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State Officials Oppose Slowing U.S. CW Destruction
Colorado lawmakers said they oppose plans leaked in a Defense Department memo last week to delay destruction of the U.S. Army’s chemical weapons stockpile at the Pueblo Chemical Depot, the Associated Press reported (see GSN, Jan. 12). Major construction on chemical weapons disposal facilities in Pueblo and Blue Grass, Ky., would not begin until 2011, a roughly five-year delay, according to Pentagon documents. Republican Senator Wayne Allard said he was surprised by the plan and that Colorado’s congressional delegation would meet with Army officials to discuss the project. “I thought that everything was settled and it was a go with the water-neutralization process,” he said, referring to the process planned to be used to destroy the chemical agent stored at the site (Associated Press, Jan. 15). Democratic Representative John Salazar yesterday invited a Pentagon official to answer residents’ questions in person about delays in destroying the Pueblo stockpile, AP reported. Salazar wrote to Michael Wynne, acting undersecretary of defense for acquisition, that he had a “grave concern” over potential destruction delays. “Further delay makes the arsenal a continued security and environmental risk for the region,” wrote Salazar (Associated Press/Rocky Mountain News, Jan. 17). Meanwhile, Alabama state and national officials said they oppose any Defense Department consideration of moving chemical weapons to the Anniston Army Depot (see GSN, Jan. 14). “This is an absurd idea and one I strongly oppose,” said Republican U.S. Representative Mike Rogers of reports that munitions could be moved from the Pueblo and Blue Grass sites to operating disposal facilities in other areas of the country. Local lawmakers plan to meet with lawyers in Montgomery to determine what measures they could take to block any potential transfer, said Democratic Representative Lea Fite. “I know it is a federal thing, but we have to try to do everything we can,” Fite said. “We promised this community that we would build it, burn it and forget it” (Amy Sickmann, Anniston Star, Jan. 16).
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