tons of VX chemical agent stored there in accordance with the Chemical Weapons Convention.
On April 5, 2007, the Army signed a $49 million contract with Veolia Environmental Services of Lombard, Illinois to provide final treatment of the caustic wastewater at its plant in Port Arthur, Texas.
The Army says that because the wastewater from the VX neutralization process is being transported to Veolia for final treatment, it is credited towards the U.S. agent destruction totals under the Chemical Weapons Convention.
On May 8, the citizens groups filed a lawsuit against the shipments after requests to stop the transportation were ignored by the Indiana Department of Environmental Management, Indiana State Police, federal and state elected officials in both Indiana and Texas.
Chemical Weapons Working Group Director Craig Williams said the current lawsuit is necessary because during the Army's attempts to ship this same material to Ohio and then New Jersey, "citizens repeatedly requested to have the process opened up for an independent review of the sampling and analysis process, but such requests were ignored or refused."
"This has left little recourse for citizens other than litigation in an effort to protect the communities affected by the shipment and incineration of the VXH," he said.
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